I have a 3.54 rear ***embly from a '40 Merc. I've been repeatedly told it does not have the Ford 6 spline coupler. What does it have? I really want to use the rear but must shorten the driveshaft/torque tube; what is the technique?
On the Merc. the entire driveshaft and pinion gear is machined out of 1 piece, so no coupler like you would find on a ford.I have had good results cutting the shaft and leaving a stub of the same length that you would find on the ford pinion.Then i have it splined with the standard ford 6 spline pattern so a ford coupler can be used.The difficult part is finding a machinist that will take the time to do it.I have done six or seven of these and paid from $80.00 to $150.00 for the machine work which is much less than you would typically pay for a good usable genuine ford 3:54 ge****t if you could find a set for sale.Hope this helps,Bob
Also have a look at the thing! If it was ever replaced, my catalogs show Ford supplying a conventional Ford ring and pinion set with driveshaft to suit included (meaning special length shaft for early Mercs). I have heard also that not all Mercs got the integral shaft in '39-40 but cannot comment on that.
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