High speed gears for 1937, etc

[scott12180]

Hi all ---

Some time ago (3-1/2 years or more) there was discussion about a vendor who would make high speed ring and pinion gears for late 1930's Buicks. Other guys were talking about overdrive units.

Anything become of these project ideas?

Is there now a current source for high speed gears (like 3.6:1) or has someone had an overdrive developed for the torque tube?

Thanks --- Scott

[Guest ZondaC12]

Hey I see you're still toying with this idea

No developments I'm aware of...and the biggest issue being supply and demand for sure..last I remember a steep price of rougly $2k from that one machinist who was willing to do that deal to custom make 3.6:1 ring and pinion sets if several people wanted to give him business. That or finding a 3.6:1 R&P intended/from a '38 Special with the Self Shifter trans. Good luck on that one.

This prompted me to do some digging for that index again, and I think Im gonna spend the final half hour of this boring rainy Friday night downloading as many of these as possible, who knows maybe the site will be gone someday. 1937 and 1938 Buicks www.1937and1938Buicks.com

Here is the index of torque tube articles. The previous link has MOST of them scanned and uploaded. There are a few that he does not have and they are listed as "Need _ " whatever number issue it was. This is a problem here....

http://1937and1938buicks.com/The-Torque-Tube/Torque%20Tube%20Technical%20Index%20By%20Frank%20Freda.pdf

There are several articles about better rear end ratios. One of which involves a 1955 entire rear axle and torque tube....which is shorter than a 1937/1938. The guy did extensive work to extend the tube and driveshaft...definitely not a simple part swap deal.

There is one article that I cant find again now and adobe reader keeps crashing so Im done trying. But it mentions how someone fit a 1950's 3.4 R&P in his 38 pumpkin with "some machining". It says this is detailed in the May/June 1993 issue. Yep, you guessed it, not available on that site.

Its interesting, there are a couple others such as "4.4 to 3.56 testimonial" and another swap related one, all also unavailable on that site. No matter what there's definitely custom work involved.

Me? I just keep off the highway with my '38 for the most part, but if I really needed that drivability I'd just look for a '38 century. Then throw some 7.00x16s on as opposed to 6.50x16 (stock). Not a huge visible difference but that would drop the rev's a little further even. The graph in my shop manual puts the century at just a hair under 2800 rpm at 60 MPH. I don't know if you've ridden in/driven any straight-8 Buicks, but 2800 in my car and Im not much over 50. Thats the speed I like, it's not just lumbering along but it sounds comfortable, not like it's begging for mercy.

Unless someone comes and corrects me, the gist of it is there's no simple way. We missed it by just a couple years!! 1940-1955 rear ends swap perfectly.

For what it's worth this 90k mile motor made it to rhinebeck and back two years in a row at 60 mph (3100-3200ish) the whooooole way to keep up with the rest of the chapter, all in 60-something wildcat-gs-whatever hot-stuff-mobiles!! (no offense guys just poking fun!) Pulled all the caps, crank still looked great, rods too. I think they're pretty tough. I think if I put a quieter exhaust on (surprised at that coming from a 21 year old owner?) and adjusted the valves with such meticulousness to quiet them as much as possible, it would really sound nice and not "busy" even at north of 3 grand.

Just my own opinions. Best of luck!

[buick840]

So with all that said I'll ask a question that's probably been addressed before...............

Can a 40 Buick Special rear end be fitted to a 38 Special?

What major differences would prevent that being a bolt in changeover?

If it were able to be done without much alteration then the 55 pumpkin could be used..........but I'm guessing that would be toooooooo easy.

As alawys...........someone on this forum will have the answer and set me straight:)

[Guest ZondaC12]

Yeah, in 1940 the dimensions changed. http://1937and1938buicks.com/The-Torque-Tube/Volume%20IV%20Issue%202%20(October%201985).pdf This article, granted its from the mid '80s whereas the others are from ten years later so the knowledge may not have been there, but the drawing lists "1940-52" torque tube etc. It might be that ring and pinions through '55 fit in a '40-'52 third member...but yea, "so close yet so far away"!!

It also goes through that process of modifying your driveline, so someone had figured it out back then anyway too.

[Thriller]

I think if I put a quieter exhaust on (surprised at that coming from a 21 year old owner?) and adjusted the valves with such meticulousness to quiet them as much as possible, it would really sound nice and not "busy" even at north of 3 grand.

Not so much surprised, especially since you are the one who brought the term "fart cannon" to this forum.

The more I see and hear those, the more annoyed I become...that's when it is nice to have a big V8 with gobs of torque on tap to show them that you can be pretty quick in over two tons and be nice and quiet about it, albeit perhaps with some rumble.

[Guest ZondaC12]

Thankfully the original craze "inspired" by the movie has subsided I would say. At least where I live, I wouldn't say EVERY clapped-out rotted stock civic has a hideous park bench attached to the trunk, decals for thousands of parts not actually on the car, and the obligatory section of water main blasting out anything BUT the sound of raw power hanging beneath the back bumper.

Funny you mention that about me and that little piece of terminology. Maybe I'm am ambassador between this crowd and "those damn kids!!!!!!!"

I have a flowmaster that I had spare from a setup my cougar had, and that's what I have on the Buick, and it's dumped off before the axle (just like the cougar's dual setup is....hmmmm kind of a pattern here...??? :cool:) but I like the sound that has. Of course at 50 mph there is a large drone, they dont call em Dronemasters for nuttin! At 60 it suddenly goes away and is a lot more civil. The absolutely massive stock muffler these had I'm sure is whisper quiet.

[1939_Buick]

So with all that said I'll ask a question that's probably been addressed before...............

Can a 40 Buick Special rear end be fitted to a 38 Special?

What major differences would prevent that being a bolt in changeover?

If it were able to be done without much alteration then the 55 pumpkin could be used..........but I'm guessing that would be toooooooo easy.

Yes, But cutting, machining & welded needed, In http://1937and1938buicks.com/ there are several articles & an index to the artiacles on how it can be done. Is far from a bolt in conversion