Synthetic Oil and Overdrive Transmissions

Hi Doug,

I have a question for you. 

I have been trying to find out if it is okay to use synthetic oil in the early Borg Warner T series 3 sp with od transmissions. I work on Hudsons, which use the R10 OD unit, then later the BW T86 and Studebakers which used the BW with OD transmissions.

Years ago I was told you could not use synthetic oil in them as it was “too slick” for the OD to work correctly. Now I understand that the oil needs to be compatible with brass parts that are in the transmissions and the Redline brand that I use is compatible
with “yellow metal” in transmissions and rear ends.

What is your thoughts on using synthetic oil in these units?

Thanks so much for your time!
 
Kerry
Wellborn, FL

Hello Kerry,

I don't have experience with the Redline Brand, but I do have experience with the Royal Purple. I know that you should not use the Royal Purple with yellow metal. It will turn your oil to a metallic yellow. In my case, it was dissolving the syncro rings. 

In my "stand alone" Borg Warner OD unit. I do use the Royal Purple for the reason, I believe it will withstand greater temperature than conventional gear oil will. The OD unit generates a tremendous amount of heat because of the large numbers of moving parts in a small space.

In standard application, whereas it is attached to the back of the transmission, it can dissipate the heat more efficiently. 

If your Redline Brand is compatible with yellow metal, I would say it is probably going to be a good thing to run, if you are pushing your transmission with more power than it was originally designed for, however if you are using it in standard application, conventional oil is probably adequate.

If you have a leak, it is generally more of a leak with synthetic. 

Hope this helps,
Doug

Ask Doug Nite Owl Tail Light Lens

February 13, 2014

Doug

I have a 1935 Dodge Coupe with a Nite Owl tail lens for one side only. I would like to find another one for the other side.
I see you have used these lenses on a project. Would you happen to know where I could find another one?
These lenses have the two screw mount holes directly across from each other, the same as 1933 - 36 Ford Cars have.

Best Regards

Tony Waters

Tony,


The Nite Owls are really cool aren't they?

A friend has collected a couple of them, but as you probably know, they are extremely hard to find, and I am pretty sure he would not even consider parting with them.

You know the saying, looking for a needle in a hay stack?

Thanks for the inquiry though, and good luck with the hunt.

Doug

Doug,

On the 1939 Chevrolet, you said you put highway gears in, did you use the original housing? If yes, how did you do it?

Thanks, Victor

Hello Victor,

We actually used the 1940 rear end and adapted the 39 drive line to that because we had a set of NOS gears for the 40. I recall a little machine work to make it happen with the drive line.

It may be possible to use an aftermarket, early replacement universal joint rear half with the original front half in order to couple the 40 driveline. I know that works for the trucks. Some of the better quality joints won't work because they were the needle bearing style, instead of the early style, solid bearing type. Finding gears is the hard part. I don't know if there are any new gear manufacturers. Sometimes those are noisy and inferior quality. I installed a Borg Warner Overdrive in my truck. It works very well. That requires a lot more machine work and engineering. I have another case and extra gear set for the OD.

There are some options for you to think about if any of that interests you. I think I have one of the universal joints that I spoke of earlier too.

Thanks for asking, Doug

Overdrive upgrade in your Vintage Automobile

Doug,

I’m working on a 1936 Dodge (P-24 Engine, original transmission).  Planning to use this as a DRIVER ... Local Car Shows and Cruise In’s.  I’d like to be able to cruise at current road speeds (55-60). Can’t do it with stock gearing.  The engine’s ‘sweet spot’ is around 45 MPH.  Any suggestions you have will be appreciated but would really like information and sources for an original, period correct, floor shift Borg Warner (?) OVERDRIVE or Overdrive Transmission.  Thanks in advance for your help and counsel. 

Bill

Hello Bill,

My suggestion would be to research the later Chrysler Corp. 3 speed overdrive transmissions. I seriously doubt that you will find anything that would be date correct to your 36 Dodge that would give you the gear ratio that you are seeking. I am not that familiar with the Chrysler options and or interchangeability. It may be that you will have to mount an overdrive separately, as I did in my 37 Chevy Pickup.
Yours should be easier to install if I am correct in assuming that you have an open drive line situation in your Dodge.

If I can be of further assistance, let me know.

Doug

Replacing Floor Pans and Rocker Panels with originals.

Hi Doug,

 
I'm restoring a 61 Cadillac convertible. Floor pan.  Bracing and rockers are rotted out so I have a 62 Cadillac 2 door with a good floor etc., that I'm intending to cut out in one piece to replace the convertible floor pan etc. Assuming the floors are identical which I believe they are.
I was a body and fender man 40 years ago, so I hope I haven't forgotten too much. Of course dimensions and alignment are critical. Any advice would be very much appreciated.

My other hobby projects are a 74 Corvette, 68 Plymouth, 55 Imperial, 59 Imperial and another 62 Cadillac. All 2 doors.

Thanks very much.
Best Regards,
Gary
Kingston, WA

Hi Gary,

Taking it apart at the original factory seams is the way to go. They make some real good spot weld cutters/drills now, that we just didn't have 40 years ago. Also, we are using die grinders with cut off wheels, to cut welds. It used to be that we took everything apart with an air chisel, back in the late 60s and 70s. Those are used much less now as it was so easy to damage your project with the chisel. We also have a weld through primer now for the seams that consists of a high zinc content. This primer does a fantastic job of holding down the corrosion in your welded seams. It does make plug welding more difficult, but the benefit outweighs the negative.

Once you get your floor pan and rocker assemblies removed at the proper seams, clean them thoroughly and punch holes for your spot/plug welds, keeping in mind the easiest side to dress your welds when finished,  assuming that you will be using a mig welder to reassemble your car.

Prime up your seams and fit the panels in place. Make sure your car is sitting perfectly flat and that all your door openings are fitting perfectly and that your convertible top is fitting good, and your window seals are lining up as you go through the process of reassembly. Check your fits frequently, as you do the reassembly. Your starting points for fit is always your fixed body points. The easiest way to maintain that is by making sure your doors are fit to your rockers and "A" pillars before you take things apart. Even gaps at the bottoms of your doors to the original rockers usually gives a good starting point. Keep the doors attached if possible as this with give you the correct position to place your new rockers.

It is extremely difficult to correct problems with fit after a major reconstruction project that you are planning to do, is done improperly.

I have taken on projects like what I just mentioned and did what I could to correct those mistakes that someone else made. It is nearly impossible to end up with a real good finished product after such a thing has taken place though.

Finally, when it is all in place and cleaned real well, seal all the necessary seams with a good urethane seam sealer. That is another thing that we didn't have 40 years ago. Good seam sealer!

Going back to the beginning... If you take your project over to Scott at Benchmark Automotive, located in the business park by Albertsons. You can probably get things cleaned up with his new, wet glass blasting system, especially in the areas that you will be working. You should at least give him a call to discuss the possibilities. Clean metal is far better to work with when doing such a project.




Good luck with your project and don't hesitate to give me a call if you need. I'm over in Sequim now.

Doug

1936 Packard Hooper Bodied Limousine Coach

Doug,

We, Don & Judy, bought a 1936 Packard that had a custom Hooper Coach Builders Ltd. aluminum body, that had a body made in England.  The steering wheel was on the right side. We sold it to a man on Mercer Island who owned a travel agency business in 1968 because we were moving to Arizona and couldn't keep it.

Have you ever seen it?

We bought it for $1,500 in 1964 and sold it for $1,475 in 1968.

A WWII American Army vet in Bothell, WA was friends with a WWII English Army vet.  There was a large estate sale in England in 1963 with five classic cars, which included the 1936 Packard, one or two old Bentleys, and old Jaguar and the fifth old classic car that I can't remember the type.  They shipped all five classic cars over on a ship and sold them from the front lawn of the man who lived in Bothell, WA.

From the wind shield forward it was Packard, with a Packard engine and running gear, but from the wind shield back it was a custom Hooper Coach Builders Ltd aluminum body.  When you opened the back doors, there were brass plates above the running boards that said "Hooper Coach Builders Ltd, Coach Builders to her Majesty the Queen"  A wealthy Englishman had two made and, reportedly, one was destroyed during the bombings of WW II in London.

The turn signals were lite arms that popped up between the front and back doors.  It had a "Jack-all" system, with built-in jacks behind each wheel and you could dial "front-back- or all" from the engine area and it would jack up each area.

Don & Judy

Don & Judy,

Thank you for visiting my site RestoRodsToGo and submitting your "Ask Doug" inquiry. With the help of a friend and former chair person for the Pebble Beach Concours d' Elegance Glenn Mounger, we located an ad for the car you are inquiring about. There wasn't a specific link for the ad itself on the Packard Club site, so I placed a copy of the ad with a link below, to the Packard Club advertisement for the 1936 Packard!

Doug

Packard Club

General Jumbo Restoration Cleveland Welding Wheels

Hello Doug,


I ran into your website after doing a search on General Jumbos and I was wondering if there is a possibility you can help me or
guide me in the right direction.


I have what I believe to be a set of Cleveland Welding Wheels aka General Jumbos, two of the wheels have some bad pits on the outer wheel and I would like to restore the wheels so I can run them on my old Chevy. The pits are pretty deep but have not gone through the wheel itself. They are on the inside area of the wheel, possibly the tires held moisture.


I was wondering what would be the best way to either change out the outer or if there is any way of fixing the pits. I have contacted
Stockton Wheel and they say they can change the outer but they want to weld the spoke to the outer. Do you think that's a good idea?


The wheels I have are a 15 inch 10 spoke and are a 6 lug, they do fit my Chevy. I would like to restore them like the set you have pictured, chrome inner and black powder coated outer with the caps being chromed also.


I have included a couple of pictures of the set of wheels I have. Thank you for taking your time to read this and any information would be appreciated.


Regards,


Gerardo

Gerardo,
I don't know which blog post you were reading on my web site. If you were reading about the Chevy 9 spoke wheels and saw the picture of the one that looked finished. That was a process called Cosmichrome. The process was a failure. There may be someone in your area that is capable of applying the material properly, but of the 4 wheels that I had done, only one had reasonably good adhesion. The other three pealed when I pulled the masking tape. The absolute accuracy of application is extremely critical, and unfortunately, the guy that did mine, failed to meet that critical accuracy.

If you have access to someone capable of applying the Cosmichrome, it would be acceptable to weld the centers to the rims and then do your finishing.

If you plan to chrome the centers and paint the rims, I would advise you to put them together with insert nuts in the spokes, as I did with the 11 spoke wheels. Do your fitting  with the insert nuts in the spokes, and countersink your fasteners into the rims. That way you can chrome the centers a lot less expensive than doing the whole wheel and then painting the rims after.

Either way you go with your restoration project, it will be an expensive and complex process. Reaching your goal will be very rewarding with some very attractive and unique wheels.

Doug

1936 Chevrolet Original Survivor

Thomasuras Rick  to me
   

MAN !!!!!!!!!!! What nice work.  I'm a home builder and 30's era car lover 1936 is my favorite year and I searched  the net looking at cars ,rod builders , and doing research on 30 ERA woodies for my project and I have to say your site and cars are the best I've seen . I'm attaching a photo of my 1936 D2 that's all original down to the paint. It was a crazy find and it's amazing to see an original car in this shape , the window rubber and floor mats are all dried and cracking but I'm leaving it. The car has never been apart or painted, and runs great , Didn't help my project any I had to find another parts car . But I relay enjoyed your site and am amazed at your fine work .

Thanks for the compliment.
Your 36 is a beauty and I'm glad you are keeping it in it's original state. There are so few of these true survivors. Once you restore a car, it puts it into a different category. It is just wonderful to see originals like the one here that you were so lucky to acquire.
Doug

1940 Ford Deluxe Dash in a 40 Ford Pickup Truck

"Doug,

I'm thinking of replacing the dash in my 1940 Ford P/U With a 1940 Deluxe Dash !! What do you think.

Thomas"

Thomas,

It's hard to beat that look when you can retain all the original gauges and trim. What's hard for me to understand is why people will install the 40 dash and then remove everything that makes it what it is. They end up with just a silhouette of what it was, loosing completely, the charm and wonderful design work. Guess it's along the same lines as removing door handles and adding hidden hinges, swinging the door backwards etc. You can turn a real car into something that looks plastic. Just my opinion, for what that's worth.

Doug

R-10 Borg Warner Overdrive Custom Installation and Operation

"Hello Doug,

I just left a comment on your blog about the Nash OD unit in the 37 Chevy truck...well done BTW!!

I've been trying to find an original R10 OD unit from a early 50's Plymouth, but they are rare and expensive. I'm doing away with the fluid drive in my 48 Desoto for a dry clutch, 3 speed manual. I had been toying with an idea very similar to what you did on your 37 Chevy. I would appreciate a little more info about the R10 unit you used, and what was involved with making it a stand alone unit. My system would be an open drive shaft set-up, but I can have plates and yokes machined to work. Also I'm interested in how you set up your control system, mechanical, or electrical?

Thank you for your time, Brian"

Brian,

The drive line coupler from the mid 1930's Ford works pretty well on one end and the front shaft can be cut down to accept the same. A flange plate had to be fabricated for both ends on mine but with yours, you would only need to do that on one end. And different applies for the yoke situation for the open drive line as well, opposed to the closed. The open drive-line overdrives are far more plentiful than the enclosed style that I used. I do have another one as well as extra parts, seals etc. most of which would interchange with all.

I eliminated the kick down switch and the mechanical shift lock out safety, on the unit itself. I ran the governor ground/switching circuit through a toggle switch on my dash, before the electric relay. This allows me to be more in control of shift timing. I can split gears with it set up this way.

The down side of removing the safety devices is that you can literally split gears if you operate it improperly.

First engaging the mechanical control with the cable is important. Secondly switching the toggle. The governor kicks in at 25mph which grounds the relay and sends current to the solenoid, which will then engage the mechanical, provided you have the cable pushed in. Engagement won't occur though, until you have no torque coast. This situation is normally achieved with releasing accelerator pressure, however I use the clutch as well in second over but not third over. When I shift to third from second over, I flip the switch down, release accelerator,clutch in, shift,accelerate, and then flip the switch back up, release accelerator to achieve third over.

Fast acceleration shift goes: first gear, second gear, second over, third, and third over.
It gets down the road!

Downshifting is where you can loose your gears easily. Most people won't attempt to mechanically shift out of overdrive while moving. The downshift must be performed as follows: Flip the toggle switch off, apply accelerator in order to gently take up all slack in the freewheeling mode and then pull the cable to achieve lock up again. If you pull the cable at the wrong time, it could mean it's time to replace gears.

I believe it is also critical to run synthetic oil in your Borg Warner R10 overdrive when it is a stand alone unit. It creates a tremendous amount of heat which is probably dissipated better when it is a part of the transmission.

Doug

Photo courtesy of Chris Shelton

1937 Chevrolet Pickup Truck Tire Size

A reader brought up the question, what is the correct tire size?

Doug

What is the correct tire size for a 37 chevy pickup.

Thanks, Steve

Steve,

Thanks for your question.

Standard tire size for the 1937 Chevrolet Half Ton Pickup Truck is 6.00-16 4ply.

Optional were 6.00-16 6ply, 6.50-16 6ply, 6.50-17 6ply, and 7.50-15 6ply. The most popular wheels to use are the 15 inch wheels, referred to as artillery wheels. They are 5-1/2 inches wide. 1937 was the first year for these wheels but they used them for several years following. The wheels would have been black though unlike this example.

Hope this helps. If you have any more questions, I'll see what I can do to help.

Doug

Good Year Disc Wheels for Gordon Buehrig Victoria

Reader looking for Good Year Disc Wheels to complete his custom Gordon Buehrig Victoria.

 Hi Doug,

I found your webpages while searching for information about Goodyear Air Wheels from the 1932-33 era.  I noticed your photos of General Jumbo wheels and reference to these Goodyear wheels and tires.

I have built a replica of a 1930 Ford Model A Cabriolet that Gordon Buehrig modified into a Victoria Convertible in 1930-32.   He described he used 15” “experimental” Goodyear disk wheels and tires, I have attached a photo of the original car with these wheels mounted.  I have been unable to locate any of these wheels for sale to use on my car, and have used 16” Kelsey Hayes wires with aluminum wheel disks instead to recreate the look.  If you know of any of the original wheels for sale in 15 or 16” size for Ford hubs I would like to follow up on them.  I plan to place some ads in various websites, any suggestions you have would be appreciated.

Thanks, Jack      Vancouver, WA

Jack,

Nice looking car you've created!

The wheels you are looking for, are rare indeed. I have personally only seen one on ebay.
Finding the correct tires will likely be more difficult as I don't think the 15s are being reproduced. I know the larger diameter are. They aren't a tire that drive well on pavement anyway. I think they were more for soft surface road.

It seems like I remember a set of those wheels in a garage of a collector that I went to look at a 31 Roadster PU. The wheels were NOS and with caps. It's been some time ago when I saw them and they weren't really available at the time, however I will try to find out about them for your project as it seems your project is a deserving recipient for the wheels.

Thanks for the pictures too.  Doug

 
 Jack,
I just talked to the owner of the nos wheels and he is not going to let them go. He says he has some projects and thinks he might use them. You know how that goes. I'm sorry I couldn't make that happen for you.
Doug

Chevrolet Mechanic Pin 1930's

These pins were issued to the mechanics in the Chevrolet dealerships in the late 1930's. They pop up on the big auction site from time to time and the pins that are marked 1/10th 10k can fetch a pretty good sum. I don't know if there is any difference between the pins that are market opposed to the pins that aren't other than the fact that the marked pins will bring a lot more at auction.

Here's what one reader recently wrote to me.

Hey Doug, I have one of the pins pictured on you web site.  It belonged to my dad, who began his mechanic career at McInnis Chevrolet in Baton Rouge, La., somewhere around 1937-38. I was just searching for info about the pin when I saw yours on your web site.  Thanks for helping me identify it.   Ed , Dallas, TX

Doug   to Ed
  
Ed,
Glad to have been a help. Some of them were marked on the back 1/10th 10K gold. Does yours have that marking?
Doug

1934 Chevrolet Master Cabriolet Right Hand Drive Project

1934 Chevrolet Master Cabriolet in New Zealand.

    H i Doug,
                       My name is Dan . I notice that you have been restoring a 1934 Chevrolet Master  Cabriolet, I have just found and purchased a right hand drive car that needs work. I am having trouble finding information on them  to help with the restoration, I live in New Zealand. any info on were I can buy parts and technical books would be appreciated . also are they a rare car , and any idea what they would be worth restored.  my car has been in storage since 1966 and has the dickie seat in the boot, and side mounts.
   
   
                         hope to hear from you
   
                                                       cheers Dan

Dan,

Naturally, the condition of your 1934 Chevrolet Master Cabriolet would dictate the value of it. There were quite a few of them made but survival rate was not very high, just as it is with any wooden bodied car.

The 1934 Chevrolet Master Cabriolet is one of the most desirable Chevrolets of the 1930s however, if your wood needs replaced, which it likely does, you have a real project ahead of yourself. This is not a project to be taken on by someone without a lot of skill with body fitting and wood working.

My client did acquire a wood kit for the car that we did. Being a nice kit, between his son, himself (both very talented individuals) and I, having more than 40 years in the auto body and restoration industry, it was still a big project. I don't give you this information in an attempt to discourage you but rather, to inform you that you need to find the necessary skilled people to tackle the project, if you expect to end up with respectable fit when finished.

One of the reasons that Ford was so much more popular than Chevrolet is because they were made from metal starting in 1932. Chevrolet didn't give into metal until 1937. Of course the V-8 engine had a big part in capturing the popularity as well.

I'll be in touch with some important information. I'd like to see some pictures of your car that I could post on my site here.

Doug

1936 Ford Sedan Delivery Project Ask Doug

Chad wants to contact another 1936 Ford Sedan Delivery restoration project gentleman who wrote an ask Doug

Hi Doug

Was just reading your blog. Do you happen to have the contact for the gentleman named Bill that wrote in about fixing his Delivery with a 4 door? I may need to do something similar. Thanks!

Chad

Chad,

I expect that he won't have a problem with me giving you his contact info, but I will check with him first and get back to you.

Doug

1937 Ford Pickup Truck Brakes

Alex wrote:
Where and how do i put brake fluid in my 1937 ford pickup?
Thanks,Alex

Alex obviously is new to vintage vehicles, and that's okay. We all started there at one time. It's good to see new people interested in the hobby.

My answer to Alex:

Alex,
If your 37 Ford is original, you don't have brake fluid. It is a mechanical connection from the pedal to the brakes. Ford did not go to fluid brakes until 1939 and I am not positive that the trucks had fluid yet then. Usually commercial vehicles were a little behind the cars in technology. Mechanical brakes can work great as long as you keep them in good condition and adjusted properly. They do require more adjusting and maintenance than hydraulic brakes do.

A popular conversion is to use the 39 juice brakes on the earlier models, but as you can imagine, it is usually a bit of a hunt and when you find the stuff, you will need a pretty good chunk of change in your pocket to do some serious talking.
Doug

1941 Chevrolet Truck Recirculating Ball Steering in 1937 Pickup

Anonymous asked:

What type of lube did you use in the '41 steering box? Heavyweight oil or just grease?

The 1941 Chevrolet Truck steering box that I used in my 1937 Chevrolet Pickup Truck is built from NOS parts so consequently, it is nice and tight. The standard lubricant for this is 90 weight gear oil. I have heard of people using grease when they have worn out steering boxes. I do have another set of NOS parts to build another steering box and I have a nice core to build it in.
Not having a way to contact you, I hope you get this information, and it helps.
Doug

1948 Chevrolet Panel Truck With Door Handles Removed

Pete is trying to make his 1948 Chevy Panel Truck a little less of a hassle to get into. Seems some self proclaimed designer decided it would be a good idea to have doors without handles.

Doug

I have a 1948 chevy panel truck (just got a month ago) the front doors are shaved and the person put a keyed switch on the running board to open the window and reach in and unlock the door, but the rear door has a handle not lockable I am wanting to find a lockable handle for the rear to be able to get in still in case I lose battery power. I am think about putting door poppers with remote door locks for the front. Do you know where I might find a lockable handle for this truck? Do you recommend any type of door popper set up?

Thanks for any help or ideas.

Pete

Pete,

I think it is unfortunate that the handles have been removed from your truck. I personally would try to bring that back. I think the object of removing handles was to cut down on wind resistance and I don't think it really makes any difference on your truck. Removing them did however create a nuisance every time you go to open your doors. Guess there was a reason for putting door handles on the vehicle in the first place.

Reminds me of the kids wearing their pants around their knees.

I have a friend that had some parts, and I have asked him to look when he has a chance, to see if he still has some handles. If he does, I will let you know. Otherwise you can probably get some on e-bay if you put your time in.

Doug

Installing a 302 in the 1936 Ford

Les wants to put a 302 Ford engine in his late father's 1936 Ford to complete his dad's plan for the car.

Hello Doug,
 

I am currently attempting to finish the engine conversion that my father, Phil Diez had started and then suddenly passed away half way through. He was one of the original Tampa Knights and an early pioneer in real steel street rods in the 70s and 80s. I have inherited his 36/ 5 window coupe and wish he was here to pick his brain on how the heck he was going to shovel the 302 he built to replace the 327 that was originally installed.  He had cut the firewall and I have 2 special motor mount flat plates that I believe he was going to use. In a quick mock up placing the engine and tranny into the car , the engine really protrudes into the gas pedal area etc. if the fan is going to clear the radiator.. I have been flying over in Afghanistan and Iraq and am now home for good and want to try and finish the installation. It is a beautiful car that was his proudest achievement. He is a real old school resto rod streetrodder and Nascar sportsmen legend from the Tampa bay area. Cecil Taylor of Hercules Motors was a big help in letting me safely store the car at his shop until I could arrange to have it hauled to North East Ohio several years ago. What started the conversion idea was when Don Garlits was picking on him for not having a Ford in a Ford now that a rear sump option is available. ( They went to high school together) Originally he was going to install one of his old Offy powered flat heads in there but elected to build a Boss 302 instead. He was on Social security disability the last 10 years and had to watch his pennies.  Anyway, I would like to honor him with the completion and take the car to the Tampa NSRA Nats some year in the future so that all of his friends can see that it was possible and etc. I would be very appreciative of any guidance I could receive.

Best regards

Les

Les,

I encourage you to look at shortening the water pump in an attempt to fit the engine in between the original firewall and radiator. Another option is to use a 260 water pump. If you can find one, it will save on machine work expense. You may also need to shorten your fan blades slightly, in order to clear the lower outlet on the radiator. You can also pressurize your radiator in order to enhance the cooling ability. 

Hope this information helps. 

Thanks for presenting you question,

Doug

1940 Ford Pickup Columbia Two Speed Axle Rear End

A reader had some questions about his newly acquired 1940 Ford Pickup Truck, equipped with a Columbia Two Speed Rear Axle.


Doug,

"I just bought a 1940 Ford pickup that has a Columbia 2 speed rear end and read your article on it. The switch I have is a spring loaded one and that does not seem to be what was used at that time period .I also drained the rear end fluid as I have no idea how old that oil was. My next question is what type of oil goes into that unit? The oil that came out was red in color .One last question. The brake fluid in the old manual calls for Ford brake fluid M3833 ,what type is that in today’s fluid. Thank You for your help."

Ron

Thanks for your question on the Columbia.
Your Columbia uses standard 90 weight gear oil and Dot 3 brake fluid is fine for your truck. I don't know what that red oil would be that was in your rear end. The spring loaded switch may not be original but as long as it functions to switch the vacuum valve, directing the vacuum to one side and the other of the slave cylinder at the rear axle you should be good to go, provided the rest of the system is up to snuff.
Doug

"THANK YOU,THANK YOU,THANK YOU. It is sure nice to have someone who can help a new guy out with questions that arise.The knob idea is good,but doing a lot of on line search for parts and info there is a company called Chuck's trucks and CandG that have the original knobs that I found on their web site.Thank You again, Ron"