I am building a parts pile for my coupe and was thinking about a quick change. I do not plan on racing & Lets not talk about price or availability..... just what would you prefer and why. A 170 horse flathead with..... 1. 39' tranny with the 26 tooth Zephyr gears (2.33 1st and 1.57 2nd) and a banjo, if this is your choice- then what rear ratio? 2. 39' tranny with the 28 tooth passenger gears (2.82 1st & 1.60 2nd) and a quick change. 3. 39' tranny with the 29 tooth truck gears (3.11 1st & 1.77 2nd) and a quick change.
As I remember the 26 tooth Zepher gears were used so that you didn't have to shift into 3rd gear in a quarter mile drag. Shifts being kind of slow then, not doing it made for a quicker time. Maybe lower trap speed but there first. I don't know what any of those transmissions have to do with running a QC or not.
I think the quickchange makes the tranny gears a moot point, just put the gear in the rear end that achieves your goal. Zephyr gears are overrated and expensive, unless you have a heavy Lincoln..
1. 39' tranny with the 26 tooth Zephyr gears (2.33 1st and 1.57 2nd) and a banjo, if this is your choice- then what rear ratio? The '39 tranny with 26 tooth gearset is going to be the most fun to drive until you get on the freeway. If you've ever driven a car with an m21 Muncie (close ratio gearset) and then driven the same car with an m20 (wide ratio gearset) you'll know what I mean. Driving a car with a close ratio gearset is much more fun to drive. The 3.78 final drive ratio in the banjo will make for high rpm's at freeway speeds and it will be hard to keep up with traffic. 2. 39' tranny with the 28 tooth passenger gears (2.82 1st & 1.60 2nd) and a quick change. This would be second choice for a tranny. It's not so fun to drive as the 26 tooth gearset but, if I couple it with a 3.00 or 3.25 final drive ratio in the quickchange, I may be able to keep up with traffic on the freeway, carry on a conversation with the person riding beside me, and still be able to pull out from a stop sign. 3. 39' tranny with the 29 tooth truck gears (3.11 1st & 1.77 2nd) and a quick change. I would not choose this gearset unless I preferred driving old trucks. The spread between the gears is so wide that the engine rpm drops below the powerband when you shift and you have to wind the h*ll out it between gears. You can run a higher final drive ratio in the quickchange with this tranny and still be able to pull out from a stop. I like choice D. Overdrive or choice E. T-5 A t5 hybrid is the best of both worlds. You can have a 2.95 close ratio gearset with your 4.11 rear end. Get off the line quick, buzz around town, then shift into a .73 5th gear and cruise the freeway with a 3.00 final drive...
The question that I always want to ask is 'How many people running quickchanges on the street actually ever change the spur gears?'
With either setup...most of your performance, cruising comfort, acceleration, whatever will be based on the ratio you choose for the rear end. That is the key decision, and even the QC doesn't change that much, because you can't change the gears while driving...you could only swap the setup for a long trip or something. Without a LOW rear gear, which in turn really needs overdrive to be happy, the Zephyrs will hurt performance more than help. Rear ratio can be a compromise gear like 3.54--3,78 area, OR an expensive setup for good high and low speed use by going LOW on the rear then giving it an overdrive.
The question that I always want to ask is 'How many people running quickchanges on the street actually ever change the spur gears?' (Weasel) To answer that question, I have 5 sets of QC change gears and find myself changing them fairly often. Seems like every time I make a tune up change or do something with rear tires I am changing them. I presently have 33 inch tall Firestone dirt track tires but I just bought some 32 inch tires and I will probably be changing the QC gear when I get them on my roadster. The QC is very handy. Rex __________________
I rarely change my gears. I run 3.89s everyday back and forth to work and most trips. But, for the 3k mile round trip to the HAMB Drags, I swap in the 2.91s. HUGE diffrence. So, I only change my gears once or twice a year, but I am damn glad I can. I love my quickie and can't imagine my little car without it. Good luck, -Abone.
I don't know much about much as far as this subject goes however wanted to chime in and say I agree with chopt top kid in that "3. 39' tranny with the 29 tooth truck gears (3.11 1st & 1.77 2nd) and a quick change. I would not choose this gearset unless I preferred driving old trucks. The spread between the gears is so wide that the engine rpm drops below the powerband when you shift and you have to wind the h*ll out it between gears. You can run a higher final drive ratio in the quickchange with this tranny and still be able to pull out from a stop." the above is completely on the money. I have that setup in my model A behind a 283 and it's like an old truck. I suppose the bonus is I can't shift quick enough to ever blow the damn trans apart....
A guy on here made a columbia quickchange..... Now my 2c is that the main problem with the truck gears is the wide ratio having a in the dirt first, but with a quickchange you can gear it so first is still the same place and that means that 3rd is faster than before, if you have enough power to get through the long split it might be a good choice too. Overall i'd say go a QC and run whatever gears are currently in your box, you can change them out later
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