I bought this quite a few years back at the end of a swap meet for a few hundred bucks. Really didn't know what I was buying I figured it was Sprint car stuff or something of the like. Cant see anything wrong with it. For the money figured it was if nothing else to cool wall hanger. I do wonder if it's worth converting to some sort of locker or limited slip with steel side bells for use in a street car. Would the price of the coversion parts make it a non-starter or is it even possible?
It appears to be a standard 3 inch axle sprint car rear end. Commonly call "champ size"..I have built several street roadsters with them as is. I have done one mod only for street and that is to lengthen the axle on the short side so the tread is equal on both sides. They can be set up with either cross springs or torsion bars. If you paint funny stripes or dots on the axle, it drives people crazy to watch it when following you.
With different side bells you could set it up for Ford 9 inch style axles and a differential, locker or true Trac, that would be much better on the street. Check out Winters Performance for the parts required.
Rob, @GearheadsQCE might still have the side plates that adapt to early Ford housings, if you can't find a used set. Then, the next expense is the carrier, as most of these that were in dirt stock cars used spools. By the time you figure out what hubs, brakes, and axles you choose it can run into money.
Keep the center section, the ring gear and ditch the rest. Yours is the big 10 inch ring gear style and will look like this when put together. The search will give you lots of info to put it together without too much trouble, they are pretty simple once you get the hang of them. -Abone.
Yeah, I put one together for my 34. Mine had a pinion disc brake as yours does with no brakes at the wheels. IIRC I sourced axle tubes with 9 inch ford ends on them and "cut to fit" 31 spline axle shafts. Then I hit "U-pull-it" for backing plates with all the brake parts including self-adjusters. After blowing up a trac-loc or some other clutch-type differential. I went to a detroit locker.
I guess the first question is do you want to run a live axle rear on the street? Usually the answer is no due to suspension complications and the spool. If that's the case, it would probably be cheaper to sell what you have to some dirt track guy and use the money to put toward something more suitable. The side bell adapters, axle tubes, differential, etc., to get away from the live axle setup would not be cheap. And depending on what you want to put it in, in most cases it's a bigger unit than you need that takes up more space than you may / may not have.
As already said, you can rebuild that for the street, and all the parts you'd need (differential, bells, tubes with big Ford or Torino ends, etc.) are available through us and our dealers (I'm sure @GearheadsQCE has done quite a few of these in his day). You're not saving a ton of money by doing it this way...by the time you buy everything you need, you're close to the cost of a new rear. But it will save you a little, and we're always game for anyone who wants to get their hands dirty and keep one of these old rears alive beyond their days at the track! If you decide to rebuild, let us know how we can help.
The other guys have pretty much covered it. If you're willing to search patiently, you can build it relatively cheap. Side Bells with tubes like Rocky's are pretty common. Differentials can be had in a variety of styles. Axles in 9" style will work. I guess I should post a build up thread. It would be pretty long!
ahhhhhhh, I see. Mine was pinion mounted. I thought about keeping it for a park-brake and even made up a master cylinder attached to a model A brake handle but it was heavy and cumbersome...gave up on it.
This is also true...when I said you'd be close to the cost of a new rear, I meant buying all new parts. Not sure what the origins of this particular rear are—it looks like an old Late Model rear but with a live axle. There were some Sprint car guys in Australia that ran this set up for a time. If the serial number tag is still attached (metal tag on the center section), post a picture of it and I can look up the original build info and see who/where it was sold to. We've file cabinets filled with records on all the quick changes we've built going back to the beginning of time (our time).
I picked up one of those Winters live axle quick change years ago and have never done anything with it. I also picked up a Franklin quick change with the grand nationals wide 5 hubs, thinking of buying new tubes with the Ford bearing ends and using 9 inch axles. My question is, would the Winters axle tubes fit this quick change?
A lot of our parts do interchange with Frankland, but not Halibrand. What's the ID on the bells you have?
Adapter plates to use 10 bolt car housings not cheap. Then you have to fit 9" billet ends, Not cheap. Used 11 bolt side bells Cheap. New 3" tubes with 9" ends Cheap. Used left side Bronco and other Ford 31 spline axles. Usually $100.00 shipped. Look for 28" Makes about a 57" rear. Lockers $300.00 to $350.00. All prices quoted off ebay. I have a stock 39-52 Ford 3/4 ton carrier in this 32 chassis. Installed 31 spline side gears. 3rd picture. Paid $150.00 with 3/4 ton carrier. Will replace aluminum tubes with steel. Add it up.
Lots of good info here guys, thank you. Is there a factory locker that works with these like say 9 inch ford stuff? Or are the lockers made just for these winters axles?
The differentials are unique to the Quickchange and 1938-52 3/4 Ton Timken axles. No interchangeability with 9" or other 'factory' parts.
My center section, main shaft, side bells, and the DPI Gold Track differential all came to me from x-racers, or from eBay. Mine is reverse-rotation, so it has some special parts in it for that. A regular rotation build would be cheaper. There are cut-to-fit 31-spline axles on the market, so you can choose your finished width that way, too.
I shipped this Halibrand 301 Q C to Long Beach on it's way to Australia. $2,500.00 with 3/4 ton truck steel bells and a locker. About half the price of a Halibrand 201 without a locker. I am looking for Frankland side plates to build another QC like the 2nd picture. Sold it for $1,900.00 40 years ago. A spacer is needed in the right side.
Yes! And I used the 5x5 gn billet hubs as well. To date counting the drill bit to fit new 1/2-20 lug studs I've got just over $550 in it.
Oh and one of you guys questioned whether or not I was going to be able to get the cover off. Since this picture I've lengthened the frame by about 10 inches, which solved 3 issues. 1, getting the cover off. 2, fitting in the fuel cell. 3, getting the frame back to the turtle deck.
Just found these old pictures from 7 or 8 years ago when I was rebuilding the Winters qc in the Whatever project. The new axle tubes are 1st. Trial assembled, 2nd one. Close-up of the side bells after I sleeved them to repair the knackered bores. This qc looked like it spent some time in a show car chassis, but earlier use must have been a little bit rough on the axles.
I am currently working on the rebuilding of an early Frankland qc. According to James Frankland it is one of the first 250 rearends his father and grandfather built in their garage before they started casting their own center sections. I'm needing the lower shaft, it's 19 5/8" and has 6 splines on both ends if anyone knows where to find one other than Hotrod Works I'd like to know. Thanks in advance. Here's a few pics of how it's coming. Feel free to ask any questions. It's going to have ford small bearings, and 28 spline axles, I haven't decided whether or not to put a spool in it or remain with the spider gears.
I installed a $19.00 Speedway Motors 28 spline 9" mini spool in this vintage 39 Hudson circle track car. Bored the ring gear and carrier same as you do for 28 spline side gears. My own custom built steel converted QC. My cast extension much simpler than Frankland, Bart and others. Eliminates the 7/8" steel spacer and all it's welding. Eliminates the spacer ring and 1/4" plate. Much easier to make the pattern than making the Frankland cover pattern. I built 5 then sold the fixture etc. 3 are in my own cars.
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