Does anyone out there have information about or pictures that depict the shortening of a Ford torque tube and drive shaft? I have always found this to be a curiosity that I could never satisfy. Reading the Bishop/Tardel book has rekindled this. I wonder if they bought a NOS 34 drive shaft to shorten and are using it in their 40 torque tube. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
I have a similar question... not to hijack - I think this is on topic... I have a '36 rearend that'll be going under a Model A frame, and it's obviously far too long (torque tube). Could I just get a model A TT and driveshaft and bolt it up to the rear end to avoid the h***le of shortening? I suppose it would have to work out perfectly, and as the trans mounts are custom, I'm sure it wouldn't... Any thoughts? Mushmouth, I don't know about where you are, but where I'm at, I'm having a hell of a time finding anyone who will touch shortening mine for me any closer than LA. Good luck to 'ya...
I doubt they bought a NOS one. They likely just moved the three factory relieved flathead blocks, five sets of Edelbrock block letter heads, and a Zepher geard '39 transmission or two out of the way, then simply picked the best of several dozen - likely stored upright in a 55 gallon drum which held the fuel Gaston Chevrolet used to attain a tenth place finish in the 1919 Indianapolis 500.
Maybe some knows of a shop that will shorten these, that would be good info, and do a search as this may have been discussed before. Skibo
I can tell you who to get in touch with, and I'll vouch for their work and courteous service......The Hot Rod Works in Nampa, Idaho.....they specialize in early Ford rears, open drive conversions, Quickchanges, etc. They shortened and resplined my '48 Merc driveshaft for me and the work was superb......go here for info: http://www.hotrodworks.com tell Nick that Cousin Brucie recommended you..... Brucie
Cooks Machine Works in L.A. will cut it down and respline it if you want to go that route. On mine, I bored out the coupling, cut the shaft down, put it in the bored out coupling, TiG welding it, and drilled a new hole for the pin that goes through the shaft and coupling. Haven't run it yet, so can't say for sure it will hold up, but I'm pretty confident it will.
do an intro do a search you shall find the answer to your question, Lemmiwinks...it came up about two months ago.....pretty good discussion but first you must enter the small intestine, there you will find the sparrow prince and he shall guide you on your journey..
This isn't rocket science. Figure out how long the torque tube and shaft need to be, take it to your local welding/machine shop, have them cut & weld the TT, then have them cut & respline the driveshaft. If you don't have the tools/equipment to do it yourself. I figure any TT can be shortened. Some just look cleaner than others depending on where it is cut/welded. Mine came from a '46 and connectes a '40 rear to a '39 trans. JH
Local machine shops should be able to do it, but I can vouch for Cousin Brucie's too. Shortening the torque tube is easy. The trick is, the drive shaft is tapered, so after you cut it down the metal needs to be spray welded or built back up before the splines can be cut into it. Or, a shop could make a whole new inner drive shaft from scratch, but that would probably be a lot more pricey.
Welcome to the Hamb Mushmouth. There is a reason that Vern Tardel uses the 33/34 torque tube and driveshaft. As Vern explained, this driveshaft is a hollow 2'' diameter pipe. The splined ends are welded on. So all you need to do is detemine the length , cut, slip in the 6 to 8 spline adapter, true it up and tig weld in place. The 8 spline o.d. is close to the i.d of the driveshaft. Done..........no resplining. The 33/34 torgue tube is a nice clean looking piece to use and does not have the internal support bearing to h***le with. These bearings are installed in the later units to keep the smaller driveshafts from whipping. The larger 33/34 won't whip around. " 36-3 Windows" suggestion on cutting the torque tube is the easy way to go. grind about a 37 degree bevel on both pieces, lay in a V jig. and weld it up with a root p*** and then a final cap weld. I have a 36 rear (in my 32 fiver) and the 34 driveshaft and tube, work perfect. If you are using a stock center section..you may want to add the " gear lube dam" to keep the lube from running down the tub from your rearend. Vern sells one that I know of. Now all you have to do is find a 33/34 tube and shaft. hope this helps............. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- vagabonds cc
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