Search the Community

Hi everyone, I'm a new guy on the old Dodges, so bear with me. Here' s the situation: My 74 year old father is looking to gain some speed/gear ratio on his old 48/49 1 Ton flatbed dually with the original (as near was we can tell) flathead six. He's a retired truck driver so the 4 speed crash box (Warner T9?) is fine other than he's out of gear & rpm at 45 or 50 mph. We live in SoCal and he wants to be able to drive to shows, etc. so there's a real need for another 10 mph or so. Since it's the 1 Ton and he wants to keep up original appearances, there's no real expectation of a taller rear being available - or am I wrong? He also wants to keep the flathead and a hydraulic clutch is not going to happen. What are the options from the experts? Are taller rear dif. ratios available for the 1 Ton rear axle? Are there sources for the old style "2 speed rear axles" still? I see from the factory literature that there were Clark 5 speeds avaliable that may have had OD in top gear. Can they be found or are they like hen's teeth now? A brownie box would be fine too but I'm aware of the lack of parts from my adventures with my oldish 60's Fords. How different is the flathead 6 trans mount from the later transmissions? Will anything later interface with the factory bell without adapters galore? I have a new level of appreciation for you Pilot House guys... After all the documentation I can find and have for my `67 Fords and `65 Jeep CJ5, this old truck is like sifting through a haystack looking for needles. Anyway, go easy on the assumptions about specific brand detail knowledge please. I've got the mechanical concepts and background down but I don't know jack for flathead era Dodges but I'm willing to learn to help my old man out. So what say you? Ideas? Options? Are am I just whistling dixie and dad's going to have to get used to being honked at on the fwy (again)? Thanks in advance!