Hi Guy's,

Here's a shot of my '41. It has a V8 and a four speed. No idea which axle ratio it has. It started out life as a fire truck with an American LaFrance back end and the previous owner made it into a flatbed. The previous owner also installed a Spicer aux. transmission because it was slower than dirt. Well, it's still slower than dirt. I think it needs a different unit for better speed. It has 2:1, 1:1 and .85:1 ratio's and the .85:1 did'nt give it much.

Anyway, it looks great in the photo but it's no trophy winner. It did sit outside for a while. The previous owner did paint it after removing all the fire related stuff. Dings, dent's, scratches and light mounting holes that did'nt get a body-shop repair job all take away from it, but I'm okay with it. Nothing I own is perfect, and everything I own is what they call a "driver". And they all have to earn their keep, so they are put to work sometimes. It does great in parades with the low gearing! I just have to keep swerving back and forth to block the school marching band from passing me...

Steve

 

This is a really nice truck. Fire trucks always get the best of care! Welcome to FTE.

 

Good looking truck Steve! Always liked that body style with the headlight buckets.

 

Thanks guy's.


I always like the outboard lights too- Ford cars also. 1936 was the last year the cars had them outside. I guess that's why everyone guesses the year of this truck as a thirties model! Many are surprised when I say '41. The front fenders have the same lines as the '36's.

 

Awesome find! No apologies about the condition needed. A bunch of us here feel the 40 and 41 big truck is the most handsome sheet metal of the era. I wouldn't do a thing to it, and don't worry about how slow it is. When you are my age you will be mighty glad of it! Keep up with any more pictures. We love them. Pretty much the kind of thing that makes our night......

 

steve welcome to the forum, nice looking truck there, i really like the wood bed.

 

Nice looking truck.
Given that it started as a fire truck hauling a heavy load of water it probably had the slowest rear axle ratio available. Ford used the same basic axle up through 52 on the F-4, F-5, and I think F-6 trucks. The highest speed ratio was 5.14, and can usually be found in the F-4 trucks. With a 5.14 rear axle and the 15% overdrive you should be able to cruise at around 60 m.p.h., at least until you come to a hill.

Also, is your engine really revved up, or does it just sound like it?

 

No its not revved up, but that's because I'm not on the gas hard. I've never "put my foot into it" only because I have nothing to go by. Meaning I've never driven a flathead eight, I don't know what cruising or redline R.P.M. should be and I have no tachometer to tell me what its actually turning. There is a very small placard on the bottom of the dash saying to "operate pump at 2700rpm". I don't how that relates to engine speed going down the road. I would imagine that the 2700 is "up there" for it, but was needed for fire fighting.


For curiosity, I'm going to try turning a back wheel and counting the driveshaft revolutions and see if I can get an approximate ratio.


What RPM is everyone turning on the highway with their 1.5 ton? And where do I find a tachometer for this truck?

 

We don't have hiways here but at 45 mine sounds maxed out. And that's 5 mph over the speed limit here. I have read you can't over rev a fh v8. The valves float like a governor, but like most, who wants to try. I think theres a phone ap for a tachometer??: I just don't know how to use an ap.

 

So I haven't driven mine yet but in my manual it said it was near 6 something for the gear ratio. It makes sense due to the weight rating so I am guess 40-45 is top speed with those low gears.

 

'40/'41 big trucks are the best IMHO. I had 3 1940 1 1/2 tons, one of which was a driver with a Watson 3 speed auxiliary trans (under, direct, & over) but it beat my to death (didn't have a bed on it) and it was just too long to drive around town so I unloaded everything for the '39 P/U in my avatar. BUT I'm still on the lookout for another '40/'41. You've got a great looking truck.

 

I would say 45mph is what this truck likes to do. I just thought it would do a little better with the aux. trans. in there. With that said, I'm not disappointed with its speed- it is what it is. Although I do wish it accelerated from a stop better! First and second gear, even in overdrive, are slow- really slow. I hold everybody up a little while getting back up to speed. At stop lights, I try to stop a ways back from the intersection or car in front of me so that just prior to getting the green, I take off and with good timing I'm in second, almost ready to shift, and by then the light turns and we are all accelerating evenly- sort of.


Sometimes this thing can be a handful in town. Not so much from its length but it's large turning radius. She won't do tight corners!


And yeah, the ride is a little rough. But that was expected, lol.

 

With no load on there you could start out in a higher gear. You don't have to start at the bottom.

 

Yeah, 1st is hardy ever needed except for heavy loads and parking.

 

Looking in the Green Book I see gear ratio options for your truck listed as 5.14, 5.83, and 6.67. Doing a bit of math your speed with 34 inch diameter wheels at 2700 rpm with the different gears is:

gear _______ speed in direct drive ____ speed in 15% overdrive
5.14 __________ 53 m.p.h. _______________ 62 m.p.h.
5.83 __________ 47 m.p.h. _______________ 55 m.p.h.
6.67 __________ 41 m.p.h. _______________ 48 m.p.h.


You can see what a difference a rear axle gear swap can make. As everyone has mentioned first gear in the main box is typically used only when starting up a steep hill or when heavily loaded. If you have the 6.67 axle you can simply leave the auxiliary in overdrive and shift the main box 2-3-4.