Propeller/Drive shaft question

LanceB

I am having an overdrive unit installed onto the transmission in my truck. Instead of cutting my drive shaft down can I use a drive shaft from a car without an overdrive? Is there enough slide adjustment on the yoke, 3/8"?



Cab Pickup

Propeller shaft w/o OD pn 159508, 62 15/32 long

Propeller shaft w OD pn 162441, 55 11/32 long



Car

Propeller shaft w/o OD, pn 162435, 55 23/32 long



And is there one available out there if this does work?



Thanks all

Clutchguy

LanceB wrote:

I am having an overdrive unit installed onto the transmission in my truck. Instead of cutting my drive shaft down can I use a drive shaft from a car without an overdrive? Is there enough slide adjustment on the yoke, 3/8"?



Cab Pickup

Propeller shaft w/o OD pn 159508, 62 15/32 long

Propeller shaft w OD pn 162441, 55 11/32 long



Car

Propeller shaft w/o OD, pn 162435, 55 23/32 long



And is there one available out there if this does work?



Thanks all

Take the driveshaft to whoever does that work in your area and have them take 8.25 off of it and reweld it. If it is the driveshaft from your truck,most of them have a taper at each end and make it difficult to cut and weld. Most the time it requires a new tube. I have found that they can cut the ends off and reinstall on a new tube. They will tell you that the driveshaft is much smaller,but unless you are making some type of big power,the driveshaft is NOT the weak link.

Unknown

above advice good, the cars use a two piece driveshaft from 48 up and the prestepdowns are a shorter wheelbase except for the custom 8, would be hard to find one from a long wheel base with OD BILL A.

LanceB

I was actually asking if I could use the longer driveshaft from a 121" wheelbase 46/47 car (from a car without OD).

Unknown

Lance I installed a trans with od from a 51 stepdown in my 47 pickup. The unit is longer overall than the 47 unit. I used a stepdown drive shaft. Had to cut the front shaft to make the fit. Bolted a 3/16 x 4 inch flat bar to the frame rails to mount the center bearing. Works like a charm. The regular pickup shaft would be hard to fit due to the tapers on each end. Dougs fix is a good one.

LanceB

Thanks Billy. I am having Al Saffrahn do the work on my trans. I'll get the correct amount to remove from him and bring it to the local shop.

Unknown

Hey Lance....If your not sure of a place to do the shaft work Jack Landers ( HET Elct.) had it done several times on some of his projects. I am sure he would be happy to help. Ron

Clutchguy

"Is there enough slide adjustment on the yoke, 3/8"?"



Probably not,and yes you should ask Al since he is doing the work. Also,if you are having him do the work,you should have him check the front bushings on the rear springs-if you haven't already.If these are bad,it allows the rear end to move around and will cause a driveline vibration as well as an incorrect driveshaft cut/modification. My experience is these are always gone!! I figure it must be because the rear springs on Hud B/Boy trucks were so "weak":D,that the lack of flex makes it beat them out.:eek:

LanceB

Thanks Ron, I'll call Jack to ask where he got his done.



Clutch guy, I am just sending the trans to Al, but now would be the time to replace those bushings. And your so right about how 'weak' those springs are...:rolleyes:

mars55

Yea, I agree - they're both weak and very light...

Do you have a source for those bushings?

K-gap has them. Part # 103.
http://www.k-gap.com/

Jay_G

The tapered shaft is not a problem. Any good shop can do it. I up the overdrive in my PU and took the shaft down to the shop. Gave then the measurement and they cut the dif end off and replaced it with a Dodge end. It was the correct size for the new tapered end and used the same u-joints and the Hudson. Win, win all around. I use the same u-joints as before, the shaft is shorter and has a taper in it. No one but me knows any different.



Jay

Clutchguy

---Jay G

The tapered shaft is not a problem. Any good shop can do it.



FYI- I believe the shop I use is definately good and also very qualified. Replacing the tube,and balance was $69.xx. Job is perfect. A smaller tube size isn't a problem either,have you ever looked at the size of a stepdown tube?. I think that there is more than one way to accomplish this?/.