Anybody know what this is? I've looked up every combination of terms I can think of online. I can tell it is mechanical braked and looks to be a 2 speed set-up. A guy posted it. Not my pic.
Interesting cast housing and nice fill plug out the back. It would look good under the rear of an early speedster build.
I don't know what it is, but like the taper of that driveshaft tube, and the casting ribs on the housing. Looks like a real weighty unit.
Don't know. Waiting to find out more. Guy on Facebook car page posted those two pics asking what it was. Didn't provide any other info.
the headlight/frame/spring configuration looks like some early 20's Brockway trucks I have found online...?
Definitely a truck with the 2 speed gears. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
That seems really early to be a 2 speed truck axle, although I know Ruckstell was around then. Could it be a kind of primitive version of what would now be a transaxle?
Most of the early two speeds provided a higher than stock gear set. More like the tow/ haul switch on modern pickups, rather than a gear fot low rpm cruising. The Ruckstons mentioned above were fitted to Ford TT trucks. If the standard rear gear set was a 4 some to 1, the under driven set provided by the two speed would likely provide 5 something to one to enable the truck to have enough grunt to get a load moving or for operating in hilly country, and give the operator the option of splitting gears to maintain momentum at lower speeds. The top speed of those rigs was not much over 50. Be neat to have but probably need some gear changes to provide the more relaxed running at cruise like an Over drive would provide. Although you could put a low 3 final gear and the use the two speeds lower range to provide the scoot from stop.
The Jalopy Journal
