Anybody have a problem with the yoke not fitting tight on the pinion of a speedway open drive kit ? Mine is loose to the point of a rattle.
It’s a common problem with the Speedway banjo rear open drive yolks. It has been that way ever since they copied the Hot Rod Works open drive kit. They broach them oversized.
And that is exactly why I opted to purchase my open drive kit from Hot R0d Works several years ago. Same as when I put the T5 behind my flathead, bought it from Corn Huskers and guess what? Works like it's supposed to. No weird vibrations or issues and I didn't have to do any re-engineering. Once again it's a case of getting what you pay for. Step up and pay for the good stuff, you will be way happier in the end. There isn't a whole lot of quality control in China.
I did have an issue with the HRW kit in relying on the pinion shaft seal to center the housing and then bolt the housing down . So in the end i made a dummy seal from aluminium to center the housing, bolted the housing down ,then installed the seal .otherwise a brilliant kit. have done a few HRW kits now with zero issues.
This is another example of why many of us have lots of equipment at our disposal. Very little is bolt on and go. People that don't have equipment and skills have my sympathy. Drag racing was about 'nothing ever fits". Hot rodding has much of the same. My advise is don't ever expect things to fit without some work.
As Cornhusker is all too familiar with, Speedway will sell your product for a while and then clone it and put their brand on the clone that is made over there where cheap stuff is made and people buy it because it is cheaper then have issues with it. I don't buy many "Speedway" products, I do buy some name brand other manufacture products from Speedway but prefer to buy from other vendors.
I fabbed my own kit. I haven't had the car on the road yet so I don't know how well I did. I figured that I'd give it a go. If it failed I'd order a kit. From what I've been reading I won't be ordering the Speedway kit when/if the time comes. Bobby
I'll pay up every time to get a good quality part. A couple years ago I bought the HRW kit and it's top notch stuff. And the best I remember, at that time, the Speedway kit wasn't really all that much cheaper.
The Speedway branded parts quality seems to have gone downhill ever since Speedy Bill passed away. I am very selective about what I buy from them now. Too much imported crap now.
Oh, but wait! Speedy Bill's family says: "We're still family owned by Bill and Joyce's three sons, Carson, Craig and Clay Smith and those family values still matter. We deliver those same quality designed and manufactured automotive parts. Now we also ship them fast, all over the world."
I had this problem with their kits … I usually end up drilling and tapping them for a few set screws to tighten them up .
I live in Lincoln and it's handy just to run over there. But I too-buy only name brand stuff and oils and such. To much Chinese junk from them.
Was given a Speedway kit as a trade, and inherited a HRW kit with a project I bought, same issue, one was sloppy, one was a firm slip fit, no need to guess which one was used. It was part of a 9” slip in axle kit, HRW quality all the way.
Good to know about the Speedway stuff since I was looking at their stuff. When time comes, I’ll be buying the kit from HRW.
The Jalopy Journal
