My TT is so slow

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2014: My TT is so slow
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ronnie wehba on Sunday, August 17, 2014 - 11:09 am:

What is the best way to get 25+mph out of my truck! live a few miles out of town like to drive it to town some but could walk faster thanks think I'll fix some oil leaks today!!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Michael R Beary on Sunday, August 17, 2014 - 11:17 am:

How is it set up now? All stock? Ruckstell? Vibration over 20mph?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jim Thode Chehalis Washington on Sunday, August 17, 2014 - 11:23 am:

Higher gear ratio in the rear end will speed it up a little and an auxiliary transmission will speed it up more. Both with a hopped up engine will get you quite a bit more speed.

Jim


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Henry Petrino in Modesto, CA on Sunday, August 17, 2014 - 12:15 pm:

Sounds like you have a stock TT with a low speed rear end. As Jim said, switching to a high speed rear end, adding an auxiliary transmission and souping up the engine will give lots more speed. It's just a question of how much money you want to spend.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By jeff cordes on Sunday, August 17, 2014 - 12:42 pm:

Come to the t party in san angelo and you will see a couple of fast TTs. I will even take you for a ride so you see for yourself.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ronnie wehba on Sunday, August 17, 2014 - 02:00 pm:

Stock with a rucksell is there a gear change for the rucksell, and yes we will bring it to San angelo


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Justin Heim on Sunday, August 17, 2014 - 02:50 pm:

When a TT is referred to as being slow the first response is usually "Put in a high speed gear." Are these that common but people are just holding on to them or what? A new one costs $1840.00 +shipping. I understand that production of something like this is difficult and expensive but that kind of money is what most project trucks can be purchased for. I sent Mike Hartmann (producer of the gear sets) an email asking what could bring the price of the sets down. I know that volume of production can bring costs down but unless he has confirmed orders or deposits that becomes risky business if he invests in a lot of them on his own. Maybe one of the big T suppliers could make a deal to purchase a fairly large order and get a cost cut that may at least bring these gears into more TT owners' budgets.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Henry Petrino in Modesto, CA on Sunday, August 17, 2014 - 03:23 pm:

There was an ad for repro gears posted recently on another thread. I don't know exactly how old it is, but it seems to me the repro gear sets have only been around for a couple of years. I think the difference in price between the original $620 and the current $1,840 demonstrates that the price is probably based on what the market will bear, not a cost to manufacture and reasonable profit concept.

I'd love to have a set, but they're way out of my price range. The link to the thread with the ad:

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/411944/469687.html?1407857062


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Norman T. Kling on Sunday, August 17, 2014 - 03:34 pm:

The TT was made to haul heavy loads. In order to accomplish that with the small engine, it is necessary to gear down. You can't have both in the same vehicle, but you can speed it up somewhat if you do raise the gear ratio, then you also need an auxiliary transmission to use for low speeds and uphill. I know it is costly to make those modifications, but they really do need to be done. If you are lucky, you might find used equipment at swap meets or e-bay. Used might be cheaper, but could be worn out, so you just have to keep searching or spending to accomplish what you want to do.
Norm


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By jeff cordes on Sunday, August 17, 2014 - 03:57 pm:

Every TT ruckstell I have ever bought had the high speed gears in them. I have heard of one TT ruckstell that had the slow speed gears in it. Most if not all of the ruckstells were used for delivery vehicles so that loaded they used the low range and running empty they had a higher gear to make time. My point is if you want to find a high speed gear set you need to stumble onto a TT ruckstell and the odds are in your favor.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Henry Petrino in Modesto, CA on Sunday, August 17, 2014 - 04:04 pm:

That's very interesting, Jeff! Thanks for the tip.

I bet you'd need to sink a post to measure progress in a TT equipped with low speed rear end gears, in Ford low and a Ruckstell in low. :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Terry Woods, Richmond, Texas on Sunday, August 17, 2014 - 04:43 pm:

Jeff, Any truth to the rumor that the high speed gear ratio or gear teeth count was stamped into the housing near where it breaks apart?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Justin Heim on Sunday, August 17, 2014 - 04:54 pm:

That doesn't make me feel any better about Ruckstells. I had a nice one that I got with my first chassis that I parted out and before I knew about the different ratios that were available. I sold it to a guy that made me an offer that I couldn't refuse. That could have been exactly what I needed. Oh well, live and learn.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hal Davis-SE Georgia on Sunday, August 17, 2014 - 05:52 pm:

Mine has the low speed rear end and I drive about 25. No faster, but right about 25. I've never understood the guys that say they can't get but 15 or 18. Now, mine has the driveshaft whip at about that speed, but it goes away when you speed up. At normal acceleration (for me), the vibration last 1-2 seconds as I pass through that speed range. We used to have one of those radar speed limit signs set up in town. I used to pass by that thing and it read 24 like clockwork. Whenever I take out my cell phone to check my speed, it's always in the 24-25 range. Bone stock. No high compression anything, no auxiliary anything.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tom Lovejoy, So Cal on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 12:24 am:

high sped gears come up cheap ever so often, I sold a well worn set for 25 bucks at the last Long Beach swap. My TT's ruxtel had the slow speed gears and mine would not do more than 18mph top cruising speed. Might of been able to get a bit more out of it, but did not want to blow it up.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jim Thode Chehalis Washington on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 12:56 am:

My TT Ruckstell has the low/standard speed gears in it. The shifter linkage was not installed and it was locked in low/Ruckstell. It was very slow and I think it was last used in a freight yard and likely never got out on public roads.

Here is the ratio/speed chart.



You can look at it this way, a standard geared TT is way better for parades then a standard geared T. A standard T is not good for parades at all.

Jim


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erik Barrett on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 01:23 am:

I have bought and sold a lot of TT parts. In my experience only about one out of eight or ten TT rear ends will yield a set of good high speed gears. They have two failure modes. 1: They get run low on oil and the bull gear (ring gear) wears out. 2: The rear end lays around, fills up with water, and the worm gear rusts beyond use. The good news is I can often put together sets from different rear ends with these problems and the gears work great together. They have no mesh adjustment and they never make noise as long as they have oil. The bad news? I can't keep them in stock. Every guy who has a TT needs them, unless parades are all they participate in. With high speed gears and an overdrive such as a Warford or Muncie, a TT will do over 40 MPH with a good engine. Mine has been over 50. You can tour with your T club in a TT so equipped. Upgrades to the brakes are mandatory. I have been watching the effort to reproduce these gears. They are extremely complex compared to model T rear end gears that retail for $250 or more. It is hard to believe that it could be done for $1900 a set. I really believe all you guys with T trucks that would lose a drag race with a Craftsman lawn mower should sign up as many as possible to justify a production run. I have two guys with T trucks that would write a check for a set of gears if I could supply them. I'm all out of them.
Erik


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By samuel pine on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 06:08 am:

Dont feel bad Ron, last weekend I was enjoying the
ride. About to turn, a couple of bikers the ones
dressed like aliens, I turn and in an instant I was
surrounded by 20,000 of them. Now I'm in the middle
of some marathon or something I just cant go that
slow or use low 5 miles of it aint got a second
speed or a Ruxtal. Live and learn i guess. Then
my shame, was my kid in the town fire truck side
the road laughing at me like I told you so.

sam


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Fred Miller, Sequim WA on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 11:58 am:

Jim you do realize that the above chart is good for 1000 rpm only. That's just above an idle. For specs somewhere in the service bulletins show the top speed for the TT with the low gears (7 to 1) to be capable of 22.5 miles per hour. Changing to the high speed gears you will be closer to 33 MPH.
The TT I have will runs at 34 MPH at 1800 RPM with just the high speed gears. I can get it to go faster but that seems to be plenty fast for me.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hal Davis-SE Georgia on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 01:12 pm:

The chart is good for any rpm. Just multiply by your rpm and divide by 1000.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ron on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 02:21 pm:

Am happy to take any TT that is deemed "too slow" off someone's hands. Just want the running gear - you can keep the cab and whatever bed is on it - she's going to get a platform body, a bench seat over the gas tank, be treated like a Dusenberg and won't have to exceed 10 mph on my property as she makes light hauls of brush to the burn pile.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By jeff cordes on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 03:00 pm:

I have never heard of so many low speed ratio ruckstells. I'm in the south and I guess the somewhat flatter terrain meant higher gears. Or maybe I have just been lucky. I have 4 TT ruckstells and all of them had high speed gear sets in them when I got them.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Anthony J Marino on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 03:30 pm:

Jeff, what's your experience with non-Ruckstell TT rear ends, if any?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By kep on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 03:33 pm:

This thread makes me want to own a ton truck.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Fred Miller, Sequim WA on Monday, August 18, 2014 - 04:59 pm:

Jim I didn't mean to beat up on you. I read so many threads on how slow the trucks are and it drives me nuts. Sorry. It seems that good roads were far and few up until the early 1920's. Then money was allocated to improve the road system in this country by paving them. So in the mid 20's the road speeds were increasing and the TT's followed suite with high speed gears in 1922. It's interesting to read that larger cities had a special speed limit just for trucks at 15 mph. Roads got better and speed limits were raised then in 1924 larger tires were introduced for the TT and then Ruckstell also showed up for the TT's in 1924. I think that's why most of the later TT's will have the high speed gear sets in them especially if a Ruckstell was installed.
I should note here that there were many other transmission companies selling gearboxes with overdrives to speed up the TT market about the same time.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jim Thode Chehalis Washington on Tuesday, August 19, 2014 - 12:50 am:

Fred,
Yes the chart is for 1000 rpm. If you run your high speed rear end at 1800 rpm just multiply the 18.4 mph/1000 rpm in the chart times 1.8 to get 33.1 mph. About the same as the 34 mph that you reported. If your tires diameter is just a little more then 32" that would make the difference. What diameter are your tires?

I noted 1600 rpm in the chart because that seems to be about what a car will run flat out and the 1600 rpm is about the maximum power output. I'm sure that folks can squeeze a little more speed out.

With standard 7.25:1 gearing, a speed of not more than 15 mph was recommended, and with 5.17:1 gearing, a speed of not more than 22 mph was recommended, according to Ford Dealers Data Book 1923.
http://www.mtfca.com/books/ford.htm#trk
But that is a little bit of a contradiction. They also advertized 20hp but at that slow speed the engine would never develop 20hp.

Jim


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Chris Olsen on Tuesday, August 19, 2014 - 07:57 am:

Kep: I'm with you, along with Roger Karlsson's fantastic machine this thread gave me 'da sickness.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Tuesday, August 19, 2014 - 08:31 am:

The high speed gear ad with the $620 price is from five years ago. When you think of the low price, remember how much folks had to work for it back in those days.


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