So, I just picked up a Warford auxillary transmission and would like to know a little bit more about it... see the pictures... if anyone has information on these or experience with driving a vehicle with one, I would much appreciate the info... Were these transmissions really a SPEED add-on? or were they more for convienence similar to a ruxtal rear? This was kind of an impulse buy.. but due to always wanting one for some reason, I am happy... As you can see the tranny is in decent shape, with some rusting around the shifter (exposed to elements over the years) but I pulled off the top inspection plate and it shifted and turns great.... the only issue is the small post on the shifter rotating cup that keeps the shifter from rotating 360 degrees in the cup, this seems to be rounded off due to use, and will need to be replaced... I am 90% positive that it is for for a model T, although car or truck? I am not so sure... due to the output cup and the input square hole receptor for the output shaft from the planetary... So here you go... again, any info or additional pictures are welcome [/quote]
yes, it is a square shaft input and output... led me to be pretty sure it's for the model T as well... the mechanism is very simple, similar to my brother's ruxtal... I would love to know how many models or types Warford made... Thanks for the input thus far!
I believe that the cover you refer to would be for inspection/maintenance of the gears inside of the cast case... there is no provision in the case for a cross shaft for something like a PTO... the case is FILLED with the reduction gearing... no room for add-ons that I can tell... Bolts and fasteners and oporation are consistant with other model T accessory's I have come across...
Did a quick Google search and there's a ton of information out there. Even sources for brand new being built today. Check out www.laynemachine.com Also go to the Henry Ford Museum site and search there for much more info. plus many of the "T" restorer clubs have written extensively on them and they're just a few mouse clicks away.
haha, of course, thanks Zapato... just got it out of the box last night, haven't had time to extensively search yet... although it would be fun to see some installed in some current cars... thanks!
Warford's were originally made for use in T trucks. They were an underdrive for more low speed power. Don't know if any were built as overdrive for cars? If you put a 3:1 ring and pinion in your T, the Warford will give you 4 useable speeds. With the stock 3:78 gears it will just be a conversation piece, unless you want to pull stumps. You'll have to shorten the drive shaft and torque tube to use it.
There are 2 varieties of Warfords for Model T Fords: Aluminum (car) and Cast Iron (trucks). Both are interchangeable, though the cast iron requires a cross member for support due to its weight. They have different gearing (the cast iron has a taller OD, and a low UD) I used an aluminum one in my speedster, it is the way to go. The main problem with using warford is, that if you miss a shift, it can be a bit exciting getting it back in gear.
It SEEMS then that utilizing a cast iron Warford, with it's taller OD in a speedster would work just as well as an alum. car one, although the cast iron is of course heavier... (80 pounds as shipped) Does this reasoning make sense?
I don't think that difference is all that drastic something like a 2.97:1 vs. 3.08:1 The wieght is a marginal difference (but the second cross member is required), and not that important. Focus on getting a good Cam. When I went to Bruce Crower, I had him build an "OD" cam. It would settle right down on a hill at 1400 rpm and climb all day. Conversely it would also wind out about to about 80 mph on the flats. The main failing (and the only unobtainable part) is the bearing in between the input shaft and the out put shaft. The transmissions that lay out for a long time, moisture accumulates in that bearing (as it is out of the oil) and can rust and become pitted.
fur biscuit... thank you very much for the imput... as always, you are very helpful. I actually got what I believe to be the original cross member with the transmission, it looks just like the u-shaped C channel that is shown in some of the advertisements... great shape too... I will have to make a note of, and check this bearing as well... Everything inside the tranny is coated in nice, old oil... it is not dry inside, which hopefully is a plgood thing for this bearing!
Pretty much allready been covered, check with Langs, or Snyders and you can get a reprint of the paperwork. If you go to the North West Vintage Speedsters page under "technical" and "auxillary transmission" you will find an article that covers most of the transmissions available. When Lane's started producing the reproductions they would actually take an original case and fit it wth new bearings, gears and sincros, but they found out it wasn't worth the time so they only put them in their own new cases. Good luck, Kevin
Ten maybe Lanes can furnish that one bearing that supposedly is not being reproduced??? If they have everything else, then they must have that bearing i would think.
Retro 54, Your Warford, called "the Super Warford Six Speed Transmission" was the re-design of the earlier Warford, a six speed also, and came out sometime in 1925 with this model now having the provision PTO. It as marketed strictly for trucks at the time, but of course can be used in a car. Sometime in 1926, as far as anyone can tell, the Aluminum case gave way to the cast iron case for this model. All units, even the smaller 4 speed Warfords for cars, called the "Tee", had cross member supports, called three-point suspension by the marketing wizz guys at Warford. Here are the gear ratios you can expect and just for laughs the ratios of the smaller Warford too. I have one of these smaller aluminum case Warfords...and badly need the bearing that does not exist any longer.
flyin-T.. thank you very much, this is great info! am i reading that on the warford 6-speed chart, if my 6 speed truck was utilized with a car rear axle of the stated ratio, then those are the final drive ratios I could expect? or am I only looking at the truck ratio's.. Anotherwords, if I understand you correctly. the only difference between the Warford Six and the Warford SUPER Six is the provision for the power take-off... ??
they orginally started out by over hauling your existing warford case by installing new guts. But changed that to delivering the whole unit. I asked about getting some of those bearings from overhauled units... most likely your rearend (if stock T, as opposed to a wormdrive TT truck rear) will have a 3.63:1 RP (11 tooth pinion), it could have a 4:1 (10 tooth pinion). Then the above chart will work just fine.
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