Ok I tried a search, but sometimes you gotta put in the right words to get the right answers. What I want to know, is what makes the 39 Ford trans so coveted and also, was it really only in the 1939 model year? Direct me to more information if you know the right search. Thanks
Thanks for the link, I am new to these older transmisions having worked with the four speed top loaders for a long time. Good info
Thanks Hitchhiker. After reading that article, It would appear that I may be able to swap the later gear set into a 37 case. Is that correct? If so, that would make the 37 case as valued as the 39's?
Yes, the '39 and later gearsets all fit in the series 78 gearcase. Henry started to use the 78 series case in 1937 and used it all the way up through the F1 pickup. The pass. cars switched to the sideshift case in '40. There are two gearsets available, the car gearset and the truck gearset (extra low first gear). The '39 tranny was the only year that Ford offered the improved gearset with the passenger car ratio's and the top shifter, that's why everyone wants one...
In 39 they went to a 3" fork thats the difference. They can be found in trucks with floor shifts to about 52. gears from 39 48 cars and to 53 trucks can be used in early cases.
The 39 box became the most sought after back when you could go to a junk yard and pick one up for 25 bucks. Last year for the floor shift and first year for the better syncronizers. You could pull it out and bolt it right in. Just R&R. My cousin used one in his 46 coupe behind a nailhead. He told me in the 60s that there were no more 39 boxes left in the junk yards of SE Pa. So now we assemble our own. Today the year of the box is not such a big deal but you will need the right shifter fork. As others have said if you blow a gear today, other year gear set can be swapped in but back then you just scrapped the box and got another one so you looked for a 39 box.
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