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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / What rear end gears work in a 35 car

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Posted By Discussion Topic: What rear end gears work in a 35 car     35gal 07-03-2010 @ 12:08 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 66 Joined: Jan 2010 My 35 car has a 4:11 rear end that I want to change out to a 3:78 or 3:54. What years will work in my car without doing any modifications. The pinion gear on my car has 10 splines. 37RAGTOPMAN 07-03-2010 @ 12:50 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1961 Joined: Oct 2009 A 354-1 GEAR SET is what I installed in my 37, really like it ,,,but it is a job,to install if you want something for the highway it is one way to go,but there are other options,like a expensive overdrive, it all depends how much you drive your car and how much you are willing to spend, hope this helps,37RAGTOPMAN supereal 07-03-2010 @ 3:47 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 By the time you buy the gears and have the rear end fitted and adjusted, you are likely better off to consider an overdrive such as the Mitch*ll. Swapping ring and pinion is a big job requiring experience and lots of patience. danliveshere 07-04-2010 @ 2:59 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 31 Joined: Jun 2010 I'm in the same dilemma. My 35 with a 4.11 will be too slow for the long distances I will be driving. I have a 3.78 that I can put the whole rear end in but I'm considering a Mitch*ll over drive. That way I can keep the 4.11 for around town and 36% over drive down the highway. The easiest way out is to find a good complete rear end with high ratio and swap the complete assembly, Good luck. 37RAGTOPMAN 07-05-2010 @ 6:33 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1961 Joined: Oct 2009 I didn't have the $3000.00 for the MITCHELL OVERDRIVE. and went for the 354-1 gear set from EARLY FORD from NY STATE,with the seals and gaskets, they give you a little better higher speed which gets me up to 55-65 with no problems,and better fuel miliage. its not that hard if you study the instructions, the banjo gaskets are different thicknesses,so you can chose with gaskets will work best for you,do it dry the first time and add the gasket cement when you get the right amount of play,as long as it does not bind, this is a FORD,friends of mine installed these with no problems and are not mechanics,but are handy, they sell hunderds of the gear sets world wide, the worst this is fitting them to tight, this will cause premature failure. you can always use this forum if you need to,,, hope this helps,.37RAGTOPMAN KEEP ON TRUCKIN. IT ALL COMES DOWN TO HOW MUCH YOU DRIVE YOUR CAR EACH YEAR,,,,,,,,,,,and HOW DEEP YOUR POCKETS ARE,,,!!! TomO 07-05-2010 @ 8:42 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7253 Joined: Oct 2009 The 35-38 gear set is interchangeable with the gear set in your car. The 36 rear end will interchange with your 35. The 37-38 axles housings are different due to cable brakes instead of rods. Tom 1934 Ford 07-05-2010 @ 10:17 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 573 Joined: Oct 2009 I too, thought about putting the 378 ring and pinion in my 34 for the little extra highway speed. Then I decided that after 38 years of driving the 411, WHY?? My 34 Fords all can go 75-80 MPH for short distances, but I'm not at all comfortable doing that. I find that they will run all day long ant 53 MPH with the 411 and bursts to 60-65 don't hurt it. I avoid the Interstates because even at 60 MPH I'd get run over. I take secondary roads and go with the flow or set the pace at 53 MPH and pull off if I get a backup. This has worked fine for us since 1972. Even did a couple Great American Races and had no problem making up time at higher speeds, just not all day. On Glidden Tours we get slowed down by the non 8 cylinder cars and find even 45 is a good tourist speed. All the rear end shimming we did to get the cars right as stock 34's is not worth doing again for an additional 10 MPH occasionally. What's the hurry? supereal 07-05-2010 @ 10:46 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 I would be cautious about setting up most old cars, particularly those with mechanical brakes, to run at today's highway speeds. Unless you completely rebuild the running gear and brakes, you could create a very dangerous situation. Having owned cars from the 20's on up thru the 30's and 40's, there were very few, if any, that can be trusted to run safely above 50 mph. Two years ago, a careless driver rear ended my '47 causing almost $3,000 in damage. He was wrong, I was right, but if my car hadn't been in top shape, it would have been much worse, with personal injuries. I stay off the freeways, even though my cars will run 70 or more. Too much tailgating, panic stops, etc, create peril. I love my old cars, but not enough to die for them!

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