History Help ID Quickchange rear end

Hi I purchased a T Roadster earlier this year and after finding old pictures of the car and learning history on it I’m pretty sure it raced sometime in the 40’s in the Bay Area or northern California but I can not find anything on the rear end. The case has LOW in raised letters on the sides and the cover. I went to rebuild the brakes and after removing the lug nuts to get the wheel off the axle slid out of the rear end there is no clips or retainers holding it in the only thing is the lug nuts with a plate that is sandwiched between the drum and a floating hub which I think might be magnesium. I think the axle bells are 1932 And has 40 Ford drums and backing plates any help on this rear end is appreciated thanks here is some pictures

 

The drums are 40, the brakes are 48, the housings are kinda looking like Model A to me, but maybe unsupported pinion 32. The wishbones are 36. The hub and axle setup is really cool, probably one of a kind now.

 

Interesting to say the least. The housings look model A to me also, looks like the spring mount tabs have been cut off in picture below.


How are the hubs held on? Are there a large nut(s) under all that grease?



Or are the hubs held on with the 4 bolts that hold the backing plates on?

 

The backing plates look 40ish. Looks like the bolts pattern on the axle housing may have been filed out to make the backing plates attached. Notice how the washer and bolts seem to favor the outside of the housing bosses.



By money is on , that the hubs are held on by the 4 bolts. Kinda make this a full floating axle ***embly. The Hub carries the weight of the car, the axles slide in and provide power transfer.

 

under the grease in the pictures is Just bearing the hub spins on I think the hubs are pressed onto a snout and the snout is bolted to the 4 bolts for the backing plate

 

Quite a find, is the center section cast iron/steel ? Geared pretty high, around 2.65 if the ring and pinion is a 3.78, perhaps it was raced at the lakes or Bonneville.

 

get a hold of GEARHEADSQCE on here he may be able to help. @GearheadsQCE


https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/members/gearheadsqce.145496/

 

What does the spline look like on the removable axles?

 

Here is a few pictures

 

Someone sure did a lot of custom work on that axle, very impressive work considering the time period.

Axle shafts are keyed on one end and splined the other. Ford hubs have been shortened at the axle nut. Wonder what they used inside to allow splined axles? I wonder what carrier they used or how highly modified the carrier was modified to accept the splined spider gears.

 

What bolt pattern on the wheels, looks like 4 3/4" or 5"

 

do you think with all the custom work and machining that the case could be homemade also that’s why I’m not finding any info on the Low case

 

In the late 50’s it was changed from race car to show car sometime between the late 50’s and the mid 60’s it was drilled to 5 x 4 3/4 Chevy pattern the other pattern is 5x5.5

 

The backing plates are 42-48 (See the little bumps around the outer edge that the shoes ride on? That's the easy giveaway.). They bolt right on all rear axle housings from 28-48, no hole mods needed.

 

No, I have seen reference to LOW Engineering before, just escaping me right now.

 

i put a magnet on it it’s either magnesium or aluminum

 

Edit: I mistakenly creidted the LOW information to Craigibc it was actually from @zieglsd1.

I found a reference to a LOW Quickchange. Was sent to me by Dave Ziegler. He has not been on here since 2017.
Here is what he sent me:

LOW
San Leandro, CA.

Len Low



Was made in the early to mid 50’s. After a few years Len moved from California to Nevada, This quick change was used of a Hisso 4xd midget.

Yours it the first one I have ever seen,

Bruce

 

that would make sense I bought the car in Oakland Ca. Right next to San Leandro ca. The ch***is picture I posted is when the owner bought it in the late 50’s and dis***embled it and built it into a show car you can see in the picture it had a flathead mid plate center steering and the same quick change it was changed over to SBC and a 4 speed out of a vette the car also came with a radical built 37 flathead with Eddie Meyer speed equipment that I was told it raced with

 

have you seen the work on the axles and hubs have you seen that before on other quick changes? Do you think you could tell if it was set up for round track racing or dry lakes it would give me an idea of where to look for old race photos to try and find race history on the T roadster thank you

 

no pics of the whole car?

 

If you post pics of the whole car, I will search my photo collection on Track Roadsters .

 

here is some current photos and old show photos of the car at Oakland roadster show I’m trying to find old race photos or race history on it it has a moly tube ch***is is what the show card says it runs friction shocks on all 4 corners the early ch***is picture shows it having center cowl steering flathead mid plate with inside wheel discs 40 Ford wheels juice brakes it’s a steel 1922 T roadster body has been customized the Firewall and cowl has been shifted to the left to Keep the steering arm inside the cowl the turtle deck has lowered and molded the door was molded

 

wow........

 

The change gears seem to be of finer pitch than normal [current] gears?

 

I thought that too, Seb.

 

Would it be tough to find gears to change out the ratio?

 

It's standard 6 spline stuff, slide one of them off and check the width, V-8 will be 1.375 thick, Model A and Midget will be thinner.

 

^^^^^^^^^Unless they didn't use the standard 3" Center to Center spacing!