Pickup 4 Speeds

[Rowdy]

How common are the pickup 4 speeds? The 38 parts pu I have made a deal on appears to have one. I will not have it home for several weeks due to the fact the farmer does not have his loader on the tractor right now. He is busy getting things done with planting, fertelizing and ditching. I will confirm it is a 4 speed when i get it home, but the shifter tower did not look like the 3 speeds I am used to seeing. I have had later big truck 4 speeds with the external brake drum, but never seen one of these in pu's. Rod

 

[Tinker]

I have a 4sp in my 38. It was a farm truck (bean/corn wagon hauler). I would say it was definitely done after as either an upgrade or a "what was available" replacement. Works great! but I hardly ever use the 1st gear.

The shifter should have a shift trigger. Also the 4sp has a pto option on the side of the case.

 

[Rowdy]

I had one in my 46 2 ton, but have not seen one in a 1/2 ton pu. If I remember right the 46 had the external brake behind it, this one does not have that. I did not see a trigger or trigger rod either. I will have to check later for the PTO or cover plate which I am relatively familure with. I tried to get the doors open for a better look, but both were stuck closed. The best I could do was stick my hand throgh the hole on the glass on the drivers side windshield and roll down the window. Stuck my head in the cab after the door window was down. I was hoping for afew more usable parts than this one has, but for the price it is not a bad buy. I think the box, radiator and some small parts are about all I can use. Might swap cabs, but am undecided on that. Rod

 

[Tinker]

The 4sp I have came out of a 37'. No external brake.

The pto is rendered useless really. No room to install it.

 

[oldskool]

i have a 46 pickup with a 4 speed trans no drum brake,its open drive and on the right side of the case it has a plate where a pto might go,it non syncro and you must double clutch or it will grind,i have a 3 speed open drive w/syncros out of a 50 ford pu looks like a 39 only has open drive that i will be intalling along with a 8BA engine.tired of the grinding

 

[GreenMonster48]

i have a 46 pickup with a 4 speed trans no drum brake,its open drive and on the right side of the case it has a plate where a pto might go,it non syncro and you must double clutch or it will grind,i have a 3 speed open drive w/syncros out of a 50 ford pu looks like a 39 only has open drive that i will be intalling along with a 8BA engine.tired of the grinding

I've got the same thing in my 48 F-1. It sucks!

 

[Rowdy]

Thanks, I was not planning on using it as I have the 3 speed out of the first 38 to use and I am more familure with them. The guy said that when he bought the pu 40+ years ago it had a 48 Merc rearend (which is now gone). Hard telliing what all has been replaced. It has the smaller bolt pattern drums on the front with hydrailics. It does not appear the front brakes were ever hooked up in the front, so I am guessing it only had functioning brakes brakes on the rear when it was driven last. Need to learn to tell the difference in the backing plates before I post exactly what it had up front. So far just going by looks. Will be interesting to get it out of the weeds and see what can not be seen at this time. Rod

 

[DD931]

My '48 F-1 came from the factory with a four-speed - hard to drive. It could have come with a regular three-speed (floor shift), so I converted. Takes a different rear mount and drive shaft. Much improved!!

Norm

 

[1952henry]

I had one in my 46 2 ton, but have not seen one in a 1/2 ton pu. If I remember right the 46 had the external brake behind it, this one does not have that. I did not see a trigger or trigger rod either. I will have to check later for the PTO or cover plate which I am relatively familure with. I tried to get the doors open for a better look, but both were stuck closed. The best I could do was stick my hand throgh the hole on the glass on the drivers side windshield and roll down the window. Stuck my head in the cab after the door window was down. I was hoping for afew more usable parts than this one has, but for the price it is not a bad buy. I think the box, radiator and some small parts are about all I can use. Might swap cabs, but am undecided on that. Rod

1942 was the last year for the "trigger", which is actually a reverse gear lockout. Chevy transmissions of the era had them as well.

 

[expavr]

I've got the same thing in my 48 F-1. It sucks!

I swapped the 4 Speed for a 49 Merc O/D trans in my 40 Tonner. This setup has about 600 miles of freeway/street driving and seems to be working OK. The synchros and the O/D make driving the truck a whole lot more pleasurable.

 

[1952henry]

I swapped the 4 Speed for a 49 Merc O/D trans in my 40 Tonner. This setup has about 600 miles of freeway/street driving and seems to be working OK. The synchros and the O/D make driving the truck a whole lot more pleasurable.

Can you post how you did that linkage again? I believe you did on the old 'barn.

 

[expavr]

Can you post how you did that linkage again? I believe you did on the old 'barn.[/QUOTE
The shifter is made from a modified early 4 speed shift tower. The shift tower is bolted to 2 plates front and back which are bolted to the trans in the front using the inspection plate holes and in the back using the bolts that attach the O/D unit to the trans. (Photo 1) The shifting motion is transfered from the shift tower to the trans thru the use of offset linkages (Photo 2). These linkages are attached to the 1st/Reverse and 2nd/3rd shift rods in the tower. The center rod is used to prevent rotation and stabilize the linkage. The horizontal movement is translated to vertical movement by 2 arms (Photo3)which are bolted to the offset linkages and they in turn engage the shift arms bolted to the trans. Clear as mud? This unit is a work in process. Minor tweaking and some lube/dirt/road crud issues to sort out. So far its performed as advertised, but I'll feel a whole lot more confident about the design after I get another season of driving on it.

 

[oldandtired]

My 39 1/2 ton panel delivery had a factory 4-speed in it The first gear was very low, about enough to get the vehicle moving. It was also very heavy. Over the years, the rear trans mount had cracked from the fatigue. I took out the 4-speed...which I still have in the shop, replaced the rear trans/mount crossmember, and installed a 3-speed.

 

[1952henry]

Gotcha. That is as clever as I remember it. Thanks for posting it, again!