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Overdrive vs. Columbia


Guest James Cook

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Guest James Cook

I now have my 41 Zephyr up and running thanks to help from this forum. The car runs good but at 50 MPH, the engine revs very high. I would like to get it to be a better cruiser. What is the best approach, OD transmission, Columbia 2 speed or a higher ratio rear end. Also, are these rear axles like the V-8 Fords i.e.. is the ratio stamped on the axle somewhere. The one in the car feels like a 4:11.

Thanks

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Congratulations on a running Lincoln. My observation is that the OD is more reliable and easier to use. However, if you want to keep things strictly stock, try to find a Columbia. They seem to be scarce. If you can't find either, a Luv truck T-5 can be used with a Ford adapter and conversion to open drive shaft.

Abe

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  • 2 months later...

The 1941 Lincoln Borg-Warner transmission overdrive is different from later models, AND you will need the entire transmission with a shorter driveshaft and torque tube.

PLUS, you will lose originality since the VIN is stamped on the transmission bell housing and on the chassis in 2 places - NOT on the engine block!

Columbia axles show up on ebay from time to time, but the '41 Lincoln has a wider tread width than earlier Lincolns so you will need the right side axle housing for a '41 Lincoln ONLY. I found a 1940 Lincoln Columbia axle in Bristol, VA which was completely rusted solid. I used about 1/2 gallon of KROIL to loosen it up and sent it to the Columbia expert of the Early Ford V8 Club in California, who bullet-proofed it for me. He also had the correct 1941 rear axle housing.

Do a google search for "Columbia 2 speed axle". There's a lot of information out there.

Check out: "Columbia Two Speed Parts, Inc" Temecula, CA. 951-719-4077 columbiatwospeed@earthlink.net WEBSITE: www.columbiatwospeedparts.com

(By the way, the axle ratio is 4.44:1, so these cars really DO need an overdrive!)

Good luck with it!

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Edited by Phil Knapp (see edit history)
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When Jim Durall bullet proofed my Columbia he checked and said it was 4.33:1 in standard and 3.11:1 in overdrive. He could have miss it a touch or because it a Ford Columbia, that might be the difference. Either way, I agree with Phil Knapp.

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It's not the width of the tire, it's the circumference that makes the difference.

My '41 Continental had 15 inch wheels with small radial tires when I got it. That poor old V-12 engine was spinning it's heart out at 50 MPH.

Fortunately, it came with the original 16 inch wheels and I put a set of 7:00x16 tires on it.

That helped quite a bit, but I still needed the Columbia to keep up with some of the slower Texas traffic!

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Ford Columbia axles were usually 4.11:1. Lincolns were 4.44:1, probably because of the Lincoln standard tire size of 7:00x16 opposed to Ford's 6:00x16.

Maybe the lower ratio was put in Lincolns to give them similar acceleration since they would have been heavier than Fords?

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