Axle Change for Higher Speed

Unknown

Does anyone know which late model Brand X rear end will fit with not too extreme modifications in a 1940 Hudson to gain a reasonable ratio? I have heard that years ago an article appeared in the White Triange News on that subject, titled something like "Freeway speeds for Terraplanes".
Any assistance, or a copy of the article, would be greatly appreciated. My car has the worst ratio avialable - 4:9 to one, so first gear is used up at about 2 miles per hour, and anything over about 33mph is simply too much for the poor old splasher. Thanks

Unknown

"Making the Terraplane A Highway Cruiser", by Bob Elton, appeared in the September-October, 1996 issue of the White Triangle News. You might try the Club Librarian (assuming you're an H-E-T member) for a Xerox of the article. In a nutshell, Elton was looking for a Brand X axle which had the same track as his 1937 Terraplane's rear axle. He found that 1963-64 Dodges and Plymouths had the correct width axles. Mid-sized Mopars from '64 to '70 had axles only an inch wider, so that was okay too. Elton found a Dodge axle, and since Chrysler Corp. rear axle center sections were interchangeable he was able to transplant Chrysler differential gears of approx. 3.3 to 1, a ratio he deemed appropriate for the Terraplane engine and transmission. There was much more involved to the changeover, but this is the core of it.

I have also heard that 'Mustang 9' rearends' will fit quite nicely, but I don't know what year. I've been told the 60's through the 80's. The track is somewhat wider than that of the Hudson, but not much. Again, you'd be looking for a ratio of 3-5/9 or better.

Another 'fix' for the poor rearend ratio of late 30's Hudsons, is to transplant an overdrive transmission from later Hudsons. This will work, and give you much more choice in gears. Most overdrives used column shift, but that will be no problem for a 1940. However, you will find the X-member of the frame makes for a tight fit of the overdrive, and you will have to remove the external electric governor. Folks who do this, simply place a switch on the dash and manually 'enable' the overdrive unit at speeds over 25 mph.

Pat McDonald of England is re-making 3-5/9-1 rearend gearsets for Hudsons that bolt right in, but only for 1934-38 Hudsons. The price is about $600 (depending upon the exchange rate).

I hope this helps.

Unknown

Re the '34-'38 gearsets, these will fit right in to any model up to '47. You may have to redrill the carrier, but that's nobig deal, depending on how many bolt holes the new gears have. This would be the easiest method of gearing up, but performance would drop of course, and economy will not be any better, because it's like pedalling a bicycle in high gear, you have to push harder, even though your legs aren't going up and down as fast.
Geoff.

PAULARGETYPE

Hi there are some guys in England that had 3:54 gear sets made a few years ago that will bolt right in your rear end the man who comes to mind is Pat McDonald he's in the HET CLUB'S roster

Unknown

To begin with, you could change out the present differential assembly for one having the standard 4.11:1 ratio, which would be an improvement over what you've got, and is about perfect for use with overdrive. Then add a '41-'47 overdrive unit and you have a 2.96:1 final ratio in OD, which is great.