Question about rear gear set-banjo

Hi. I am changing the rear gear set on my 46 ford coupe. I want to be able to cruise at 65mph without feeling that i am pressuring the engine. But I also want it to be usable in low cruisingspeed in the city... and to pull my 1000pound vintage speed boat.

So here`s the question..... should i choose the 3.54:1 or 3.25:1 ?

And is the gear set from speedwaymotors any good? Other shops that sell this?

PS. 100hp flathead, original 3speed trans 15" (6.70) tires.

What do you guys with 30/40`s fords use, and what do you think?

Thanks guys!

 

I would go 3:54. I'm using an open drive rear and I'm stuck with4:11.

 

I used a 3.25-1 in my 40 Standard Coupe with 350SBC and original sideshift trans and rearend. It made a great difference in cruising speed and virtually no difference in low speed but I don't dog my old cars either.

 

You mght search for my problems with Speedway Motors' gears last winter........I ordered the 3:54 GETZ gears......which are very high quality gears but they are Motive Gears from Italy.....they are not real GETZ gears........and the ratio is actually 3.55 as they give you a 9 tooth pinion and a 32 tooth ring gear.......do the math.....

After buying the gears for $299 *unloaded* I had to buy all of the bearings and races new, pluis get $165 worth of machining done to make the teeth of the pinion fit through the hole in my banjo........and the pinion shaft had to be turned down .002 and .003 to conform to the new bearings.......

Now that they are installed after MUCH aggaravation I am heppy with their performance........BUT, I should not have had to go through the mile of shit that I did to get them to work!!

I'm twisting 3000 rpms at 70 mph......still a little too high for me to go over high speed highways.......

Hope my experience gives you some guidance........

Brucie

 

Sorry to hyjack this thread - but who sells 3.25:1 rear gears??? I've checked out Speedway's catalog, Hot Rod Works, Vintage Ford, Sacremento, C.W. Moss, Bob Drake, Joblot .... and anyone else I could find, but all to no avail.

They were discontinued for a while there, so I can only asume it is still the case.

 

3.54 banjo gears were produced for higher speed but are not so good for a stock flathead pulling all that weight. 3.78 gears in most passenger cars will still take you to 65 mph. 4.11 gears were common in pickups obviously to pull more weight.

 

Seems like a good application for a 2 $peed rear. 100hp and 1000 pound trailer is going to demand fairly low gears, I think.

C

 

Stovebolt.......

Speedway *does* sell 3.27 gears.....look up GETZ Gears....once again, they are actually *Motive Gear* brand from Italy......CNC machines and very high quality.......BUT......read the caveats in my previous posts.....

Brucie

 

Thanks Brucie - will do.

 

Thanks guys, very good response to my question......Very useful information.

Any one else that have experinence theywant to share?

Kenny.