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Update on the crate, drivetrain parts

Joined
Mar 6, 2005
Messages
1,074
Location
Trois Rivieres, Quebec, Canada
Corvette
63 Resto Coupe-Red 65 Roadster
It is one thing to install a monster motor in our Corvettes, it is something else to be able to use all the correct parts in order to have everyting stay together. In the sixties when big block's were used in our cars, the factory made very little changes to the regular running gear. For those in the know, we have all seen the stiffer suspensions, sway bars, and also the change to the ( differential side yokes ) axles, however almost all of the other parts remained relitivly unchanged.

In selecting my drivetrain parts, I quickly realised that with a little investement in time and some extra cash, almost all the items that make up the running gear from the transmission tail shaft, to where the rubber hits the road could be replaced by better quality, and longer lasting parts. The following photos show most of the parts that will make up my drivetrain, so that I can have fun with the 572, without giving me a heart attack, every time I step on the go pedal. There are certainly other manufacturers that can also supply you with different choices, however these are the ones I chose. Here is a short description of the parts, with links to the manufacturers at the bottom of the page.


drive1.JPG


drive2.JPG



From the right to the left we start with the Keisler super heavy duty yoke, and chromoly driveshaft. Next we have a gear set from " Tom's Differential " These are made by Richmond gear, and have gone through the specialized heat treating that is done by Tom's Differential. Along with the gear set, we have new hardened steel caps, and hardware to hold them in place. The next item is the heavy duty unbreakable rear end cover, which can be found at most of the resellers. Next I purchased the extra heavy duty axles from " International Axle ", these are supplied with HD caps, and are almost indestructible. Next item is the half-shafts. I had this set made up by Dynotech and they are chromoly, with forged flanges, and are assembled using HD spicer, U-joints without the grease nipple. Next we have a new set of spindle flanges. Although these can be found anywhere, I was told that those that are supplied by " Bairs " are of a slightly higher quality, and are better suited to abuse. Next we have the HD spindle, also made by " International Axle ". These are made with high quality aircraft dropped forged steel and are much more precise then what is normally seen on our cars. The last items ( not shown ) are the heavy duty off-set rear trailing arms. When you see material, and the way these are constructed, you will know what heavy duty means.

This completes for now the details on the parts that are to be used in the rebuild of my car. As it stands, the only thing that I might swap out are the U-joints that are part of the driveshaft supplied by " Keisler ". The joints have grease nipples, and I am seriously considering swapping them out for some HD high impact U-joints from " Spicers " without the nipples, because they are the strongest U-joints made. The following are the links to the various suppliers mentioned in the description above.



http://www.keislerauto.com/gm/transmissions/corvette_63-67.asp

http://www.tomsdifferentials.com/tomp.htm

http://www.internationalaxle.com/

http://www.dynotechengineering.com/

http://www.bairs.com/



Stepinwolf







 
Bob,

You've made a good investment in avoiding future headaches.

Hopefully, now you won't need the tires to be your "safety valve" from broken parts. :lou

Rich
 
Now...I'm interested to see what kind of "T" Arm set up and tires your gonna use..?? With those kind of road grabbing parts ...I assume your tires are not the saftey valves.

So that means...tubed out rear and those special rear fendors you showed us at Carlisle... So if your using big "Meat Hooks " To grab the road you must be planning to slam some gears......If not.....it'll look nice at the Friday Night Cruz with the Mirror's placed on the ground to see the frame.....:L
 
IH2LOSE said:
Bob how do you deal with the withdrawles

Actually, I dropped by a local speedshop, where I know the manager, and he mentioned that the place he looks for cars are body shops. He finds projects that have been pushed into a corner because the wide-eyed car owner ran out of money and walked away.

The bodyshop owner is usually happy to get anything reasonable (somes less than reasonable) to recover some of the costs he has in the project.

Hmmmmm. I've gotta stop asking questions. ;)
 
Stepinwolf,

Those are some great-looking parts. If I had those, I'd get on it hard in 1st. Right now, I'm afraid that there'd be a major explosion in the underneath rear area, so I feather it off the line and then punch it once the car is rolling a bit.

Keep posting photos as you move along. :beer
 
67HEAVEN said:
Stepinwolf,

Those are some great-looking parts. If I had those, I'd get on it hard in 1st. Right now, I'm afraid that there'd be a major explosion in the underneath rear area, so I feather it off the line and then punch it once the car is rolling a bit.

Keep posting photos as you move along. :beer


Yeah ...me too..... Except I'm worried about the Bell housing area...I don't have a Scat shield like you guys.... I call it a Scat shield because of all the S_iT that'll come thru the floor if I ever dropped the hammer....Don't feel like eating a "Toe Jam" Sandwhich.

:L
 
My worry is that the big rear meaties gives me somewhat less of a safety margin than those old 7.75x15 bias plies.

The few times I really experimented with first gear after the break-in period, the grab was pretty good and I started wondering how wheelie-bars would look hanging off the back end of Heaven. ;LOL
 
Viet Nam Vett said:
Now...I'm interested to see what kind of "T" Arm set up and tires your gonna use..?? With those kind of road grabbing parts ...I assume your tires are not the safety valves.

So that means...tubed out rear and those special rear fenders you showed us at Carlisle... So if your using big "Meat Hooks " To grab the road you must be planning to slam some gears......If not.....it'll look nice at the Friday Night Cruz with the Mirror's placed on the ground to see the frame.....:L


VNV,

As I mentioned in the above post I will be using the off-sets Tee's I purchased from VBP's, and will be inserting the largest size rubber that will fit under the car. Right now I am rolling on 18 " by X 7 "s, and after getting down and dirty, it look's as though I can get an additional 1" of backspacing. Using the wide fenders, should afford me an extra 2" on the outside. If this all goes as planned, I am looking at an 18 to 20 inch wheel that should be somewhere between 10" to 11" inches wide.

As far as the mirrors, well VNV as you might have imagined, it's not quite my style, so once it's all done, if you need to look underneath the car you will have to get down on all fours to do so.:upthumbs

Stepinwolf
 
Bob

I'm very much looking forward to watching the progress of the car as it gets built. :)
 
67HEAVEN said:
Stepinwolf,

Those are some great-looking parts. If I had those, I'd get on it hard in 1st. Right now, I'm afraid that there'd be a major explosion in the underneath rear area, so I feather it off the line and then punch it once the car is rolling a bit.

Keep posting photos as you move along. :beer

Thank's for the encouraging words, time permitting will post a small update, each day, a ( This is what I did today ) post, documenting what I have accomplished during the day.

BTW work, or additional projects will never kill us. Sitting around on our hands with nothing to do, will take care of that. This is why I plan on doing this till I drop.

A little while back I found a site that was offering drivetrain loops that were being offered for sale. I downloaded the pics, and will probably be making up my own. These will certainly keep your drivetrain from coming up through your floorboards

loop1.JPG


loop2.JPG


loop3.JPG


Stepinwolf
 
67HEAVEN said:
My worry is that the big rear meaties gives me somewhat less of a safety margin than those old 7.75x15 bias plies.

The few times I really experimented with first gear after the break-in period, the grab was pretty good and I started wondering how wheelie-bars would look hanging off the back end of Heaven. ;LOL

Bob

I have no doubt that with the correct setup, and some quality rubber, any rapid response at start-up on our part, would let us see some light under the front tires.:D

Stepinwolf
 
BTW work, or additional projects will never kill us. Sitting around on our hands with nothing to do, will take care of that. This is why I plan on doing this till I drop.


Guys this is a mouth full here, You know this is how I live my life as I am afraid if I sit too long old age or the grim reaper may catch up with me. PS stephin wolf I checked in on your other post and man I cant tell you how many brackets I had to make. Nothing better then having a pile of steel to pick thru and you can pretty much make anything

Have fun


 
67HEAVEN said:
My worry is that the big rear meaties gives me somewhat less of a safety margin than those old 7.75x15 bias plies.

The few times I really experimented with first gear after the break-in period, the grab was pretty good and I started wondering how wheelie-bars would look hanging off the back end of Heaven. ;LOL


You Know.... That could be a cool idea.... You could maybe fab up something that would extend out at the push of a button just before Lift Off.. That would freak out the Ricers........:L
 

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