Category: Model A Ford

Here Come the Doodlebugs – Bob Tomanine @AutoRestorer

Here Come the Doodlebugs – Bob Tomanine @AutoRestorer

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he sight of one doodlebug can make Model A fans dyspeptic and if that reaction is understandable, it’s also not always appropriate. “No,” said Ron Oakley, the Binghamton,

New York, owner of a 1928 Ford doodlebug. “No cutting up. That’s one thing a lot of these car clubs think, that we took a Model A. We didn’t. Nobody did that here. That thing was sitting in a gas station for years, it worked. You could duplicate one, and you could probably build one out of parts. But these are originals.”

When he said “Nobody did that here,” he was talking about the Doodlebug Club of Franklin in Franklin, New York. “Doodlebug” might also need an explanation—it’s grown obscure in automotive history since its 1920s-to- 1940s heyday—and a 1938 Sears catalog provided a good account.

“You can build your own farm tractor at low cost,” promised the description of Sears’ Thrifty Farm Tractor Unit. “Now you can transform your old Chevrolet or Ford into a practical tractor—quickly and economically. All you need to build a fine general purpose tractor is an old Model ‘T’ or Model ‘A’ Ford, or a 1926 to 1931 Chevrolet, and a Sears Thrifty Farmer Unit. With the auto body removed, you can quickly convert the old auto into a tractor that has the pulling power of two to four horses. The Thrifty Farmer will do practically every job that many of the regular-type tractors will do. The Thrifty Farmer attachment on the average used Ford or Chevrolet chassis has the speed and power to operate any of your horse- drawn tools. It works in any soil condition to work with horses and often works where horses cannot.”

Boots Oakley drives his Chevy doodlebug in the Community Parade at the Afton, New York, Fair.

The kits cost $93.50 for the Model T, $101.50 for the Model A and $106.50 for the Chevrolet. Affordable, but not cheap, as the figures in today’s dollars are $1565 for the Model A, $1704 for the T and $1788 for the Chevy. For his money, the purchaser received a half-ton package that included steel front wheels, cleated tractor wheels for the rear, a tractor-type seat, a subframe and a drawbar for implements

One who knows Model As— really knows Model As—would identify at least the major components of Ron Oakley’s doodlebug.

Sears was not alone. The 1919 edition of The Model T Ford Car and Ford Farm Tractor described Acason’s chain-driven Aca-tractor kit as well as the Make-A-Tractor conversion, emphasizing that the latter “can be fitted to other passenger cars as well.” A Model T, though, was a wise choice because “the power and reliability of the Ford engine make it possible to use this light chassis for much heavier work than you would imagine it capable of.”

There Was More Than One Approach to a Doodlebug

While less of a consideration in the Model T era than it would become during the Great Depression and World War II, an owner pondering a doodlebug knew that he would no longer have a car, but Knickerbocker Motors had the solution. A 1919 clipping headlined “pleasure car not lost in this tractor” explained that “at a time when the development of the country’s agricultural resources is of greatest import, the announcement of an attachment that will turn any one of the million-odd Fords in the country into an efficient tractor for all kinds of cultivation purposes is particularly significant and of great importance to the farmer. This device, which is called a Forma-Tractor, is simple in construction, but sufficiently rugged to stand the strain of work in the field and has the efficiency of a four-horse team… (It) is so adapted to his Ford that it can be attached and detached within less than 30 minutes and therefore will not deprive him of the use of his car as a pleasure vehicle or for carrying produce to market.”

Besides Knickerbocker, others such as Montgomery Ward and David Bradley also offered kits, but for those who couldn’t afford their cost or really didn’t need kits, plans were available. In the 1930s, Modern Mechanix published plans with the observation that “perhaps in your own backyard you have an old Model T Ford truck or passenger car that wasn’t worth a license tag.” The article described the result as a “Handy Henry,” one of the many nicknames for tractors built from cars or trucks. At the time it was reported that a Handy Henry could be built for as little as $20, a much more reasonable figure for a farmer of that era.

Read on

Paint & Finish Guide for the Model A Ford – Douglas Hawk @ItStilRuns

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Of the Model T, Henry Ford reportedly said: “You can have any color you want as long as it’s black.” However, when he introduced the Model A in 1928, colors were definitely in.

1928 Model A

In 1928, the Phaeton and Roadster color options included a light and dark blue, gunmetal blue, gray, and light and dark beige. The coupe, sport coupe and Tudor were two-toned with combinations including light and dark blue, gunmetal blue and black, gray with gunmetal and beige with brown. On the Fordor, combinations included two blues, two greens and rose beige with brown.

1929 Model A

In 1929, the Phaeton and Roadster options included blue, gray, green and rose beige. The coupe, Tudor and Fordor two-tones were blue with black or solid green, grey or rose beige. The town car came in green, brown, maroon and black. Taxis were either blue or green with cream-colored upper bodies.

1930 Model A

In 1930, Phaetons and Roadsters came in green and brown, copra drab and blue. The Deluxe Phaeton and Roadster were blue, green, brown or black. The Tudor, Fordor, coupe and sport coupe came in two-tone drabs and greens or blue or green with black or all brown or all blue. The cabriolet featured two greens, blue, brown or yellow. The deluxe sedan featured a pair of greens, blue or maroon, and the town sedan came in drab, maroon or two greens.

1931 Model A

The ’31 Phaeton and Roadster came in blue, green, brown, drab and black while the Deluxe Phaeton and Roadster came in blue, green, black and brown. The Tudor, Fordor and standard and deluxe coupes came in two tones including blue/black, greens, two shades of drab, brown/black and all black. The town sedan, deluxe sedan and coupe and Victoria came with two-tones of green, green/black, maroon/black, green/black and all black. The cabriolet was all blue, green/black, two browns, yellow/brown, two greens, all black and all maroon. The convertible sedan came in blue, green and drab.

Gallery – Model A and Celebrities @MAFCA

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Really interesting celebrity gallery from the MAFCA website

Model A’s were even popular with celebrities. The very first Model A off the line was given by Henry Ford to his good friend Thomas Edison. That car is currently in the MAFFI museum in Hickory Corners, MI.

Mr. Rogers, Television Personality

His 1928 Sport Coupe was featured on one of his television shows in the 1970s.

FDR – Governor of New York, 1929-1933

Before he was elected President, Roosevelt was photographed in many Model A Fords. This photo came from the FDR archives.

Doris Day – Actress

Doris was given this 1930 De Luxe Roadster by a fan in the 1980s and had it restored. She was often seen driving around Carmel California. Doris passed in 2019 and the car was auctioned off.

Andy Griffith

With his collection of antique automobiles at home in Toluca Lake, California

Plenty more on the MACFA page

The Mighty Tremec Manual: behind the transmission @Hemmings

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Two decades into the new millennium, it’s the undisputed Golden Age of performance. Not only can your order 1,000 reliable horsepower with nothing more than a phone and a credit card, but you can find the project to wrap around it just as easily.

But whether you buy a crate motor, an entire vehicle or have your dream quarter-mile car built for you, the very next step is finding the right transmission to put all that power to the wheels. And while Tremec has been building the most reliable manual transmissions in the business, there are two major features of your new drivetrain that’ll need to be addressed:

  1. Bellhousing Alignment: Your new Tremec manual transmission has been engineered to provide the driving experience you’ve come to expect from the best name in the business, but there’s a very important link in that chain of power that shouldn’t be overlooked: the bellhousing. Literally standing between the motor and the transmission, making sure the bellhousing is properly chosen and aligned is the difference between the strongest and weakest link in your new drivetrain chain. The tech experts at Tremec can guide you through the basic tools you’ll need and the procedure to align your bellhousing correctly.
  2. Driveline Installation: Once the bellhousing and transmission are in place on one end and the rearend has been mounted on the other, it’s time to spec your new driveline. While the correct universal joints and input shaft are necessary, there are three rules to making sure the driveshaft is balanced and will spin freely:

a) Universal joint operating angles at each end of a driveshaft should always be at least 1 degree.

b) Universal joint operating angles on each end of a driveshaft should always be equal within 1 degree.

c) For virtual vibration-free performance, u-joint operating angles should not be larger than 3 degrees

Read on

GM TH700R-4 transmission – Jim O’Clair @Hemmings

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Another low-buck automatic conversion that could very well pay for itself

Several months ago we highlighted the Turbo Hydra-Matic 200-4R transmission as an automatic overdrive transmission for the economy-minded. The addition of an overdrive gear to any three-speed transmission, be it an automatic or manual shift, can improve fuel mileage and help decrease the wear and tear on your engine.

This month we will discuss the big brother to the TH200-4R referred to by General Motors as either the TH700R-4 or their later designation for it, which was the 4L60 transmission. Although some transmission installers feel that the low first-gear ratio and high second-gear ratio do not make the TH700R-4 the best racing transmission, there are quite a few adaptations you can perform to make it a race-ready drivetrain component. Weighing 184 lbs. this transmission can easily handle power torque ratings up to 650-lbs.ft. of torque, while propelling as much as 8,500 lbs. of payload down the pavement. This makes the TH700R-4 a prime candidate for a swap into any GM rear-wheel driver as a replacement for a TH350, Powerglide, TH400, or TH200-4R.

The TH700R-4 was the first overdrive automatic transmission used in GM cars and trucks in 1982, designated as a Hydra-Matic MD-8 transmission according to GM’s RPO codes. The quickest way to identify one of these units in a vehicle is by the square 16-bolt oil pan. The governor and speedometer drive are both located on the driver’s side of the transmission, the sleeve for the speedometer gear can be found in the tailhousing of the unit. TH700R-4 transmissions use a lock-up torque converter, and they use an electric control solenoid to operate the lock-up function. The electrical connector for this solenoid connector is also on the driver’s side of the transmission case.

Initially, the TH700R-4 came with a 27-spline input shaft from 1982-1984. Later production units were equipped with a 30-spline input shaft. Although the later 30-spline version is more desirable, both units can be interchanged if a torque converter with the proper spline count is also used. For the most part, you will find TH700R-4 models using the standard 153-tooth GM small-block flexplate; however, there are 168-tooth Chevy big-block and 166-tooth Pontiac flexplates available in the aftermarket. A detent or TV cable controlled the passing gearshifts. Several different detent cables were used depending on the vehicle the donor transmission came from. Later versions of this transmission, referred to as the 4L60E (1993 and up), used an additional electric kickdown solenoid to engage the passing gear; however, for this article we will be focusing on the earlier TH700R-4 and the 1990-’93 4L60 units.

TH700R-4/4L60 transmission shift ratios are: First, 3.06:1; Second, 1.625:1; Third, 1.00:1; OD, 0.69:1; Reverse, 2.29:1.

Both the TH700R-4 and the 4L60 versions have an overall length of 30-3/4 inches except in the Corvettes, which measure 29-7/8 inches overall. All other important dimensions such as bellhousing bolt circle and location of the transmission mount are listed in the parts locator section of our website at http://www.hemmings.com/parts-locator/transmissions.html.

You can find a donor transmission from one of these General Motors vehicles:

o 1984-’91 Buick Electra, LeSabre and Estate Wagon

o 1991-’92 Buick Roadmaster

o 1990-’92 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham

o 1982-’92 Chevrolet Impala and Caprice

o 1983-’93 Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird

o 1983 Chevelle

o 1982-’92 Corvette

o 1985-’91 Chevy Astro Van

o 1982-’93 S-10, T-10 and Sonoma small pickups and Blazers

o 1991 R and V series Suburbans up to 3/4 ton

o 1982-’93 C and K series pickups up to 3/4 ton

o 1982-’93 G series vans up to 3/4 ton and full-size Blazers

o 1991-’92 Olds Custom Cruiser station wagon

o 1991-’93 Olds Bravada

o 1986-’88 Pontiac Bonneville

o 1987-’88 Pontiac Grand Prix

o 1983-’86 Pontiac Parisienne

Read on

Accessory Hood Prop For the Sport Coupe

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1928-36 Black Bonnet/Hood Prop Kit A-16608-PC

Ever since one of the bonnet/hood clips came adrift from the radiator it’s been impossible have both sides open at once. To that end a black hood prop kit was purchased from O’Neill’s

The kit is of good quality with all the hardware required for a quick installation and has options for wide or narrow applications. For the 1929 Model A utilises the narrow option

The cross bar attaches to the radiator support rods

A quick measurement to ensure the bar is level

The support arms are bolted to the end of the cross bar, as mentioned above these are the shorter arms for the narrow application. As you can see the edge of the hood sits in the coated part of the arm.

Now fitted the kit gives the option of having both sides open in a tidy and safe manner. One thing to remember, be sure to fold the support arms before closing the hood.

Evapo-Rust and Ultrasonic Cleaner Meets Model B Transmission Parts

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As you can see the caps above were still in a pretty rusty state and this was after some soaking in paraffin.

So onto the next stage which involved the double team of Evapo-Rust and the Ultrasonic Cleaner

And as you can see after about a day just soaking in the Evapo-Rust and then a few hours in the Ultrasonic cleaner the results are very pleasing.

Model B Rear Gearbox Mount

The mount as you can see is in similar condition and is currently residing in the paraffin bucket and is destined for the Ultrasonic/Evapo-Rust combo if it it will fit!

What you need to know before buying a GM TH-200-4R Overdrive Transmission – Jim O’Clair @Hemmings

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The overdrive four-speed automatic is replacement for older three-speed Turbo Hydra-Matics or two-speed Powerglides

Many classic cars that used an original Powerglide two-speed or TH-350 three-speed can benefit from installing a TH-200-4R four-speed automatic without having to perform major modifications. The 200-4R can be used on many other GM passenger cars because it was manufactured with both a Chevrolet and a B-O-P bellhousing bolt pattern. The taller, fourth gear allows the engine it is installed behind to rotate at lower RPM than a three-speed transmission, and this not only will save on gas and engine wear, but it also allows you to change to larger rear axle ratios without severely impacting streetability.

TH-200-4R transmissions are very easy to locate from salvage yards, and most replacement parts are still available from transmission parts suppliers and auto parts stores. Heavy-duty parts for racing applications are available from transmission parts suppliers, as well.

Will a TH-200-4R fit in my car?

Your engine size should be a consideration; many muscle-car enthusiasts recommend using the TH-700-R4 or 4L80E overdrive units on large V-8 and higher performance engines. However, in many V-6 and small V-8 applications, a TH-200-4R will fit with fewer modifications.

The TH-200-4R, like the TH-350, uses a 27-spline output shaft, which is similar in length to the TH-350 and the TH-200, making it a natural for many overdrive conversions. The TH-200-4R is also similar in length to the Powerglide and the B-O-P Super-Turbine 300 (two-speed), which makes it a popular unit for converting from a two-speed to a four-speed automatic.

The TH-200-4R has a 2.74:1 first gear ratio, and overdrive is 0.67:1. Its odd-shaped 16-bolt pan has 13mm bolt heads. The TH-200-4R was used in GM rear-wheel-drive cars equipped with the 231 Buick, 301 Pontiac, and the Oldsmobile 307, 350 gas and 350 diesel engines from 1981-’90; however, many Chevrolet 267 and 305 V-8s also used the TH-200-4R because of the multi-fit bellhousing.

The transmission identification is on a plate on the right side of the case towards the tailshaft. This ID plate is attached by one rivet. The plate will have a two- or three-letter transmission code in large letters.

Which TH-200-4R should I get?

The most desirable TH-200-4Rs for performance enthusiasts are the units manufactured for Buick Grand National, Olds 4-4-2 and Chevy Monte Carlo SS in 1986-’87. These units used a special valve body. They also had a larger reverse boost valve, second to third intermediate servo, and a specially designed governor assembly. Their BQ, OZ, CZF, KZF or BRF transmission codes can identify these more desirable units.

This transmission is ideal for swapping with a TH-350 or a Powerglide, because the overall length and the bell housing bolt pattern of the TH-200-4R are the same, and your original driveshaft does not have to be shortened. The output shaft is 27-spline, the same as the TH-350’s. Moving the crossmember will be necessary, because the TH-200-4R crossmember is mounted on the extreme end of the tailshaft.

Read on

Almost a century later, the Model A is still one of the easiest cars there is to own – David Conwill @Hemmings

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Great examples are common, and restoring one couldn’t be simpler

While the A started out relatively simple, buyers carried over their accessorization habits from the Model T. Note the running-board luggage rack on the car above and the Moto-Meter temperature gauges on both. Welled fenders were a factory contribution to this craze .Courtesy of the Hemmings archives

The easiest collector cars in the world to own are those you can get the most parts for. You can probably name a lot of them: the ’55-’57 Chevy, the early Mustang, the first-generation Camaro, the Triumph TR6, the MGB, and so on. As grows the hobby, so does that list (as do the criteria for being on it—which now includes complete reproduction steel bodies), but since the beginning, included the 1928-’31 Ford Model A.

The complete history of the Model A as a sensational new car – including its proven durability during the worst of conditions of the Great Depression and World War II, and its popularity as a simple and easily improved used car in the shortage-wracked postwar period – is too detailed to get into here, but suffice it to say that the historical popularity of the A translates to an extremely robust and complete aftermarket still supporting these cars on the eve of their centennial. Even in as-delivered form, the Ford Model A remains an eminently driveable car—married with some improvements developed when it was nearly new, it can traverse virtually any 21st century road with ease.

There are plenty of opportunities to do so, too. Two clubs serve the Model A hobby specifically: The Ford Model A Restorers Club (MARC) and the Model A Ford Club of America (MAFCA). They maintain technical libraries, advisors, and most importantly, communities of enthusiasts with whom to trade ideas, tribal knowledge, parts, and information. Both organizations are variously tolerant of modifications pioneered in the A’s earliest days as a used car, especially when the appearance is kept stock or made to resemble a period speedster or race car.

Many of those changes blend seamlessly into a road-ready car, ideal for participating in tours like those organized by MARC, MAFCA, and the local chapters thereof, plus multi-marque events run by other organizations. Moreover, unless you live in a really congested area, a touring-grade Model A makes a great fair-weather driver for any purpose —assuming your insurance provider and licensing authority agree.

Speedsters and more heavily modified cars will find themselves welcome at other sorts of events, including hill climbs and traditional hot rod gatherings like The Race of Gentlemen. Beware, though: Beyond a certain point, the more heavily modified the engine, the more temperamental it becomes and the shorter its lifespan.

The standard Ford closed body for all years of production was the two-door sedan (spelled Tudor by Ford, to complement its naming the four-door sedans Fordor). It also proved the most popular in original production, with 523,922 built in calendar-year 1929 alone (Ford didn’t track body-style production by model year) and 1,281,112 by the end of ’31 production in early 1932. Most in-demand today are the roadster and coupe bodies. The former is reproduced, and though repair panels are obtainable, no complete closed Model A body is. A late-1928 to 1931 Tudor makes perhaps the ideal Model A owner’s car for a variety of reasons, not least of which is the prospect of extra leg room in the front seats, attractive price point in the current market, and an all-steel body (compared with the wood-framed Fordors, built by outside suppliers). It’s on that specific model that we’ll focus here.

Engine and drivetrain

While it’s a flathead four-cylinder, and parts from the Model A engine have been made to work in the Model T block, there’s not much in common between the 177-cu.in. Model T engine and the 1928-’31 Model A engine, which displaced 200 cu.in. and made 40 hp at 2,200 rpm —twice the T’s 20 hp at 1,600 rpm. Famously, one reason the Model A is often seen wearing a quail radiator mascot is because its abrupt acceleration reminded operators of that bird bursting forth from the underbrush. The four-cylinder retained its reputation for quick starts right up through the V-8 era, when owners of “bangers” preferred to race from a standing or low-speed rolling start (the origin of the drag race) against V-8 owners. The V-8’s longer-legged nature was reflected in the popularity of the greyhound mascot on ’32-’34 Fords.

In its stock form with a heavy flywheel, the Model A engine remains a roadable unit, though it’s hard for most owners of driven cars to resist internal improvements when rebuild time comes along. Upgrades to the oiling system are popular, as are counterweighted Model B crankshafts (which permit a lightened flywheel and installation of a later clutch). Replacement of the poured bearings with modern-type inserts are frequently discussed, but probably overkill on anything but an engine regularly driven hard.

Top-end modifications, including additional carburetors (both stock-style updraft and later-style downdraft), high-compression (this is relative —stock used a 4.22:1 ratio) cylinder heads, high-performance camshafts, and free-flowing exhaust manifolds all exist and are of varying utility depending on the owner’s intended use of a Model A. Some more compression (Ford itself offered a Police head, though aftermarket heads usually boasted a superior chamber design and more compression yet—anything in excess of 6.5:1 is not advised with poured bearings), a distributor incorporating centrifugal advance (stock units are driver-adjusted from the steering wheel—not a situation favored by every modern driver), a Model B-grind camshaft, a downdraft two-barrel carburetor (Stromberg types being a good compromise between period tech, flexibility, and present-day parts availability), and a cast-iron exhaust manifold will give a healthy enough boost to any engine that you may wish to look into some of the brake upgrades discussed below.

Some A owners have gone even further than modifying the factory engine, yet without straying all the way into V-8 territory. More than one Model A has received, complete, the 50-hp four-cylinder engine originally found in a 1932-’34 Ford Model B. Aside from an external fuel pump, the Model B block looks very much like the Model A, yet it hosts oiling improvements and a counterbalanced crankshaft. Opinions diverge on whether the earliest 1932s had the balanced crank, but the real split in desirability seems to stem from Ford’s switch from sweated-on to cast-in counterweights, the latter of which aid immensely in rebuilding.

The Model B engine was originally packaged with a heavily revised transmission. The original Model A unit was scaled down from the big Lincoln transmission in use in the late 1920s — complete with multi-plate clutch. That clutch was soon replaced with a conventional disc unit, but the heavy flywheel and unsynchronized gears remained. When synchromesh was introduced to the marketplace, however, the consumer wouldn’t long stand for the necessity of double-clutching, and lighter flywheels had the added benefit of letting an engine gain rpm faster—though to the detriment of shifting unsynchronized transmissions.

For 1932, the Model B transmission was essentially that of the V-8 car, but in a gear case designed to work with the four-cylinder. In fact, gearsets from Ford passenger cars up through 1948 will fit in the Model B case, though it’s tight. Because the Model A bellhousing also mounts its pedals, many B-powered A’s will have been modified to accommodate the Model A oil pan, bellhousing, and transmission. Alternately, a variety of schemes have been worked up to use Model A pedals with later transmissions, including swaps intended for the Borg-Warner T-5 five-speed, the Ford SROD four-speed, and the 1932-’39 Ford V-8 three-speed.

Transmission choice complicates the rest of the driveline, as Ford cars built through 1948 had their driveshaft enclosed in a suspension member called the torque tube. The Model A axle, though theoretically not as strong as the V-8 units of 1933-’48, will mate with the later Ford transmission without modification to either. Adapters to fit the SROD and certain models of T-5 to the torque tube have been offered, and some enthusiasts choose to switch to an open driveline. That latter option is complicated, however, because the radius rods alone were not designed to deal with the braking and acceleration forces of the rear axle.

The Model A came with a standard gearing of 3.78:1 while V-8-era Ford axles were typically 4.11:1, so swaps to later rear axles are possible but rarely performed unless seeking added strength during a V-8 swap.

Read on

Model A to Model B Transmission Swap 2023 Project

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Happy New Year!

I purchased an early Model B gearbox a while back at a good price, (3 years ago!! but never took things any further but now back on the radar) not in the best condition but appears to be serviceable. The other parts I’ve been gathering with the help of John Cochran. (need any Model A bits, he’s your man)

There are a fair number of parts needed to complete the conversion, but I think it’s worthwhile as its a synchronised transmission. The later unit is supposed to be a better option but we’ll work with what we have and it’s a good project to take into 2023.

As you can see some of the parts need some work. There are a number of differences between the Model A and Model B set up. Major items are the clutch housing, flywheel, relocation of the pedals and wishbones just to mention a few.

Made a start on the shift tower which had some rust and debris that has fallen into the gearbox, this however should be easy to remove. The unit was filled will gear oil when I originally purchased it to keep things lubricated during storage. As you can see even with a cursory initial clean up on the shift tower, things look a lot better.

During the clean up I came across the part number which is cast into the casing, stating 40-7222, which was a little confusing as this is the earlier transmission.

A quick check over at the excellent VanPelt site quickly solved the mystery

The 40-7222 shifter housing (known as the “slanted” tower) pictured below was used from 1933 through 1935 models. The B-7222 housing (1932 only) looked the same but had two mounting bosses on the right hand side for the parking brake handle mount. Both early housings incorporated the B-7235 shift lever guide plate (see picture at bottom of this page). The guide plate was discontinued after 1934 production. The early housings used the B-7230 and B-7231 forks through 1933 and perhaps part of 1934 production. The slanted towers used the smaller 7230/7231 shifter forks, but also used the smaller shifter levers. Although it will bolt on to any 1932-52 toploader gearbox case, it can NOT be used with the 1939 and later gear sets with the late style synchronizers. This housing is the single detent type, using the same detent spring and plungers as the 68-7222 housing.

Work continues!