Change Rear End Or Install Overdrive

hdsn49

I am planning on installing an overdrive unit in my '49 Brougham so I can cruise better on the highways. Yesterday I spoke with a gentlemen (all Hudson guys are gentlemens) from New York state. He told me that he just changed the rear end gear ratio on his Hudson and was able to achieve the same.



Is this true? I think that changing the rear end would be a lot easier than installing the overdrive unit.



Hudsonly,

Ed Firestone

Unknown

I have been tossing this around for some time as well. What the rear axle ratio gets you is really waht you want without the overdrive fuss, but if you keep the OD and the lower rear, you always got that incredible low end torque. I got the option of a 3:07 but right now, I think that I'm keeping the 4:10 and going to make the OD work. If I don't like it, I might then look for a 3:82 or a 3:59



Also, if you look at the other rear axle thread, I posted that taking off in first with a 3:07 is more like taking off in second with either a 4:10 or 4:55.



just some stuff to keep in mind.

PAULARGETYPE

Heres What I Did When I Put Baby Back Together I Used A 48 /49 8 Cyl First Gear It's A Lower Gear Than The 6 Cly Gear Then I Put The Standard Trans Back To Gether And Installed The Hydromadic Rear End Out Of A 51 Hornet(pumpkin Type) 3:56 Well I Took One Trip With That In The Car And Felt It Wasn't The Gear I Wanted ( The Car Would Run 60 All Day But It Was Reving Higher Than I Liked) So I Installd A Compleet Rear End Out Of A 53 Hornet Spicer 3:07 And It Works Fine It Pulls Out From A Dead Stop Great And Rolls Down The Road At 65/70 Mph And All With Out Over Drive

[Deleted User]

PAULARGETYPE wrote:

Heres What I Did When I Put Baby Back Together I Used A 48 /49 8 Cyl First Gear It's A Lower Gear Than The 6 Cly Gear Then I Put The Standard Trans Back To Gether And Installed The Hydromadic Rear End Out Of A 51 Hornet(pumpkin Type) 3:56 Well I Took One Trip With That In The Car And Felt It Wasn't The Gear I Wanted ( The Car Would Run 60 All Day But It Was Reving Higher Than I Liked) So I Installd A Compleet Rear End Out Of A 53 Hornet Spicer 3:07 And It Works Fine It Pulls Out From A Dead Stop Great And Rolls Down The Road At 65/70 Mph And All With Out Over Drive

I have one of those lower 1st geared, single lever non-OD transmissions as well, and will soon do the same swap as Paul mentions in my own '49.



So, the jury is still out with me - but I have alot of confidence in Paul's experiance. I'm glad to read of somebody else doing this ahead of me and being pleased with the result. I'd say the larger 10" clutch is a must when going that high in the rear end ratio.



On the higher first geared variants, I've been doing some calculating on a 3.23 gear in the later model 44 rearends. It looks like about the best option for a Non-OD transmission.



When it comes to low end grunt and highway happiness, its hard to beat the OD transmission that lets you have both.



There are some gear calculators on the internet I use to compare rpms vs. highway speeds. Knowing your engine's sweet spot rpm-wise, the transmission gear ratios, and the tire size are the only numbers you'll need. They give you the mph and rpm of your engine at that mph.



Mark

harry54

Hudsn49,

I have a 49 8 , non overdrive with a 3.59 pumpkin. Tis the same as what Paul described without the lower first gear. There are pro's and con's as stated above. I can say that the car cruises all day at 65 on the Highway. However I'm not going to win any contests coming out of the hole at a stop light. Takes you a while to get going but once you are your good.... Your more than welcome to take my car for a spin anytime as I'm less than an hour away. Maybe that way you'll have atleast half of the story and can compare to a car with overdrive.....

Hudsonly

Harry54

Park_W

I've had and seen several stepdowns with these various combinations. My recommendation for a '49 with the 262 engine is to go with the 3.58 "pumpkin" (used in '51 cars with Hydramatic) and not the OD. Keeps life simple, and the 262 engine will take the somewhat higher rpms without sounding stressed like a Hornet engine does. If the car had a good Hornet engine it it, I'd go with the 3.07 Spicer axle and no OD. A friend in Dixie Chapter is running his Hornet-powered '49 coupe with the 3.07, and loves it. And he's in hilly north GA.

Unknown

what about someone who loves the out of the hole acceleration of the 4:10 but wants the cruising ability (meaning low RPM) of the 3:07?????



Is OD the answer?

PAULARGETYPE

Hudson Kid I Wou;d Say Yes Thats What I Would Doif That Is What I Wanted

Park_W

I certainly agree with Paul. If you want it both, go with the 4.10 and OD. That's 2.95 in OD.

Park_W

Spring perches don't match any earlier cars. Tread width is pretty close for '36 and earlier; too narrow for later models (though back in the olden days I used stepdown axles on a '38 and a '47 by reversing the outer rim of the rear wheels to get the required extra "offset.")

Jon B

Of course, you could probably find a standard ring and pinion (4-1/9) for your truck, which would be somewhat of an improvement. As to using the Step-Down rearend with the more-favorable automatic transmission ratio, I knew a fellow who did this maybe 20 years ago, in his '37. The Step-Down track was indeed too narrow so he put some sort of spacers on his wheels to widen the track.

7XPacemaker

My dad had a Hudson truck. We put a pacemaker engine in it with 4:11's and overdrive. Man, that truck would cruise at any speed you wanted it to..............

dave s

307 Spicer with standard cruises highway good as long your friends running 4.11 and o/d don't mind waiting for you to catch up on top of steep hills. LOL

EssexAdv

Just to throw out another idea. My 49 w/262 has both the 3.59 rear and OD. Loves the 65 - 80 mph range. The only problem is when I visit mountain areas. There I have to kick out of OD on long pulls. NO big deal as you still have a better road gear without the OD than standard.

AS I like my cars real quiet, which I get with this combo, I figgure the ocassional downshift is a small price to pay for 22mpg and a low revving motor (QUIET)

Nevada Hudson

I did the same thing with my '51 Hornet that Paul did, and it runs great! I have overdrive also. Just take it out of overdrive when you are going up hills, no problem. Since we have the most mountainous state here, just put it in second gear when climbing steep mountain roads, like 10,000 feet. Like Lewis says, it runs real quiet. Now,about speedometer gears... don't know which one!

[Deleted User]

Sorry to say, pre step downs are 55 inches backing plate to backing plate, will step downs are 50 inches. Walt.

rambos_ride

walt's garage-53 wrote:

Sorry to say, pre step downs are 55 inches backing plate to backing plate, will step downs are 50 inches. Walt.

Not to mention the splayed rear spring mounts are unique to the stepdown if I'm correct?

53jetman

Rambo - Hudson used the splayed rear spring mount since the early thirties, as my '33 Esses-Terraplane is so equiped



Jerry

53jetman

Clutchguy

Any of these stepdown rearends fit a pre-stepdown? (width, perches, etc..)

Rick,the step-down rear axle does bolt in on the earlier 41-47.It is about 4"narrower than the one you are taking out.You can have some made or buy an offset wheel that compensates for this,but makes the tires not rotatable.I think that an axle from a 68-72 "B" Body Mopar product works also,of course with some mods done to it.

Ducor Kid

walt's garage-53 wrote:

Sorry to say, pre step downs are 55 inches backing plate to backing plate, will step downs are 50 inches. Walt.

What is width of stepdowns flange to flange?

Thanks in advance



Larry

Unknown

You guy's could always do what I'm doing in my '56 Packard, put a T56 in it. Should be eaiser in a Hudson with a flatback engine as compared to my Packard V8 with the lovely extended bellhousing. Two overdrives and a 2.66 first gear, oh yeah!

Unknown

I've been told if you change the perches a Ford Ranger 8.8" rear will fit these cars fairly well. If you can't find a Hudson rearend with the ratio you're looking for, that could be an alternative. It has the same size wheel lug pattern. It also would make the rear brakes a little easier to service, since it doesn't have tapered axles.



I'll have to check out the ratio in the '48 I picked up last fall. I saved it from the crusher, someone had it on the road with a Chevy motor in the mid-90s, then took it all apart probably when it wouldn't pass inspection because of a couple holes in the frame rails. Reading this makes me wonder if when they changed the motor they didn't also change the gears to a more highway-friendly set.

Unknown

Where can I get an overdrive tranny, and a Big 6 engine/bell housing?

[Deleted User]

Early 5-lug Dodge Dakotas ('87-'92) are very close in width to a Stepdown and have the same bolt pattern. Even the perches are nearly the same width apart, IIRC. Very inexpensive at the boneyards and dependable, too. Gear ratios from around 3.20-3.91.

[Deleted User]

66patrick66 wrote:

Early 5-lug Dodge Dakotas ('87-'92) are very close in width to a Stepdown and have the same bolt pattern. Even the perches are nearly the same width apart, IIRC. Very inexpensive at the boneyards and dependable, too. Gear ratios from around 3.20-3.91.

That's some good info.



Good ratios too. The 3.20 would be great for a non-OD and the 3.91 would be a good OD ratio.



Any chance these differentials are Dana 44's?



I'm thinking ring gear and pinion swappage here.



Mark