1930 Dictator, Commander rear end gear ratios?????????????

[studeboy1930]

I was wondering if anyone would happen to know what rear end gear ratios were used in the '30 Dictators and the '30 Commanders. I thought that maybe since the Commander 8 engine had a longer stroke than the Dictator 8 engine did, the Commander rear ends would be geared higher since the engine would produce power at a lower RPM. I am trying to think of a way to get some more road speed while keeping the car looking original. Any info would be appreciated.

[montrose]

The 8 cylinder Dictators (FC's) generally were geared numerically higher than the 8 cylinder Commanders (FD's). However, the 6 cylinder Commanders (GJ's) and 6 cylinder Dictators (GL's)were often geared numerically lower than their 8 cylinder counterparts. A common FD ratio is 4.73 versus a common GJ ratio of 3.91. What ratio is currently in your FC? A very nice and workable conversion for these cars is the use of a later model T86 overdrive transmission. Not only do you gain the overdrive (approximately 35%), but syncros as well.

Joel

[studeboy1930]

I found some time to do some gear ratio checking, and discovered that the rear currently under my Dictator 8 is a 5.11:1 ratio, no wonder it is so slow. I was able to pick up a rear from a '30 Commander 8 which is a 4.73:1 ratio. Might give me 5 MPH at best, I figure. I do have a T86 o/d trans that I had thought about installing, but was hesitant since it is not a top loader trans and I will have to re-engineer my emergency brake handle since it is mounted to the original trans. If anyone could set me up with some gears in the upper 3's, let me know.