The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Watson Auxiliary Trans, and other stuff

Hello, and Happy Holidays to All!
In searching the web for info on a Watson transmission I came across a thread from several years ago by Truckfarm72. In it he mentions a sort of collection of auxiliary transmissions, and parts for them, and sales records he has for units sold over time from what I gather was a Family business. What are the chances I could get in contact with him?
Also, on a different line, I have a set of 4 lever action shocks from a '48 one ton pickup on a shelf here. These were take-offs from a truck I had several (many) years ago. If anybody has a use for them, or knows somebody who does, they are available at an extremely favorable price. (Did I mention Extremely Favorable?)
Thanks, Phil

Truckfarm72 last posted on the forums in July of 2018. No idea if he still monitors the forums or not.

You can post info on OD trans’, depending on your engine, intended use, weight of truck; we can give info. Brownies are fitted and built to fit ENGINE torque ratings by the first two model numbers, I e, 5831 designed for 5800 max torque engine. Watson OD trans are harder to figure. Not all are up to diesel torque, although many have been used that way. Post your info for a start!

Brownies came with TruStop disc brake [censored]’y which allows for park brake(legal) to vehicle. Many were removed with the advent of spring brakes, more valuable with brake disc. Place in Denver can reline pads.

Ed

Phil,

First off, WELCOME to the Stovebolt community.

As this is your 1st post as a new member, wanted to give you a welcome and provide some response to your questions.

I can't help on the Watson question, except to say vary your questions when searching online. Sometimes a slightly differently worded question may lead to more info on the subject.

On the note about the lever action shock availability, please post an ad here Truck Parts for Sale forum.

Offering to buy/sell items is strictly meant to be done in the Swap Meet forums please. Please read the Swap Meet Guidelines before posting as it will help you make the best post the first time around.

As always, we invite new members to post in our Welcome Centre and tell us a bit about you and your truck.

Once again, Welcome!

Merry Christmas! I will reply to this thread soon!

Thanks for the replies.
Mine is a Watson 47 Series, in a '67 Ford F350 with the 240 cu in six and an NP435 trans. I am interested in any info regarding cross-over part numbers for the input and output shaft seals.
Apologies on the shock thing. Saw a couple posts on them and thought I'd throw it out there. I will post in the proper forums.

Phil, I can't help with the transmission stuff but I am interested in those shocks. Make a few more posts so you can be cleared to use the PM (private message) feature and we can talk. Or post your parts for sale in the swap meet. Thanks! Jim

I figured the better way to do it was to get a couple pics before I put up a post. I should get them off the shelf and on a table in the next day or two.

Parts availability for Watsons appears to be non-existsant, best to look for number on old seals/brgs.

Ed

I will take time and share what I know about these old units soon. A quick rundown on your 47. It doesn’t have seals. It uses slingers. So they seep a bit no matter what. You can adapt modified sealed bearings. But it’s not really worth the work in my opinion. The 47 is not an overdrive unit. About 1.5 and 1.25 under. And direct. Great for splitting gears to give that little six a fighting chance. I have a Watson 45 in a 46 Chevrolet two ton. A 39m in a 65 gmc k1500. A 2021 in a 60 gmc c1500 with a hydramatic. As mentioned the parts are non existent. And some of the bearings are not available. They benefit from getting the pre load back and run a lot quieter. The input and output bearings are notorious for wearing quick as they don’t have enough oil to really run cool and it’s important to keep the oil up and even slightly over filled. These things leak! So it’s an important thing to keep up on. These 30 and 40 series Watsons were designed over 80 years ago. Remember that. They really dislike 60 + mph…. High speeds and the oil gets hot and whipped up. And it overwhelms the slinger system and then they really leak.

Thank You for the feedback, and Thanks to Truckfarm72, as it appears you came out of retirement?
I thought I saw only slingers, and no seals, when I had this thing apart. When I saw signs of oil slinging after my first extended drive i went back to what paperwork I have, and found the Model 40M diagram shows seal number 971W on both input and output shafts, so I thought I must have missed something. I guess I now have permanent rust proofing on my chassis and rear suspension.
Story goes like this: Gentleman I got it from bought it in the early 70's, and when he took it apart for rebuild discovered the double-under thing, where he wanted an overdrive. He rebuilt it as is, but by the time he located and bought an overdrive gearset the project had stalled. So the whole thing went on the shelf. I got the Watson complete, fresh rebuild, with a box of parts about 4 years ago. I swapped out one of the underdrive gearsets for the overdrive and put it in my truck. BUT, I don't yet know which gearset stayed, the 1:20 or 1:49. I know I have direct and the .82 overdrive. I either need a corrected speedometer cable or one of the GPS Apps on my phone to figure that out.
For Eureka Jim, I just pinned a note to my forehead, so pics of the shocks should be coming soon!
Cheers!

Shocks, with pics, now listed in the classified threads. Thanks!