Columbia Rear end? 1936

[293131]

Posting this for my dad...I'm an MG guy so, bare with me.

He just picked up a '36 Cabriolet and would like to put in, I believe he said, a Columbia rear end.

Are these plentiful? Who, if anyone sources them?

Any guidance would be extremely helpful.

Thank you!

[47topless]

They do come up for sale. This forum in the swap meet section, ebay etc.
A great source for this stuff is : https://www.columbiatwospeedparts.com/index.cfm
A Columbia is a wonderful addition. Go for it!

[Ken/Alabama]

The Columbia is a great addition. You can find them but they’re a little pricey by the time you get done rebuilding it. Any year Columbia will work, the hard part might be finding the correct Columbia axle housing for the right hand side and the correct controls. Everything else on the current 36 rear can be used, the Columbia replaces everything on the right side of the banjo housing.

[Seth Swoboda]

As an alternative, you can install a 3.54 ring and pinion gear in the rearend that he has. This will make a big difference in driveability.

I recently installed a 3.25 ring gear and 29/15 tooth gears in a 39 transmission case and installed it in my '37 tudor. I can drive easliy at 75 mph without high enigne RPM's. This works for me and it's cheaper than a Columbia.

I will add that I have driven a '35 Cabriolet with a Columbia and it's very nice.

[cas3]

I love the columbia in my 34 jalopy. Just got home from a sunset drive minutes ago. While cruising on the gravel roads, about 30, 3rd gear direct (4.11 rear) is abit lugish, low amps showing on the gauge, headlights on, but shifting to 2nd in the main box, and overdrive in the rear brings up the RPM to just perfect for that speed. Mine is manually shifted, as old truckers like lotsa shift levers, and it gives me 6 forward speeds.

[Ray in La Mesa]

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Love the cut down Columbia in my 1928 "A" pickup. The motor is warmed up a bit so it pulls the mountain grades around Big Bear lake, Ca. just fine. I created a manual shift too, never could find controls back in 1973.

[SoCalCoupe]

Originally Posted by 293131

Posting this for my dad...I'm an MG guy so, bare with me.

He just picked up a '36 Cabriolet and would like to put in, I believe he said, a Columbia rear end.

Are these plentiful? Who, if anyone sources them?

Any guidance would be extremely helpful.

Thank you!

Guidance: Join the national and local chapter of the Early Ford V8 (EFV8) Club. Connect with the people.

Don't know if I'd say rare, but they're hard to find and certainly not plentiful. People have stashes, but to the best of my knowledge, no once sources them. I'm not the historian but I believe the last ones made new were for the 1948 Ford, 75 years ago. A lot that are available now are so broken or incomplete they're worthless. You can get cheated badly if you don't know what to look for.

Go to the Columbiatwospeedparts.com website and read every page.

In addition to EFV8 club members, contact John Connelly of Columbiatwospeedparts.com and let him know you want one for a '36. He sells repair parts, not complete units but people connect with him.

That's how I found mine. I let him know I was looking, someone else told him they were selling and he hooked us up. He's a great guy.

[deuce lover]

The Early Ford Store in San Dimas,CA occasionally has one or did.Call them at the time they open to talk to someone.When it's all said and done at retail price you could have over $4K in this conversion.

[blucar]

I have a '36 Ford 5 win that I have had since 1952.. It had a Columbia 2 spd in it when I bought it.. The early Columbia's are a little crude, difficult to shift and almost impossible to find parts for.
I converted my '36 to a '47-48 Columbia in 1955 with the '46-48 electric over vacuum controls.. It was a bolt in application using the '36 center section/drive-line w/ 37-39 radius bars and '38-39 drums.
The gear ratio in my rear end is 3.78, engine is a 59AB that has been modified.
There are people in the EFV8 world that will claim that the later Columbia's have to be cut down to fit the narrow '36, ain't so. the '46-48 axles are 2" wider than the '36, which equals 1" on each side, not worth the effort to cut the axles and housings down.

[40larry]

Originally Posted by 293131

Posting this for my dad...I'm an MG guy so, bare with me.

He just picked up a '36 Cabriolet and would like to put in, I believe he said, a Columbia rear end.

Are these plentiful? Who, if anyone sources them?

Any guidance would be extremely helpful.

Thank you!

Talk to Joe Longobardi in Temple City CA. He builds them and sells them. 626-287-1836 and he is a 1936 expert also!

[41 Ford PU]

293131: I found this on ebay.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/144988130311.
It's @ $1,500.00 USD and $500.00 freight.
It is pretty much junk in my opinion, but perhaps it could be restored.
That's you call.

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by blucar

I have a '36 Ford 5 win that I have had since 1952.. It had a Columbia 2 spd in it when I bought it.. The early Columbia's are a little crude, difficult to shift and almost impossible to find parts for.
I converted my '36 to a '47-48 Columbia in 1955 with the '46-48 electric over vacuum controls.. It was a bolt in application using the '36 center section/drive-line w/ 37-39 radius bars and '38-39 drums.
The gear ratio in my rear end is 3.78, engine is a 59AB that has been modified.
There are people in the EFV8 world that will claim that the later Columbia's have to be cut down to fit the narrow '36, ain't so. the '46-48 axles are 2" wider than the '36, which equals 1" on each side, not worth the effort to cut the axles and housings down.

[41 Ford PU]

293131: I highly recommend that you read the information contained in https://www.columbiatwospeedparts.com/index.cfm.

Not only is there a wealth of information, but also it tells you what to look for when buying one.

[larrys40]

It makes it a new car. If you can spend the $$ I would do the Columbia without hesitation. Have one in my 40 and have done many. John Connelly at Columbia two speed can guide you. No it’s not cheap but it makes the cat so much more pleasurable to drive and is a lot easier in the car and you as well.

Wouldn’t have one without it in todays traffic world.
Larry

[JayChicago]

Yeah, but....
When I see a post about how wonderful it is to have an overdrive so you can keep up with today's traffic, I like to repost something from Kube from long ago. It went something like this:
"I can imagine driving our cars at 65-70 MPH, but I can't imagine being able to safely stop or steer from that speed."

[blucar]

I have owned my '36 Ford for seventy-one years (1952-2023). The car was dead stock when I bought it from the original owner, a teacher at my high school in Eastern Idaho.
Within a few weeks of buying the car I went to work improving the mechanical
components of the car.
I loved the look of the '36, my friends and I had drooled over the 36 since we were in Jr. High. The '36 was not my first car, I bought my first car when I was 14. I had six cars, all Chevy's before it, ranging from '37, 38, 40, 41, 46, 42, and very briefly a 41 Ford conv.
Within a few months of buying the '36 I did a 180 degree spin-out on dry pavement on a four lane highway between Salt Lake City and Ogden. That event demonstrated to me the weakness of the '36 suspension, I went on a mission to improve the handling of the car utilizing all Ford components from various years from '36 to '48, with some speed equipment added into the mix.

I have driven "Henry" for over 94K miles in howling blizzards, poring rain, blistering desert heat, urban highways/freeways traffic.
To the average person my Ford looks like it is stock, been repainted once and still has the original upholstery.

[Kube]

I had John Connelly make a correct '36 axle housing for me. I'd sent him a stock housing and a '46 - '48 Columbia housing to work with. The later Columbia housings are plentiful and cheap.
John did a beautiful job "combining" the two to make the '36 housing.
The difference between no Columbia and Columbia installed ('36 roadster) is night and day.
I tend to keep the car around 55MPH. With the OD engaged, the car seems to magically smooth out. Engine is hardly spinning.

John should have all of the correct controls for you. He's a good guy that you can trust.

[deuce5wndw]

1936 Columbia is very rare and I've wondered if a 1937-40 would be a direct bolt in for the 36. Thanks guys.

[Kube]

Originally Posted by deuce5wndw

1936 Columbia is very rare and I've wondered if a 1937-40 would be a direct bolt in for the 36. Thanks guys.

Nope. The axle housing is quite different. The '36 radius rods attach in a very different method (place) than '37 - '40.

[deuce5wndw]

[QUOTE=Kube;2270864]Nope. The axle housing is quite different. The '36 radius rods attach in a very different method (place) than '37 - '40.[/QU

Thanks Kube, I knew that but I'm talking about a complete assembly including the rear spring.