Wanted: transfer case

[chris vickery]

To each his own as they say but here's my .02 worth...
I too am very much a purist when it comes to restorations. Yes, some mods seem to make sense and make a vehicle more "drivable" but something to consider is the fact that they were designed to be "drivable" in the first place.
Perhaps not in the way the modern world considers it to be, but drivable nonetheless.
When there vehicles were engineered I believe that they used the best combinations know at the time to come up with the designs that they did. Things like brakes and suspension were carefully calculated to work together with the drivetrain of the day. Truthfully, I reason that CMPs were made to go a certain speed for a reason. Messing with that by adding "performance improvements" only works as a total system- that system is only as strong as its weakest link. If one were to start increasing HP, speed etc it would only be reasonable that things like steering, suspension and braking should be improved upon as well... Vehicle engineering is in fact a total formula afterall.

[Bob Phillips]

dont want to hijack the search for a transfer case but...
CMP chevs were grossly underpowered with the 216 engine, the addition of a 235 or 261 does not in any way overtax the driveline, to wit a fellow collector/restorer who routinely drives a stretched " restored" 15 cwt witha 350 chev v8 and auto trany on the rural highways around Stratford. I think having a lighter foot helps.
My first experience with cmps (40 plus years ago) was at Simpson sawmill Galt, where they ran 3 converted 3 ton chevys as forklift trucks. They were Sedora brothers conversions, Mt Albert Ont who did 150 plus conversions. They were all repowered with 250 chev engines and the parts of the driveline that routinely failed under duress was the axle shafts which twisted off with annoying regularity.This was not surprising as the rear axle (now under the boom) was welded solidly to the frame so when pushing against a pile of logs in muddy ground something had to give- usually not the transfer case.
You can break anything if you try hard enough, taking it easy usually gets you through.

[Larry Mass]

Thanks to all the replies but i think i will still look for a single speed case as it won't see many miles.
Thanks again
Larry

[Jacques Reed]

Hi Larry,

To each his own, but I am on the originality side like yourself. I had a two speed transfer case in my F15-A and spent a lot of time and effort putting it back to the single speed case. It involved welding up and grinding back the elongated mounting holes burnt in the transfer case brackets to accommodate the larger two speed case.
I also had to source the correct rear floor plate and single speed change lever.

In support of the two speed however, if one is running 20" wheels instead of original 16" wheels then there is some merit to the two speed case in a F15-A. The low range is 1.87:1 which makes for a lower speed in 4WD. If you don't intend a lot of serious off-roading then the single speed original setup should do just fine.

There are some misconceptions around that a two speed case give you more road speed. I have heard it repeated a few times which is not the case as both single and two speed only give 1:1 ratio in 2WD. It is not an overdrive.
In fact. with the extra weight, a two speed case would probably affect top road speed slightly.

Cheers.