I have some questions about the banjo rear ends. I'm looking at a few of them locally and from what I'm reading these changed in width partway through their manufacturing life cycle. My understanding is the 35-41' is about 1.5" longer than the 32-34' and the 42-48' was about 2" longer than the 35-41'. Is this correct? I'm doing a 32 fenderless so it sounds like the 32-34 or the 35-41' length would fit what I'm doing. I think the 42-48' would be too wide. Thoughts? Also, what other options are there for the original axles? I'd rather not have to deal with the keys if I can avoid it. Thanks
You have it right. Your measurements might be a little off but close. I have a Maverick under my fenderless 32. I run adapters to use old Ford wheels. It has worked great for 26 years. The 42-48 is too wide in my opinion.
The Traditional favorite has always been the 37 to early 41 banjo rear due to width,6 spline pinion,availability of gear ratio's and replacement parts and a clean looking spring hanger.Of course the others have been used and also work fine,but may have some limitations depending on your specific application.There are severel companies that can modify them to accept a late model ford axle and bearing if you want to avoid the keyed axle.
When you change over to splined axles (and please do) you can adjust the width. 56" WMS-WMS should be pretty close. The ABSOLUTE BEST way to determine axle width is to mock up wheels and tires and measure between the Wheel Mounting Surfaces. I've narrowed, widened and fixed so many problems ***ociated with guesstimates that I require customers to give me a WMS dimension in writing. This includes brake drum thickness. I shoot for + or - 1/16" overall width. I'm not a fan of wheel spacers. I now cut all banjo trumpets in my lathe. Once I cut one side, I put the second one in and cut it without moving the carriage. This definitely centers the drive shaft. As far as model years go: If you want to use the '36 style wishbones you probably want to use the early (skinny) axle trumpets. I think most of the guys on here prefer the 'spindly' look under the open wheel '32 and earlier cars. The beefier trumpets look fine under the later ones. BTW, DON'T BUY MODEL A TRUMPETS TO USE ON A V8 CENTER SECTION!!!!!!
Equally as important is the torque tube/driveshaft your going to use. If your running a flathead with old ford trans, the '32 tube is the shortest and shouldn't need cutting down. Any tube from '33 up is longer I believe. If your going with a late v8 then you'll likely be converting the rear end to open drive and the driveshaft will be much easier to build/cut than the old ford stuff.
The round 32 torque tube will not work with a later center section. Cutting and remachining the 33-34 parts is better. The 33-34 center sections also uses a smaller pinion bearing and the flange should be opened up to clear a later bearing. The later center sections are .5" longer at the flange so that is another consideration. Getting the parts the correct length is tricky. There should be 1/8" axial clearance in the speedo drive gear when done. It is important that the torque tube is not crooked. If it is out of square, it flexes the driveshaft with every revolution. I made a jig to check for straightness. The driveshaft can be chucked up in a lathe to check strightness.
Thanks for all the input guys. I should've cleared up a few things before. I'm planning on going with an open driveshaft mated to a flathead/T5 combo. I was thinking this would give me a good start and would let me upgrade to a quick change center section down the road. After some more research and talking with some guys, it sounds like I should go right into the quick change.
Trying to decipher the actual year of this rear end. This axle has had about 3/8 (maybe more?) cut off of the end. I''m measuring it from the tip. It needs to be replaced because it is bent also - What years might it have been used?
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