Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

Hi all,

Did a nice 60 mile trip with the 34 Touring this weekend. Took the kids to the park in it! Performed well. Still have some minor tweaking.

If I ever want to tour this car (and I do), I will need to upgrade the rear gears. I will never forget being passed on the highway by some early Packards heading to the same show I was going. I had my 39 120 and they passed me about 70MPH.

Who is making them these days and does anyone have experiance with them.

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Are you inquiring about a 1934 or a 39 120? I assume you were inquiring about the car you pictured. If you meant the 39 120, OD is your answer. Most of the 34 Eight open body-style cars had 4.36, with 4.07 optional. The Super Eights and Twelves had 4.41 with 4.06 optional; only the closed cars had the 4.69 with 5.07 optional. If you could find the 4.07/06 that would be great but they're pretty much impossible to find.

Phil Bray (ORF Corporation) is the maker of the high speed gears for Cadillac, Duesenberg, Packard, etc. 8858 Ferry Road, Grosse Ile, MI 48138, tel 734-676-5520. Be forwarned that an Eight (320 engine) with a fairly heavy body is NOT a good candidate for anything below the 4.06/07, you'll be downshifting frequently even on modest upgrades. From the pix you've got a Super Eight so something like 3.98 which I believe is the standard offering of Phil would be OK.

Still, a regular diet of 70 mph in something this old isn't the greatest idea; although I see you have artillery wheels, wheel failure from spoke fatigue is just one of the types of problems which have happened to folks and can easily lead to horrible consequences.

Of course a frame-mounted Mitchell OD is an option which many have found to be better, though frame and driveshaft modifications are not trivial. I've heard they are available for the Packard in two reductions, 27 or 34%, approximately.

PS - your car seems to have the original clamp-on sidemount mirrors - are they still equipped with the small, 3-tab sheetmetal padlocks?

I have Phil Bray high speed gears in my 34 Roadster. I wouldn't take it to 70, but 55-60 is a comfortable speed, the engine maintaining a nice 165 degree temp.

They ain't cheap!

Tom

Yes, gears for the 34. My 39 120 has OD now and its nice.

Just got off the phone with Phil. In stock and ready to ship.

Thanks for the advise and contact info.

The wood wheels will be coming off soon and replaced with wires. I just dont like the look of wood on a mid 30's car.

What ratio does Phil offer? Current prices if you're willing to tell us?

Are you getting new (as in newly manufactured) wires, or original wheels?

4.06 from Phil on the 34. Todays price is 1700 plus 30 to ship.

I will be re-placing with 6 original wire wheels that will be tested and trued at a vintage wire wheel company.

$1700 is not half bad considering a little over ten years ago when I paid Phil $1500 in round numbers for a 4.07:1 for the 726 ('30 Standard Eight).

John Oder

That's a coincidence. A month or 2 ago I was quoted $1700 by the local GM dealer for a standard set of rear end gears for a GM 10 bolt rear end, to fit my 1996 Chev Suburban. Not installed. Just the gears.

I bought a set of aftermarket Motion gears for $179.

Wonder why GM is going out of business? They certainly charge enough for parts.

I have struggled with the idea of going to OD or HS gears on my 32 Super open. I have no issue driving 50 here in Oregon. Traffic is a lot slower hear (at least in the right lane) than other parts of the country. So if I put in HS gears, then I can go 60 instead of 50. Over an hours drive, I get there 12 minutes sooner. I sort of of enjoy driving at 50 taking in the scenery and knowing that I have plenty time to stop as I won't have cars in front of me. Going to 4.06 wouldn't only mean about 10% rpm reduction.

So I thing an OD makes more sense, but at 2.5 times the cost, I'm reluctant to spend the moolah.

I'm in the process on installing a OD tranny in my 38 coupe. All I have left to do is get a new drive shaft and so far it has cost under $500 (I'm doing all the labor). According to the info that I have gathered, engaging OD will give me an effective rear end ratio of 3:14 from my standard 4:38.