What is it? Vintage in out box or quickchange box?

Picked this up as part of a sale/trade on some parts. Trying to figure it out. Seems to me like it might not all belong together and there's something missing also.
It was all together when I got it. I disassembled it.












This was sticking out of the front, but doesn't seem like it belongs there.

Looks to me like an early ford tailshaft and slider gear with the teeth ground off.

There are no names or markings or anything that I can find except some numbers stamped into the top edge of the plate between the two halves:
31-32-33-34 I think




Thanks,
Dave

 

Could be an in/out box for a boat.

 

Think dog. Gary

 

its not all there but it is a in out box for a flat bottom boat real neat

 

Under/Over (its early so pick the one suited) driver, the numbers coralate with the male gear and adjust for mesh inside the female gear.

 

This was my initial thought because of the large sun-type gear.
So the input shaft and at least one other gear are missing then?

The shifter would slide something inside the finned barrel part, and what I haven't figured out is how that would engage or disengage any gearing in the rear half. Or would it slide forward to engage a coupler on the crank? In which case the over/under drive makes less sense and clutchless in/out box makes more sense.

 

The torque-tube ball looks like pre-'55 Chevy, but the universal joint doesn't

 

I believe you have a "Quick change in & out box." A real popular item in the late '40s & early '50s with the Roaring Roadster guys who couldn't afford a Q.C rearend. There should be a coupler in the front the bolts to the crank flange. Ther's a dog clutch inside the finned portion which makes the connection between the engine and the rest of the drive line (the In & out part.) The square plate with elongated holes provides for up & down travel of the Q.C. part to allow the internal gear to accomodate various sizes of change gears. The change gears are pinions mounted on the output of the in/out portion.
These were known to be a real pain to change gears in due to having to handle hot pieces. Also, they had a tendency in long races to lose the torque on the four bolts in the square plate which would allow the box to slide up and disengage the change pinion from the ring gear.

 

It could be a Stellings, they built quick-change boxes like that. I have a friend who ran one in a track roadster the late 40s. It was a hand me down part, from a fellow racer that installed a live-axle Halibrand in his car.

 

Would there be any available parts that would work for what's missing or would I have to adapt things or have them made?

 

This image just came up on the 40's hot rod thread. Similar? Gary