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1961 - 1966 F-100 & Larger F-Series Trucks Discuss the Slick Sixties Ford Truck

Gear Ratio?

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Old Apr 1, 2001 | 11:28 AM
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Gear Ratio?

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 01-Apr-01 AT 12:33 PM (EST)[/font][p]My '61 has a 223ci 4spd and a 9inch rear,gear ratio unknown. The truck tops out at about 60mph. I'm looking at replacing the gears, but I don't know what to replace them with.I would like to be able to do atleast 70mph. I would like to know what your opinions on what gears to go with. The truck is never going to be used for hauling anything but a cooler and a few lawn chairs. It's working days are over. Thank for the help.

Sixte1f100


 
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Old Apr 1, 2001 | 12:03 PM
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Gear Ratio?

Sounds like you may have a 4:10, try a 3.50 or 3.25 if you really want the mpg. You will loose some punch but....

John
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Old Apr 1, 2001 | 07:42 PM
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Gear Ratio?

I have a '62 which had a 3.70 in it. I changed to a 3.0 which helped the gas mileage, but did little for the top end. Just not enough power to push it through these 30 mph Kansas headwinds. Recommend staying with 3.25 or 3.5.


 
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Old Apr 30, 2001 | 09:28 AM
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Gear Ratio?

let me know how it goes. I have the same problem. I have the 4:10 ratio also, and while I can run it at 70+, I don't since the motor is really turning.
I have a 64-262-6 cylinder, just rebuilt and runs great, but with that rear end I get 8-9 mpg.
The problem I have run into is that I don't have the usual Ford rear end, but the Spicer 62, which was an option on the F-100 and more common on the F-250 at the time.

 
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Old Apr 30, 2001 | 11:25 PM
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Gear Ratio?

OK; let's complain about 4.10's when Andrew is sitting in his 55MPH, 10 gallons per mile, 4.56 '64... :-)
I don't think that I'd want to lose the pulling torque I've got now, just for a more economical freeway speed. That's why I'm trying to install a 3+1 o/d tranny in my truck.

-Andrew
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Nothing, and I mean nothing, stirs the soul, saying I'm a bad **** like lettin'em rip with a window shaking, fuel gulpin, carbon monoxide belchin, attention gettin, V-oh my LORD!-8!
 
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Old Apr 30, 2001 | 11:31 PM
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Gear Ratio?

Supercub, I just finished putting in 3.25's tonight. I drove it around the block a few times. I was very happy with the acceleration, it didn't seem that much different from my old gears. I hope to have insurance and tabs on my truck by the end of the week, then I can let you know how it goes on the freeway.

Sixte1f100

 
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Old May 21, 2001 | 03:39 PM
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Gear Ratio?

What rear end did your truck have? The rub I get into with the shops trying to get the gears is they get into this head scratching mode when they see that Spicer 60 on it. I think this is sometimes referred to as a Dana - for reasons I don't understand. It does has the 4:10 which I would like to get down (or up) to 3.73 or something. The housing is the big integral unit.
thanks, and let me know how you did it.
M

 
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Old May 21, 2001 | 06:07 PM
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Gear Ratio?

I think your problem has more to with the power curve on the 223. I had A 223 with Dana 60 im my 62 F250. Rotten Gas mileage and howled like a banjee over 55 mph. Swapped in a 390 with C6 and can cruise at 70 mph no problem. Still getting the same 8 - 9 mpg though. Just my 2 cents.

Jim
 
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Old May 21, 2001 | 06:48 PM
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Gear Ratio?

Monty, FYI, Spicer gearing and tranny name brand is a sub. of the Dana Corp. :-)

John
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In the cool still quite of night you can hear chevies rusting away.

 
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Old May 22, 2001 | 10:23 PM
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Gear Ratio?

Try looking on the axle for a tag with the ratio stamped on it. It should be under one of the bolts holding the cover or unit in the axle.
One way of determining the axle ratio is to count the number of revolutions of the driveshaft to turn the wheels one complete revolution. Both rear wheels must turn at the same time. to do this, raise the rear tires off the ground, E-brake off, rotate the drive shaft (in a forward direction) a few revs to "lock the wheels" since one may start before the other one but they will both turn after a couple of revs.
 
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Old May 27, 2001 | 05:59 PM
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Gear Ratio?

 
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Old May 30, 2001 | 01:42 PM
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Gear Ratio?

Is this a job that an ordinary guy can do? Not rocket science? did your truck have the integral houseing?? I had the 4:10 ratio, cause I found the tag on the axle housing, also I tried the turning the wheels thing and it checks out at 4:10. Changing the engine is not an option, I just had the 262 rebuilt. It is the original one and runs great. That 8 mpg is pretty bad, would hate to change out the rear end and find no change.
Where did you get the 3:25 gears ??
Monty
 
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Old May 30, 2001 | 10:13 PM
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Gear Ratio?

Supercub, Changing the gears was very easy. I had never worked on a rear end before this and I had no problem doing it. Integral housing? I don't know what that is. As far a gas mileage I really didnt notice a difference. I took it out on the freeway today only did 60mph,what a difference the engine didnt scream like it did with the old gears.I'm very happy with the results.

Sixte1f100

 
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Old May 31, 2001 | 12:08 AM
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Gear Ratio?

Don't forget that a tire size change can make a difference in your final drive ratio. Increasing your tire diameter by as little as 2 inches can reduce your Engine speed by as much as 500 RPM. Providing your engine is still in the power curve, you can reduce vibration and increase your highway speeds.
On the other hand, reducing tire diameter can get you more low end punch off the line.

Krosati
 
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Old May 31, 2001 | 08:55 AM
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Gear Ratio?

Integral housing? Well for one thing, it makes it darn near impossible to get at the gears without dropping the whole rear end out. There isn't a 'plate' to service it. This integral rear end is quite a sight. You rarely see one on a F-100 pickup, I had a 40 year experience Ford shop man here in Austin tell me that he had never seen one on a pickup -in fact he bet me on the phone that I was mistaken. I drove over and he crawled under there and hung out for a few minutes and came out scratching his head. The orginal shop manual shows a photo of it, and mentions it as an option on the pickup, however yOu usually seen them on the F-250 and F-350. On the other hand, it is practically indestructible considering the small work it has to do.
Thanks for the help, I will keep at it, and let everyone know how it goes.
 
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