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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / columbia rear end

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Posted By Discussion Topic: columbia rear end -- page: 1 2     Stroker 12-10-2009 @ 9:07 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 Supereal: try kalbach@wildbluepella.org The wind made it pretty hard to see, but we got all 580 lane-miles done in 2-12 hour shifts. supereal 12-09-2009 @ 1:44 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Glad to visit. I can respond to your e-mail, as my PM is not authorized, it says. I understand the snow plowing, as we had 10 inches last night, 50 mph winds, and temps now headed to minus zero. Good ol' Iowa winter! wmsteed 12-09-2009 @ 9:15 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 613 Joined: Oct 2009 In the good ole days of street drag racing, the conversion of my '36 to the late style Columbia came in very handy. I put the Columbia control switch on the bottom lip of the dash to the left of the steering wheel. I did this because I did not want any switches other than the originals on the dash. I had already cluttered up the lower left portion of the dash with a headlight switch and starter button. To the left of the Columbia switch I added another toggle switch to control the power to the Columbia. I had also flipped my column gear shift lever to the left side of the column, so I had a nice tidy group of controls for the trans/diff. As I have mentioned before, my engine is built up close to max for a streetable car which made it very quick. When I was street racing, I would split shift the 2 spd Columbia on a regular basis, sometimes starting in low under, then second under and up to second over. I could "pin the speedo" on 100 mph quick as a cat could lick it's ____ , tail up and tongue over the hole,... using one of my dad's favorite saying's. I would use the split on the Columbia because it was a faster shift than the stick and clutch. I was caught in a blizzard going from Utah to Idaho in 1954, the road was near impassable and I was afraid to stop and put on the chains. The good ole Columbia came to my rescue.. I put the diff in 2nd over, which was lower than high gear and just eased the outfit up and down the hills. When I pulled into the motel in Idaho Falls, the man on the desk wanted to know where I had come from? When I told him SLC, he did not want to believe me, of course my car spoke for it's self....He said the road had been reportedly closed for three days. The twin stick, non-syncro aux transmissions were a real challenge.... I remember and old time truck driver telling me that "you will never see a women driving a truck because they can't move their feet and hands at the same time"... Little did he know that the Road Ranger and Allison transmissions would change all that.. Bill 36 5 win delx cpe Stroker 12-08-2009 @ 2:30 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 Dunno whether I'm a "real trucker", but our 42 Ford ton & a half had the Eaton mechanical 2-speed lever right by the left door post, which definitely required the "knee method". Supereal, I'm about to take my 70 year old bones to town to plow snow for our city. PM me, as I'd like to drive up to your town this winter and have an off-forum discussion. supereal 12-08-2009 @ 10:07 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 I've seen the "reverse" transmission trick used on homebuilt "doodlebug" tractors, often Model A's. The big trucks of the 50's used a "brownie" (Brown-Lipe) box behind the regular transmission. If you were a "real" trucker, you could split shift both while steering with your knee! We used to split shift our old wrecker, which was awkward, since the axle control was on the dash. It got a lot easier when it was moved to the shift lever. Stroker 12-08-2009 @ 9:03 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 When our 38 wagon was new, Dad used to take the back seats out, fill the space with alfalfa, and pull his big heavy wooden horse trailer over the mountains with two quarter horses aboard. Fortunately, he had a 444:1 rear end, and the Columbia. One of the advantages of the Columbia is that, just like a heavy truck 2-Speed, you can "split-shift" it. It is more than just an overdrive, it is a two-speed axle, which, by virtue of the transmission ratios, effectively gives you 6 speeds. Does require some busywork, but you can certainly keep the engine from lugging with a heavy load. Of course none of this is probably relevant to our modern use for these vehicles, but I'm sure he wasn't the only one to use the Columbia in that manner. wmsteed 12-08-2009 @ 8:20 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 613 Joined: Oct 2009 Super: I have heard the complaint before about the after market, drive line mounted OD's being noisy. Your idea to use a truck PTO cable in lieu of the more common lever is a good one. I like the "Morris" type cables in lieu of the cheaper and more traditional shielded cables. For many years I have thought that a slick OD conversion would be to use a conventional '50-53 Ford 3 spd w/OD in an early V-8. The trk or Merc bell housing would be required with a '42-47 pickup rear end with parallel mounted springs in lieu of the original traverse mounted rear spring. Maybe a little impractical, but think about it.. 3 spd's forward, OD, free wheeling and clutchless shifting.. Hmmm! Maybe a switch to a C-4 automatic would be more practical. One of the handy side benefits of the Columbia OD's, with the later model vacuum electric controls, is a passing gear. A tap on the clutch with a slight release of the throttle, down shifts the Columbia... Shifting into OD simply requires moving the self canceling switch to the OD position and depressing the clutch while lightening up on the throttle. If you are one of those people that can't rub your head and pat your head at the same time, all this hand/foot coordination might prove to be un-manageble. Bill 36 5 win delx cpe supereal 12-07-2009 @ 11:54 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Bill: One of the reasons I went to the Ryan was that it mounts directly to the banjo, and doesn't hang in the middle of the torque tube where clearance is an issue and requires floorboard cutting. I substituted a truck power takeoff cable for the lever, and shift it with a knob under the dash. The car has a 3-78, and with a 33% overdrive reduction, is a bit "tall" under 40-45 mph. That's alright on the hiway, where I can run 70 or better, but bogs down in town. If I did it again, I'd opt for at least 30% or less. My only complaint is that it is noisy when engaged, sounding like an old straight geared truck. However, with an open car, it doesn't matter. It sure beats having to stay below 60 on the freeway. wmsteed 12-07-2009 @ 9:34 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 613 Joined: Oct 2009 Many people have a big dislike for the Columbia's... The early ones had a lot of problems that were resolved by the early '40's. They became available for the EFV-8 in 1936 as a dealer option. The Ford factory never offered the Columbia as a factory option on anything other than the Lincoln's. The Auburns also came with a Columbia as standard equipment. The Columbia's are a little pricey, usually $1.300/1,800. or so with all the controls, then they will most likely need rebuilding. The guy in Temecula CA, that was mentioned in the earlier posting is considered to be one of the best at rebuilding the units. I guess the drive-line OD's are all right, however I don't like the added lever/cable and the fact that there is very little room for the unit, so the floor boards usually have to be cut to get clearance. A word of caution... If your car has a 3.78 or 4.11 ratio, an OD will work very well on the hiway, however around town or in hilly areas you will have to keep the unit in the "under" range. My '36 has had a Columbia in it since the car was new. I changed it to a '46-48 unit in 1955 mainly because I liked the vacuum-electric shift and the later model units had fewer problems. A second word of caution... Many of the Columbia's I have seen on ebay are clabbered together pieces of junk that went for a lot of money because the purchaser did not know what he was buying.... The '47-48 units will have a sway bar post on the left, were-as the earlier units will not have that post. Bill 36 5 win delx cpe supereal 12-07-2009 @ 8:56 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Even if you find a Columbia, be sure that it has all the controls with it, including the speedometer shifter, vacuum valve, kickdown switch, etc. Often, when the cars were junked, it was too much trouble to remove the controls, and they can be expensive to replace. I looked a several when I wanted an OD, but most were junk, or close to it. In any case, the axle should be rebuilt before installation, as there are weak spots in the system. I finally settled on a Ryan unit, but modified the shift system to eliminate the lever. I'm not sure they are made anymore, so the Mitch*ll may be the way to go.

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