1934 Plymouth gearbox needed

[Carla]

Hello, all,

I think I might have asked about this here previously, if so, I'm trying again....

Does anyone have a spare '34 non-free-wheeling gearbox they'd care to sell us, even an incomplete one, or one with a cracked/rusted case but good mainshaft?

We may possibly be able to use just the non-f/w mainshaft and its after bearing......its not easy to tell from the small photos in the parts book, but it would appear that the free-wheeling and non-free-wheeling gearbox cases are basically the same, except for some additional machining on the free-wheeling ones, to fit the f/w lockout shifter.

If so, that would allow for simply omitting that shifter and plugging the bore in the case, as the non-f/w mainshaft would fit up correctly in place of the f/w assembly.

Has anyone done this, and would know whether its actually possible, or not?

For all I know, the after bearing bore sizes could be different or in a different longitudinal location, so that the apparent similarity of the gearcases in a photo would be an illusion.

There are some differences shown in the parts book for the  later PE production regarding the clutch release bearing sleeve.

Ours is an early PE, with some of the parts stamped 2 34, which seems likely  to indicate manufacture in Feb of '34. Does anyone know what those differences are, and whether later parts can be adapted to the earlier PE cars? Would this have to do with location changes of the anti-rotation pin for the release bearing sleeve, or is it dependent on some different dimensions in the bell housing, between the early production with the early type bushing for the clutch release cross shaft, or the later type one with a different pattern of bearing?

One of the '34 owners in the local club said that he'd cut away the shifter mount on the '34 cross-member (and added suitable welded-in re-enforcement to retain adequate strength) to fit a '35 gearbox assembly, which required a longer drive shaft. He thinks this is worth doing, as the '35 and later box is somewhat stronger.

Has anyone here done that, and is that really a better idea than trying to find a non-f/w '34 box?

Are internal parts to rebuild a '34 box so utterly unobtainable that fitting a '35 box is a more practical way to go?

cheers

Carla