Brownie X2!!!

[BrandonMag]

Yesterday I was riding back in one of the trucks from the jobsite, and I noticed a recent Nickel Ads that was wadded up on the dash. Mostly it was tractors, guns and pickups for sale (either I've got enough or don't need), but I came across a listing that caught my eye:

"3-speed brownie transmission for sale"

I gave the guy a call when I got back home and we chatted for a few minutes about what he had. It turned out he had two brownies (!) that he had held on to for a long time, planning on using them for a project that never materialized. He was getting on in the years, had too many projects and realized he needed to start getting rid of some stuff.

So I drove over there today, and here is what I bought:

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These are the real Brown-Lipe auxiliary transmissions!

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The fourth picture is of the linkage, the shifter (that he cut in half to remove from the '50 Chevy he pulled it out of), the ends of two drivelines that one had been connected to, and a piece of angle iron that was used to mount one of the brownies. Basically, I got enough stuff to completely install one and a spare transmission.

Today was a good day.

 

[justinray]

Good find!

 

[BrandonMag]

I'm thinking about resurrecting the '85 F350 Crew Cab I've got and using a Cummins backed by a 2WD ZF and this for a highway-flyin' tow rig. It'll be some fab work, but I think it might be a whole lot more economical than using my F250 to tow with.

 

[tanman_2006]

That would be sweet!

 

[justinray]

Please keep the IDI? We're steadily losing numbers, we need these trucks up and running or they will discontinue the parts and support.

 

[justinray]

With what you put into a cummins swap, you could have a hard pulling idi. Especially with that brownie.

 

[BrandonMag]

Please keep the IDI? We're steadily losing numbers, we need these trucks up and running or they will discontinue the parts and support.

Don't worry, I'll be keeping my F250. I've got too much time and $$$ into it to get rid of it. It's just that it gets about 10 mpg driving down the highway and I think I can do quite a bit better with a dedicated 2WD tow rig.

With what you put into a cummins swap, you could have a hard pulling idi. Especially with that brownie.

True, but I've already got the majority of what I need: the engine, the adapter plate, an intercooler, the tranny and now this tranny. I still need the motor mounts and if I decide to use one of these to put behind the ZF, it'll be some work to install.

 

[icanfixall]

Wow.. Nice find... Coupled with the ZF5 speed you will have 15 forward gears and two shifters.... Nice way to haul anything... RLDSL has this setup on his tow rig.

 

[GRU]

want to sell the other one?

 

[BrandonMag]

Wow.. Nice find... Coupled with the ZF5 speed you will have 15 forward gears and two shifters.... Nice way to haul anything... RLDSL has this setup on his tow rig.

That's where I got the idea from.

want to sell the other one?

I may in the future, but for now I want to figure out exactly what they are and which one would be best for my purposes.

 

[BrandonMag]

Duplicate post.

 

[rhkcommander]

Don't worry, I'll be keeping my F250. I've got too much time and $$$ into it to get rid of it. It's just that it gets about 10 mpg driving down the highway and I think I can do quite a bit better with a dedicated 2WD tow rig.

CumMins swap in a ford wrapper usually is a great combo. Getting only 10 sounds like you have a few different problems: dragging brakes, wheel bearings, mucked up pumpkin, something. Or your truck weighs a zilliion pounds constantly. I got 15-16 MPG last trip at least with that being between mainly highway and some city, 3:1 maybe. 6.9 turbo and t.19 at around 7000lbs loaded. A c6 will drop you down a few, but 10 highway?

I've been wanting to do a brownie in my truck too. this t-19 needs some in-betweeners for 2-4

 

[BrandonMag]

Getting only 10 sounds like you have a few different problems: dragging brakes, wheel bearings, mucked up pumpkin, something. Or your truck weighs a zilliion pounds constantly. I got 15-16 MPG last trip at least with that being between mainly highway and some city, 3:1 maybe. 6.9 turbo and t.19 at around 7000lbs loaded. A c6 will drop you down a few, but 10 highway?

Well, I could have been a little clearer. I refilled after about 580 miles driven, and I put in 56 gallons. 200 of those were towing my trailer. About 25-30 were driving at under 15 mph on some Forest Service roads up in the hills of NE Oregon, but the majority (about 350) were either highway or freeway speed unloaded (my truck weighs roughly 8K lbs with a full load of fuel and me in it), not a lot of slowing down or stopping. So overall I averaged 10.3 mpg, according to my calculations. Which would be fine if it was a 1500 hp triple-turboed super hotrod DT360. But it's not. It's a great truck for hauling anything in the bed, but for long-distance hauling, I need to get better fuel mileage.

I think a large part of the reason I get crappy fuel mileage is the tires I have. I put 315/75-16 Toyo MTs on a couple of years ago. Great for traction, but IIRC they weigh about 70 lbs apiece. I originally thought that a roughly 35 inch tire would improve my fuel economy, and it probably would have if I had gotten a less aggressive tire. I could be a little less aggressive with the skinny pedal, but even when I drive like a grandma going to church I haven't seen better than 12 mpg since the big tires, turbo, Moose pump and Delphi BBs.

I hadn't thought about a bad pumpkin causing low fuel mileage. I just read an article about how important your differential fluid is when you tow, so I've been thinking about draining it. Wouldn't hurt to take a look around and see if there's something wrong.

 

[rhkcommander]

Very odd... Especially if its a zf. New bb injectors, probably orig ip, leaky turbo, and t19 i get what i get flogging on it and such. Best i got was 17 but suspect wheel bearings,might be lowering me. Or i was gentle for the 17 city i get what your best highway is im guessing

Ive got 35" mickey thompsons too... Not sure where to look but id say something may be wrong. If the diff oil is orig you will gain from the new fancy stuff. Ive heard numbers thrown around, usually 10-20% more mpg. Which would get you closer to the norm. Im no expert and not sure wher yacolt is, but im down a few miles from portland if you ever wanted a hand.

 

[bike-maker]

Mine has 35" tires and weighs slightly more. Even with the rear end on it's last leg (literally went up in smoke on the last trip), I get about 10mpg hauling my 10k pound fiver and driving like I stole it to the coast and back.