Technical Cruising at 65-70mph help

Looking at buying a 37 ford cabriolet with 221 with 37 trans. And rear end. I don’t want swap anything but gears. Is it possible to change gearing to drive 65-70 mph at a lower rpm without doing a overdrive?

Also open to a simple overdrive setup.

Any photos would be appreciated. Thank you.

Spent a few days hopping around of the forums but just not getting a clear answer.


Thank you.
Brian C.
Reno NV

 

Columbia 2spd diff?

 

I had a girlfriend that could curse much faster than that!
Now seriously, We need more info. What make and model of car, tire size, Things done to engine, ect.
Thanks for editing your info.

 

My 37 ford has original 3 speed with the original rear axle. It was a Nebraska car so I imagine it has highway rear end gearing.
I imagine it has a 354 ratio. The engine is a 8ba.
It’s my long distance car and will easily do 65-70 mph all day.
Don’t forget.
Lower rpm on the highway will cause a lot of stress on a highly elevated countryside.
I’ve heard of overheating on cars running overdrives during this instance.

 

That would be functionally easy, and fairly easy to install.

Finding and funding one, on the other hand, maybe not so easy.

 

As has been mentioned, there would be a trade involved here, and probably not one you are going to like, unless you never leave flat ground.

Changing to numerically lower (what would be called taller) gears will make it easier to maintain freeway speed, on a flat freeway, that is. If you turn West and head for Donner Pass, it's gonna suck, same as if you turn East and head for Wadsworth. Even the slightest grade will set you back one gear. If you've even been stuck behind an overloaded vehicle headed to Burning Man, that's going to be you.

The only way around this to do what has been done with modern cars: more gears.

This can be done via adding an external overdrive, and there were a few designs. That would give you two ranges, for 6-forward gears, and two reverse gears. These are often a bolt-on, but are now fairly uncommon, sought after by many, and often costly.

The other way would be to retrofit an overdrive transmission from a modern vehicle, and open driveshaft, and a torque arm. This might be cheaper, but would be more work.

 

Even though you don't want overdrive, you should contact Mitchell Mfg. They have a unit just for your car. You may also want to post this on the Ford Barn and try The Early Ford V8 Club...LOTS of info there too.

 

Even better, use an 84-87 F150 3 speed with overdrive. Mine is wonderful.

 

Most definitely I emailed them today just to get more info on there units. Found out about them on ford barn. Mainly for model A stuff. Now I do like how they mount in the driveline.

My main question with them, is will I see a obvious highway drivability improvement? And will there setup help me achieve my goal.


Thank you.
Brian C.
Reno NV

 

You think if you were running your stock engine you would still be able to cruise 65-70?

Want to set the car up to really put some miles on it. 65mph is fine for me. I just want to be able to handle some long distance trips

 

Ever think about putting a quick change rear in it.

 

Like others said only a few options.

1. Change rear gears to a 3.54 (aftermarket only unless your lucky to find oem for $$$)
2. Overdrive Columbia rear BIG $$$$
3. Newer o/d trans either convert to open driveline or use a T5 4x4 trans and stay enclosed.
4. O/D unit in the torque tube/driveline.

My '47 car has 3.78 I believe and it runs 65 easy but it's sucking down fuel at 2800-2900 rpms.

 

My '63-1/2 Galaxie fastback had a nice running 260 in it, w/Cruisomatic automatic transmission.
Ha! 4200 lb. car with 3.70 rear.
An engine change was imminent. (would still have been even if it had a 390. 406 was prepared, with a 5 speed)
Plans changed, however, and the 406 is now going into my '54 Ford coupe.
Still...221? Mmmm, nope.

 

I’m thinking 1 or 4 will be my route.

How hard is it to change gears in a banjo rear end?

Does anyone have photos of a torque tube overdrive in a 37?


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I have a cast iron version of this transmission in my car with a 0.70 overdrive. I am very happy with it, except it sometimes pops out of gear in high, resulting in cursing at whatever speed it's at.

 

This is how I did it for a Model A. The 37 is probably similar
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...-original-model-a-engine-w-torquetube.728951/

 

Before the 8ba, I ran the original 85 horse 1937 21 bolt.
It wasn’t quite as comfortable running at 65 but was done. Quite a difference in those two engines. If it were me, I’d concentrate on changing the smaller engine if I was running at highway speeds consistently.

 

Mitchell overdrive would work.

 

Here is the link to reach Mitchell Overdrive Manufacturing No real info other than Email and phone number. https://mitchelloverdrives.com/

 

Yeah i emailed them. Ill be sure to post their response.


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I understand Mitchell's are quite expensive. Well over $3,000 if my friend is not lying to me.

 

from my understanding the mitchel will require modifications to the floor in most v8 applications. model A's have more room there. columbia's can be found reasonable if you are ok with buying just the rear end and do all your own plumbing to make it work. its all the "correct" gadgets that go with them that add up fast. i have a manual shift in mine.

 

What RPM do you want at 65 MPH?
It is a math problem but you need to know some things like rear end ratio and rolling diameter of the tire.
It might be that a tire with a larger rolling diameter would get you where you want to be.
It could just be a tire and maybe a tire and wheel change but do the math...made easy
https://www.reillymotorsports.com/speed-tire-rpm-calculator.html

 

I wanted highway speeds out of my 36 and went for a set of 3.25 gears and a 28 inch tall tire. I dont know what rpm its turning on the highway but I can and have run my car all day at 70-75 with no trouble. Its great on side roads with speeds around 45-55 miles per hour as well. The flathead sounds good working a little... By far the best $375 I spent building the car...

 

A friend just finished a Mitchel in his 32 49’s style roadster, turned something he didn’t like to drive on the freeway to something he did.

 

Macs Auto has them listed at $3445 for the 32-48 Ford. Here is the link.


Click on above image to view full picture(s)



Mitchell Overdrive Kit - Ford
Part #: 32-65234-1
Alt Part #: V7000
Price:
$3,445.99 Kit
Availability:
Ships Direct From Manufacture
Fitment:
1932 thru 1948
See applications below for exact details.
Shipping Note:
This item has additional shipping charges due to heavy weight or oversize dimensions.

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26% or 36% Overdrive

Cable or Stick Shift

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This is the one used in my 1947 Ford Coupe. Cable Shift mounted on the dash. Ordered direct from Mitchell Mfg. Worked great!

 

I still laugh every time I read the title. Sorry, I don't have anything to add.....

 

What you really need to consider is what you will have after you invest a lot of time and money to get such a low performance engine geared so it can run 65 mph. Absolutely no acceleration in high gear, and not much in any gear. Is it worth doing? Lots of more satisfactory ways to go.
I assume you want 65 so you can get on a highway......65 doesn't get you anything but the sight of a lot of semi bumpers in your mirror.

 

The question I have is have you thought about running 65-70 with mechanical brakes?