Different gearbox in a '35

Unknown

Having a lot of trouble with the box in our '35 Tplane, it's been in and out so many times lately and still hopping out of gear, difficult to engage etc. It's hard here in England getting the right person to do the job as nobody over here really knows much about them.We just seem to be spending money and getting nowhere. So we've decided enough is enough and what we would like to do is fit a more modern all syncro gearbox (manual shift) or second choice an automatic and want to know whats been tried and works as a swap, is it even possible?. We want to retain the original engine and rear end. Any advice greatly appreciated.

Ruth&Jerry (UK)

Geoff

Sorry to hear that your are having problems, as these are a beautiful box to drive with when they are done up properly. I have done up many of these over the years, and can guarantee they won't jump out of gear when done properly. Pity we are half a world away, or I would say send it over to me and I'll definitely fix it, but unless you can find a spare space in a container, the freight to New Zealand would put it out of the question. I did at one stage modify a '42 Dodge 3-speed truck gearbox to fit into a '36 Hudson 8, as the original box had popped the circlip and written off most of the gears. This entailed machining up a 1/2" thick adapter plate to bolt to the bell housing, with the locating recess for the front bearing machined into it. Removed the pilot bearing and used a bronze bush for the spigot, and transplanted the Dodge spline into the clutch centre. Luckily the over-all length was about the same, and the U-joint fitting was identical. Later on I actually re-built the original H8 gearbox as well, when I came across a source of new gears, but that was around 40 years ago. Good luck,

Geoff.

Jon B

As I recall, Carl Weber (of Massachusetts) has a "modern" 2-lever Borg-Warner transmission in his '35 Hudson convertible (mated to a 1952 Hudson Eight engine). That would be fully sychronized. A Studebaker truck floor shifter bolts to the top of the tranny, and...as they say in New Zealand...Bob's your Uncle!



I am trying to contact the fellow who actually did the conversion, before Carl got the car, and he can confirm or deny this.



Not that it's gonna be any easier to get hold of a double-lever Hudson tranny and a Studebaker floor shift lever, in England...! LOL!



--Jon

Unknown

Just Built A 3 Speed Double Lever 52 To 54 Trans, An Early Jeep Lid And Shifter Fits, After Removal Of Side Shifter Arms. This Is Going Behind A Hornet And In The 37 Boattail Speedster. Bill Albright

Geoff

Also there is a guy here in N.Z. who has converted a Railton 8 by fitting a Cortina gearbox. I think he changed the whole flywheel and clutch over, on the advice of some "expert" who said a. - Hudson gearboxes were no good and always crunched when you changed gear. b. - Hudson clutches were no good because they always either slipped or grabbed., and c. - it would be cheaper to convert than to try and rebuild. Guess who gave him the advice - the guy who did the conversion, at huge expense.

Geoff.

terraplane8

I would definitely recommend sending it to Geoff by sea, these days is quite quick and shouldn't be too expensive for a 35lb package. The NZ labour rate would have to be somewhat less than the UK labour rate as well once you convert to pounds - that would offset the shipping cost.



Geoff has now done up two of my gearboxes and I am glad that he was able to do so, I would have been a bit stuck otherwise. The second one was a bit munched up inside but Geoff located all the required parts OK.



It would be a real shame to change it for a non-original part as they are nice to use when in good shape. The ratios also are perfect which you may not get with another make of gearbox. They are also very light. They change better shifted quickly and don't seem to mind an instant downshift to second. In reality you don't change gear that much anyway especially with an 8. My T8 just stays in top unless starting out in second so the gearbox hardly gets used.

barrysweet52

I am surprised that you are having trouble. There are several books available showing how to dismantle and repair the boxes. They also give the required clearances. Im sure there are a lot of clever English transmission people who could overhaul your box. The bearings & seals are still available. You may have to repour the white metal bearing in the second gear and make a new end thrust bearing. I had mine made out of black nylon. Check the condition of the teeth on the second gear. Contact some of the English car clubs to try and find a good experienced person. I hope you can keep the original box and good luck.

Jon B

Ruth & Jerry, do the mechanics fully understand the function of the shift rail lock? It's adjustable and may be adjusted incorrectly; or, parts may be missing. This is the device -- consisting of a vertical bar and a ball detent on each side of the transmission -- that only allows one to move the shift lever when the clutch pedal is fully depressed. If badly adjusted it could make it difficult to move the shift lever, or -- on the opposite hand -- it could allow the gears to go our of mesh.



(Or so I understand its purpose!)



Operation and adjustment is covered in the transmission section of the '34 to '39 service manual.

nick s

you may have already tried, but perhaps a Railton club member could point you to an experienced local mechanic (possibly one of their members). would they not be running the same transmission in most of their cars?

terraplane8

Jon B wrote:

Ruth & Jerry, do the mechanics fully understand the function of the shift rail lock? It's adjustable and may be adjusted incorrectly; or, parts may be missing. This is the device -- consisting of a vertical bar and a ball detent on each side of the transmission -- that only allows one to move the shift lever when the clutch pedal is fully depressed. If badly adjusted it could make it difficult to move the shift lever, or -- on the opposite hand -- it could allow the gears to go our of mesh.



(Or so I understand its purpose!)



Operation and adjustment is covered in the transmission section of the '34 to '39 service manual.

Given that there seems to have been more than a little trouble with the gearbox I think it would be wise to get it looked over very thoroughly by an expert. There may be all sorts of horrors lurking inside the gearbox that will cause future trouble as there were in both of mine that Geoff repaired. Both of mine had been butchered and needed a list of new/good second hand parts, luckily very reasonably priced.

Jon B

I recant my earlier suggestion that you fit a 1950's 2-lever Hudson transmission to your '35 Terraplane engine.



I communicated with the fellow who originally dropped the StepDown Eight and 2-lever tranny into Carl Weber's '35 convertible. Turns out that you can mate the 2-lever tranny to the StepDown Eight and of course to the StepDown Six. But not to the splasher six!

PAULARGETYPE

Al Saffrahn From Az Is The Go To Overdrive Guy For The Club I Know He Does Rebuilds I Would Contact Him