1946 Ford 2-Speed durability, parts, opinions
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1946 Ford 2-Speed durability, parts, opinions
Hello,
I'm a new member here, and glad to see information available for this era of trucks. I am looking at a 46 Ford 1.5 Ton truck in a Salvage Yard with a partially disassembled flathead engine, trans and a 2-Speed rear end. The guy that has the yard is a friend of my dads, so I am getting him to check on how much he wants for the truck. The truck body is in very good shape, and appears to have been set up as a wrecker at some point in its life, flat side bed with flat fenders over the dually wheels, no winch works left though. I read one post on this sight that stated the 2-Speed rear had 5.83 and 8.11 ratios, not sure if this is correct?
<O:p></O:p>
Purists will probably hate me for this, but I want to modify this truck, channel the body, z the frame, drop front axle, and use the 20" rims on it (20" on front, not sure if it has 20s on the back though), put a modern engine and overdrive trans in it. I am considering using the 2-speed axle (I may be pissing in the wind here) , and if I use 8.25 X 20 tires (36.5" diameter) in the rear, a T5 OD transmission with a .63 overdrive ratio, and the 5.83 rear, I would be turning 2367 engine rpm 70mph. That sounds good for the engine, question is how well is the 2-speed rear end going to handle being over driven at 3757rpm trans output, and if you decide to push the truck to 120 mph (look out) the trans output would be 6440 rpm.
<O:p></O:p>
Do any of you know how durable the 2-Speed rear ends are, and could they handle sustained 3700-4300rpm (70-80mph)? Who made the 2-speed, and are there parts available, and are there any people that work on these units?
<O:p></O:p>
I could just use a 9" truck differential, but the two speed is sort of cool, and it gives you the option of highway or pulling/race gears. Any idea how much the 2-<O:p></O:p>
speed axle weights vs. a 9" Ford axle? I ran the calculations using the Richmond Gear site http://www.richmondgear.com/101032.html . Creative/constructive comments/ideas are welcome.
<O:p></O:p>
Thanks,<O:p></O:p>
Montie<O:p></O:p>
I'm a new member here, and glad to see information available for this era of trucks. I am looking at a 46 Ford 1.5 Ton truck in a Salvage Yard with a partially disassembled flathead engine, trans and a 2-Speed rear end. The guy that has the yard is a friend of my dads, so I am getting him to check on how much he wants for the truck. The truck body is in very good shape, and appears to have been set up as a wrecker at some point in its life, flat side bed with flat fenders over the dually wheels, no winch works left though. I read one post on this sight that stated the 2-Speed rear had 5.83 and 8.11 ratios, not sure if this is correct?
<O:p></O:p>
Purists will probably hate me for this, but I want to modify this truck, channel the body, z the frame, drop front axle, and use the 20" rims on it (20" on front, not sure if it has 20s on the back though), put a modern engine and overdrive trans in it. I am considering using the 2-speed axle (I may be pissing in the wind here) , and if I use 8.25 X 20 tires (36.5" diameter) in the rear, a T5 OD transmission with a .63 overdrive ratio, and the 5.83 rear, I would be turning 2367 engine rpm 70mph. That sounds good for the engine, question is how well is the 2-speed rear end going to handle being over driven at 3757rpm trans output, and if you decide to push the truck to 120 mph (look out) the trans output would be 6440 rpm.
<O:p></O:p>
Do any of you know how durable the 2-Speed rear ends are, and could they handle sustained 3700-4300rpm (70-80mph)? Who made the 2-speed, and are there parts available, and are there any people that work on these units?
<O:p></O:p>
I could just use a 9" truck differential, but the two speed is sort of cool, and it gives you the option of highway or pulling/race gears. Any idea how much the 2-<O:p></O:p>
speed axle weights vs. a 9" Ford axle? I ran the calculations using the Richmond Gear site http://www.richmondgear.com/101032.html . Creative/constructive comments/ideas are welcome.
<O:p></O:p>
Thanks,<O:p></O:p>
Montie<O:p></O:p>
Postmaster
Joined: Aug 2003
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From: Oakdale,Ca.
Those rears are tough, but I'm not sure of the RPM's you're considering...couple things to think of, that's a lot of truck for a t-5 to handle you may want to look into a newer truck manual OD tranny, also, the driveshaft is probably two-pc, so there's extra care needed in balancing them for those rpms.
You'll most likely want to upgrade to a modern wheel as well.
Sounds like a cool project.
You'll most likely want to upgrade to a modern wheel as well.
Sounds like a cool project.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 819
Likes: 2
From: Northern Maine
I have a 46 Ford 1 1/2 ton truck that is completely original. The two-speed is vacuum operated rather than an electric switch. I'm not sure if that would be an issue for you or not. The rear is tough and I would have no problems with giving it a lot of horse power, but I agree that they were not designed for a lot of RPM's.
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46 Ford 2-Speed durability, parts, opionions
Thanks for the replies gents. I plan on putting the truck on a serious diet, but you may be right on the T-5 being stout enough. I was curious if anyone else was using this rear axle with an overdrive trans, and at higher speeds. How heavy is this unit compared to the 9"?
Regards,
Montie
Regards,
Montie
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1946 Ford 2-Speed durability, parts, opinions
Thank you for the replies. Are there any 2-Speed experts out there? Anyone have parts for these units? Any idea what the actual wieght is of the 2-Speed vs. a 9" Ford?
Regards,
Montie
Regards,
Montie
Postmaster
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 2,688
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From: Southern Oregon
Try sending FTE member HT32BSX115 a private message regarding your tranny and rear end. He has a '56 - '64 (in that range) Dump truck that has a two speed rear end. Rick is his name, nice member. Rick has been investigating using a E40D automatic transmission and thinking about a couple different powerplants, including his Y-block.
Last edited by 46yblock; Jul 16, 2007 at 10:10 AM.
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There is another consideration with the T5. There are a few people that have put the S10 tail onto a Mustang world class T5 box. The Mustang box was rated for higher HP. From what I have read though it is a lot of work to do.
I will try to get you the weight of a 9" tonight -- I'll throw all the parts in a box and put it on the scale.
I will try to get you the weight of a 9" tonight -- I'll throw all the parts in a box and put it on the scale.
Last edited by soule46; Jul 16, 2007 at 10:09 AM. Reason: Add some info
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From: Minnesota
I think this is kind of heavy but I got about 210 lbs for the '72 F100 9" 3.0 open gears 31 spline axles "N" case without oil.
Here is how it breaks down:
Housing: 45 lbs
Center section: 78 lbs
Backing plate w/ brakes: 10 lbs each
Drums: 14 lbs each
Axles: 19 lbs each
I guess it could be that much, thinking back to when it was whole and I moved it around.
Here is how it breaks down:
Housing: 45 lbs
Center section: 78 lbs
Backing plate w/ brakes: 10 lbs each
Drums: 14 lbs each
Axles: 19 lbs each
I guess it could be that much, thinking back to when it was whole and I moved it around.
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Hello Gents,
Soule46 thank you for taking the trouble to wiegh your axle, bet that is a lot lighter than the 2-Speed. There is a guy on your tube that built a 41 with 20" rims, a 4 speed hydromatic, 3 speed Brownie Box, and a two speed rear end. Its a little rough but an interesting use of parts. I am contacting him to see if he has had any issues with the 2-speed.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nO07mBHP_9A
Thanks,
Montie
Soule46 thank you for taking the trouble to wiegh your axle, bet that is a lot lighter than the 2-Speed. There is a guy on your tube that built a 41 with 20" rims, a 4 speed hydromatic, 3 speed Brownie Box, and a two speed rear end. Its a little rough but an interesting use of parts. I am contacting him to see if he has had any issues with the 2-speed.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nO07mBHP_9A
Thanks,
Montie
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