[37ford4dr]

i have a dilemna...should i keep the old original rear end in the 37 or toss it????? it has two bad axle seals that i need to fix before i can put on the 39 juice brakes......i will be keeping a flat head engine and the wide 5 16" wheels.......i will be keeping the original front end although i may install a dropped front axle.....the only new thing i want to put in is a newer transmission perhaps a T5.....so if i put in a T5 do i have to change the rear axle???? i know i could get the kit speedway sells that allows me to use a conventional drive shaft but what do i do with the radius rods? i saw that i can get an adapter plate that will let me use the wide 5 16" wheels on any newer wheel spacing......also is there any reason newer style drum brakes can't be actuated by the 39 mst cyl? can i just reduce the 1/4" brake line at the end to fit newer style drum brakes? is there another trans option like a 4sp that would be a direct bolt in replacement??? help me ...my brain is going in to overload.....i see why people just get new frames .... thks bob

 

[Deuce]

Isn't HOT RODDING a lot of fun ??

In my humble opinion ... you need to decide if you want a old car ... or a hot rod ... Your parts are not matching up that well. A 5 speed is open drive ... so you need a open drive rear axle ... or the kit to convert a closed one. The flathead is not all that user friendly either ... and lacks power to cruise at the Highway speeds most folks want today. Then you still have 60 plus year old parts and technology.

For the price of a closed drive-shaft conversion kit ... and a few more dollars ... you can have a new parallel leaf spring kit ... to mount a common, easily found Ford rear end under your 37. You need a rear end anyway ... or spend $$$ to fix yours.

NO way I would use a 37 master cylinder ... I would upgrade to a modern dual chamber unit. There are bolt on kits to do this ...

NOT trying to be difficult, ugly or discouraging ... just truthful

I have seen this same thing played out over and over ... and the fellow gets tired of working on and redoing the car ... because he did not have a good plan to go by.

I would either semi restore it, and just get it running or go ahead and Hot Rod it ...

Just my nickel ...

Deuce ...

 

[pasadenahotrod]

If you decide to go with a late model rearend (8", 9" Ford or 55-64 Chevy or more modern 10-bolt or 12-bolt Chevy) don't toss that 37 rear!!
The axle housings can be cut down and make a nice pair of non-adjustable jackstands.
The axles make really durable tent stakes if you're in the revival or circus business.
The solid driveshaft(if that's what you have) makes a great digging bar after heating modifying the ends, in case you'll be putting up a fence any time soon. The tubular driveshaft makes a great exhaust pipe down the side of an old tine track roadster or Indy style car.
The torque tube will serve as a solid clothesline pole after you weld a nice 3" pipe across the top.
The banjo housing makes a very doorstop.
What's left works well for trot-line sinkers or aggregate in a concrete project.

 

[37ford4dr]

thks Deuce....i hear you.....thats one of the reasons i have been concentrating on the body work first so i could get a plan together in my head.....and on paper....i will pick up a 49 flathead tomorrow from a cousin in PA.....and the plan is for that to go in place of the running 37 engine......if you include my old drums/hubs i actually have two complete kits for a 39 brake conversion and i know selling these could fund some of my project. the plan and theme was to keep a flathead and the original 5 wide 16" wheels. i just saw an adapter in the latest street rodder that will let me use any bolt pattern and still use the 16" wheels.....and you are right the idea of rebuilding a 37 rear end at $300 just to add an open drive line kit for $250 doesn't make any sense to me either......i also saw the kits for the dual hydraulic mstr cyl and the hydraulic clutch cylinder which would probably work well with a T5.....i also have that perfectly fine vette 350 and th350 just sitting in the garage.... the good part of this is although this is my first old Ford this car is actually in better shape then most of my projects...so i do hear what you are saying and can easily relate to it.....i think i will draw up dual plans and cost estimates and talk to my sons and see what they want to do. ...if this flat head turns out to be boat anchor then the vette 350 is going in for sure...thks again for all the help. bob

 

[37ford4dr]

thks Pasadena......i like it....after all i do need a stand for my buffing wheel and those axle tubes are plenty big......i can just weld them on to an old drum /hub assembly and they would be solid as a rock......

 

[briscoe]

keep old 37 rear end or toss it??????

Post # 3 thats funny,I don't care who you are!

 

[FordMan1951]

With the new Old School trend out there it would all depend on what YOU wanted the car to end up as. A 37 rear end is right for a rod built 50 or so years ago. If that is what you are going for, then the 37 is not just fine but works. Since you say you are keeping the flat head then I would go Old School all the way. That said, a T5 just messes the whole theme up.

Having said all that let me add that Hot Rodding is about building what YOU want. So an Old School "look" with modern drive train parts stuck here and there might not win many trophies, but would be an easy driver and still "look" good.

 

[37ford4dr]

With the new Old School trend out there it would all depend on what YOU wanted the car to end up as. A 37 rear end is right for a rod built 50 or so years ago. If that is what you are going for, then the 37 is not just fine but works. Since you say you are keeping the flat head then I would go Old School all the way. That said, a T5 just messes the whole theme up.

Having said all that let me add that Hot Rodding is about building what YOU want. So an Old School "look" with modern drive train parts stuck here and there might not win many trophies, but would be an easy driver and still "look" good.

yes the old school trend is what we are contemplating.....the T5 would just make it so much easier to drive and make the gearing really work with the low HP of a flat head. i don't care about trophies.....i'll keep you posted on what i do....thks bob

 

[pasadenahotrod]

Trophies, what kind of performance or mileage do they give you?
Do you grind 'em up and pour the grit into the fuel tank or oil pan?!
Or do you bolt them onto the fenders and hood so the car looks fast?!
Do they improve the ride, the appearance, the handling, the interior comfort?!
Do they get you babes?!
Or, are they head-inflaters and ego-enlargers?
"I gots to know"*

*man on the sidewalk..."Dirty Harry"

 

[37ford4dr]

Trophies, what kind of performance or mileage do they give you?
Do you grind 'em up and pour the grit into the fuel tank or oil pan?!
Or do you bolt them onto the fenders and hood so the car looks fast?!
Do they improve the ride, the appearance, the handling, the interior comfort?!
Do they get you babes?!
Or, are they head-inflaters and ego-enlargers?
"I gots to know"*

*man on the sidewalk..."Dirty Harry"

i agree like i said I don't really car about building cars to get trophies...if they come to me its ok but thats not my point in participating in this hobby. and besides there is way too much politics in the trophy selections/presentations anyway for them to be really meaningful.

 

[37ford4dr]

well i spoke with my son tonight and we decided to keep the original 3spd and torque tube rear end....he thinks the old stuff is cool and since this is his project....his vote counts a long way! this actually makes sense for a number of reasons since it will allow him to read in manuals what we are doing, and thats not a bad start to working on old cars. i have a friend who nevers buys a manual and thinks he can work on cars intuitively.....needless to say he is always having problems...

so it looks like it will be an old style hot rod using period hot rod parts.....we will pick up the 49 flat head tomorrow....we got delayed....get this.... we went to a Christmas party at the inlaws and then 16hrs later 35 out of the 40 people that were there were vomitting and having intestinal distress......

my two sons and i were one of the lucky 5 to stay stnading ....not so lucky the wife and two girls...anyway i don't think they will be hosting any more partys for a while... bob