Check with Paul Schuster - "Paulargetype" on the Open Forum. He used the 3.07 rear end in his "Baby" '50 Pacemaker convertable with std. trans. Says it works great. Of course the Hornet 308 engine has enough grunt to pull it fine!

Thanks for your help.

For a while I used a 3.07 in my former '51 C8 coupe. Nice on the road, and fine in town except when having to start out at an intersection with some slope. Had to really get into the gas and slip the clutch to get started. Kind of painful. But overall, the benefit outweighed that one disadvantage. Eventually went back to the 3.58 as a compromise.

Thanks very much for that information. I live in the flatlands, so maybe it could work, although I can see a lot of clutch slipping as you point out. Your comments raise a couple more questions:
1. Was the clutch up to the task?
2. What model used the 3.58? That would be much better than the current 4.09 (or a ratio close to that is installed now).
Thanks again.

Max, The only model to use the 3:58 was the 1951 model year with hydramatic.After that Hudson went to the Dana/Spicer 3:07. If you have the standard Hudson built rear end presently in your car, then you can put the 3:58 gears in it. They will not interchange with the Dana/ Spicer rear end.

Thank you for your help and knowledge. This is my first use of the HET forum and I must say the helpfulness and knowledge of fellow HET'ers is genuinely impressive.
I may know a source for a '51 3.58 diff. If that doesn't work out does anyone have a lead on who might have one available?
Thanks to you Lance and to Jerry and Park.

Had that combination in my "51 Hornet. Great on the highway, and engine runs quiet. 2nd gear can really get some speed. Have to use 2nd a lot going up on steep mountain roads, but 3rd goes well in the mountains as long as it's not too steep. Going on steep downhill roads, have to keep it in 2nd. When stopped on a hill, just be careful with the clutch accelerating in 1st gear. Had overdrive on it too, and it was fine as long as you got to speed first, only on flat highways.

I USED A 307 REAR END IN MY 50 PACEMAKER CV IT HAS A 308 ENGINE WITH TWIN H I ALSO USED A 49 8 CYL TRANSMISSION (3 SPEED ) NO OVERDRIVE THE 8 CYL TRANS HAS A DEEPER 1ST GEAR SO THE STARTING OUT PROBLEM IS NOT A PROBLEM THE CAR HAS BEEN ON THE ROAD FOR 12 YEARS WITH NO TROUBLE WHAT SO EVER I WOULD DO IT AGAIN IF I WAS PUTTING ANOTHER CAR TOGETHER

I used a 3:58 in my 49 Super six with twin H and O.D. It was great. Only problem was the speedometer was off about 10%. No gears are available for correction. Sold the car..
Now I am building another 49 with a 262 and HydraMatic. I need to change out the 4:11. Anyone have one of those 51 rear center sections? Otherwise I need the whole Dana rear.

Thanks Paul. Your thought on transmissions sounds like a good solution. The shop manual shows that the Drive-master transmission had a deeper 1st gear also.

Thanks Ray. With 3.07 and O.D. both, your highway engine revs must have been very low.

Bill Albright had that combination and used to win the Economy Run in Laughlin Nevada.

Max, if you have the pre-'52 rear end in your car, I'd wait until you install the OD and see what you think about the performance in OD with your current 4.0 gears. You might be surprised at how well that combo works. I'm running 3.73 gears (in a Dana axle) with a 308, and it's on the verge of being overgeared. I'd be hesitant to try that gearing with a 262. If you're a serious Hudson guy, you know that some time you're going to drive outside the local area, in hilly terrain. 3.07 with OD is too much for anything but the flatlands. And as said above, 3.07 with a stick, with or w/o OD, is kind of pushing it. The 3.58 is a nice compromize, if you can find one.

I'm with you on that. My thought is to do the axle first, then if/when I get an OD installed I'd go back to the 4.1 diff gear at the same time. Thanks for your help Park.