I've got this early V8 quick change. The rear cover is made by Highland Machine Co. Springfield Mass. The welded center section is of unknown origin. It may be Frankland as it came out of Delaware with a bunch of other QC cases and parts I bought from an old dirt track racer. The bolt pattern on the Highland cover does not match the housing and I have not checked to see if the bearing spacing is the same though it looks like it is. Anyone know any thing about Highland Machine Co. or this case or have any early QC covers or set ups or information they would like to share. Isn't Wilson Welding making a V8 conversion ? It is interesting to note that the pinion bearing carrier on this steel unit was cracked and repaired (see picture) just like most of the V8 Halibrand units were. I am thinking of setting this one up and running it. Any comments ?
Highland quick changes were real popular around here, all the ones I've had used the ford truck bells just like the Franklands did. They were heavy, but pretty bullet proof, and you still see them at the swaps locally.
Thanks for the info Hugh, This is for sure a V8 case 10 bolt bells. Have you ever seen one of these Small V8 Highlands. Anyone else using an Old home made V8 QC or have in pics.
Saw your post about the old quickchange case. Identifying early cases is like being a detective. This conversion was popular and anyone with moderate access to a machine shop or equipment could make one. Identifying the manufacturer is the hard part. The cruder it was the harder to identify, since this is a mid Atlantic post early NJ racer Pappy Hough produced may cases. Usually the cover bolt spacing is the key identifier but once someone made something the next guy just copied it so patterns for cover castings don't alway tell the tale either. Here is a case I found at a Michigan swap meet, its based upon a Model A case with a T torque tube. Who knows who made this one? Anyway you have a good conversation piece, the parts can be made or replaced and it looks functional so you will just have to find a cover that fits.
First pic is definitely V8 - has a pinion support. There is already a pretty large thread on this subject. I was searching it a few weeks ago. This isn't a "use the search" message, just telling you there are a lot of pics and info on that other thread.
I think Pappy's quickies had the gears dropping out the front, he thought Halibrands were too expensive.
Kevin, I checked out a few old post including yours. Did you get your QC together and working ? My bearing centers are 3" like the V8 Hals and the Highland cover is the same spacing. I am going to mock it up and see if this cover will fit on the rear flange. This conversion was very well made. The welds are very good and all the plates and brackets are very nice. Worth cleaning up and using.
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