I am looking for some internal parts for the Ford 3 speed transmission in my fathers hot rod. I believe it is from a 1935-1936 Ford. Do any of you know of a vendor who handles new/used parts for this transmission? Thank You, Harold
I know Early Ford V-8 and Macs Auto Parts does, I'm not sure of qaulity though, there are nos pieces that show up on ebay once in a while but if you only need syncros and bearings, Spadaro is a Hamber who may carry this stuff, Dick Spadaro's.
You'll need first to figgerout what generation of Ford gears live in your trans. '35 and '36 are different, and of course over the years many transmissions picked up later gears not matching insides. Serial number on case will give a clue on how it left Detroit, but you'll still need to see what's in there. The various types of '32-5 gears and '36-39 gears are somewhat cheaper than '39-48 gears. Many bearings and minor bits interchange throughout. Generally, IMHO, gears are expensive and if more than freshening bearings and seals is needed you are quite likely better off finding a better trans and either using it or swapping innards into your case. If trans is early, there are some cheap upgrades, like better front seal, as you rebuild. I posted basic ID info in here so you can figgerout what basic type of gearset you have: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=91515&showall=1
Bruce, I will have to quiz my father on the origins of the trans. He put it in the car back in the mid 50's. He says it has the Lincoln Zephyr gears. The trans only has about 3,000 miles on it since he built it. It has been very hard shifting into gear, and won't stay in gear. Drained the lube out of it, and a piece of what looks like a thrust washer or spacer came out. Not a good sign, hope nothing is damaged. We are going to tear it apart this week.
LZ gears usually means late LZ gears, 25 or 26 tooth, counting method described in post...look for free brass rings on both sides of synchro for late gears, most but not all LZ's have semi-circular bites out of back of input gear to aid assembly. Earlier LZ gears are standard Ford 28's. With late LZ gears, your trans would use parts from '39-48 type Ford gearset variations. You can figgerout what you have inside entirely from top of assembled trans using that post. By the way, 25 and 26 gearsets are expensive goodies nowadays.
Shameless plug for Mac VanPelt's book: http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/flathead_trans-book.htm Mac can help you out with most anything you need, and he has alot of good info on his website.
The Jalopy Journal
