tstellhorn

Hello -

I've been working on a 1936 L36 coupe and am wondering what options existout there for upgrading the rear end. According to my shop manual thestock gear ratio on my car is 4:55. I'd like to upgrade this to besomething that is more freeway friendly. Short of replacing the rear axleare there other options available to change the gear ratio?

Thanks.

Todd
tstellhorn@esri.com

Funkwagon455

I am subscribing to this thread, not because I have valid insight but because I feel your pain... My '40 90 series is geared so deeply that when you dare to drive it at 55 mph you can hear that 257 screaming for something more practical. All of the gear options in '40 were numerically more than 4:1, I would suspect similar offerings for '36. I am not about to modify my car, but like yourself I'd like to find a more realistic ring and pinion.

tstellhorn

Thanks for your support. If I find out something from another source I will post the suggestions here.

Todd

oldcutlass

The engines are not very powerful, so if you change gearing it may not like hills very much.

47 Convertible

______________________________________________

If you are intent on keeping this as stock as possible I think the options are about zero for finding a carrier that will fit in the housing of your 36. I looked in my Hollanders Interchange Manual, Ed. 16, and there is some discussion of a few that might interchange with some modification but as I recall nearly all were the same 40 and 9 gear tooth setup which yields 4.44:1 I think the first move to a higher ratio was when Olds adopted the hydramatic in 1940. Cars so equipped reportedly had a 3.63:1. Alas they had also moved to a coil spring rear suspension instead of a leaf type so changing out the whole rear end does not seem practical. Unknown to me if the 1940 carrier assembly for hydramatic cars would fit inside the 1936 housing.
Wish I had better news, but if this is a long term keeper and you will be fixing things I highly recommend you get a Hollanders Interchange Manual. They are on the Internet and you can 'google' for current contact information.
Jerry

tstellhorn

Thank you for the heads up on HollandersInterchange Manual. I just ordered one off eBay for $22.

Todd

47 Convertible

You're welcome. I sometimes think I'm Hollander's best salesman even though I'm just a fan of their great reference books. I don't understand why anyone would undertake an old car project and not consider that as necessary as a tool.
Jerry

Funkwagon455

FYI my '40 service manual lists these ratios for L-series
Standard--43 ring/10 pinion=4.3:1
Mountain--41 ring/9 pinion=4.55:1

F series were offered with 41 ring/10 pinion=4.1:1 as the standard option

citcapp

with only 84 horsepower and being a heavy car a higher ratio rear end will not work well and you will most likely not gain any speed and will loose hill climbing ability. You will constantly be shifting into 2nd gear and actually may end up going slower in many cases. Just my two cents

twintracks

We put a 3:23 from a '49 Olds with a Hydramatic in our '37 Olds L-37. It was a direct bolt in, as soon as we cleaned up a little casting flash on the axle housing.
We cruised Route 66 in both directions this summer in the Great Race. We could do 65 all day long on the flat, but struggled in the mountains. Not enough HP for the gear, but fine on the flat. We had to get a running start at the bottom of some climbs, but still had to pull over and drop gears to crest some of the mountain passes. But we made it. 5,500 miles in three weeks. This photo was taken in San Bernardino. Beautiful town.
I do not know if the axle is the same in an L-36, but someone with a Hollanders can tell us.

Funkwagon455

Thank you for your valuable first hand experience! This sounds like a viable option for us who casually cruise our older cars geared for pulling tree stumps. I'll gather your lower bonnet is removed for cooling purposes. Very cool car, my friends in Australia drives the wheels off of their L-37 sedan after a full restoration..

twintracks

Yep, It was beastly hot. 120 degrees for two straight rally days in the mountain desert west. I'm not sure if taking the side panel actually did any good, but once it was off, we left it in the back seat until we got home.
On the Santa Monica Pier: