Inliners International Forums General Discussion Bench racing Project Status: finally underway - 3.55 swap done!

Greetings . . .

I can't believe that it has been over five years since I tore down the donor rear end for my rebuild:
Posting RE 3.55 swap for cars versus trucks.

Suffice to say I have been spending way too much time in the office and not enough time in the garage!

But this past summer my '49 went for its last ride in stock trim and is now up in the air:

the caster stands are really handy in terms of moving the project around in the garage.

Once I plucked the drive line from the car:

The biggest challenge was cleaning up all the grease and grime:


The tear down also revealed some very strange gear oil:

Not only did it smell funny but it stained my skin purple on contact! Only carb cleaner would cut it!

Some time with the sandblaster, a scotch bright pad and some solvent cut through the crud. Two coats of POR15 and a top
coat has the driveline in very presentable condition. The only parts that were in need of replacement were the axle seals - and
really just the driver's side which was rusted through and leaking:

of course while I was at it I replaced both seals with new ones . . .

My plan was to use the best parts from the two rear ends. Both were in equally good shape so I decided to substitute just those parts necessary for the swap. First, I compared the two pinions and torque tubes:

the bearing to bearing measurements were within .001 inch. So I decided to use the tube and all from the '52:


There were two shims installed on the front bearing with the original tube - so I reinstalled them - the shop manual documents this as the baseline for obtaining lash. After seating the rear bearing with a mallet and 2x4 the front bearings were locked down with the thrust bolts and the ring gear and case from the '52 were bolted in:


With a dial indicator I was able to measure lash. The fit seemed very positive - with no room for error. The first measurement was sloppy. I had to turn the adjustment wheels to move the case and ring to the right. I needed to give-up a locking slot on the right to move the left in tighter. Two slots worth of adjustment and the lash was .006 right in the center of the .005 to .007 tolerance documented in the shop manual.

The manual also mentions needing to tighten the right hand ring an additional locking slot to preload the bearings. This seemed impossible as once the right hand adjuster was snug it came to a definite stop aligned with the locking fingers. Not sure if there was a need to force the issue. I tried tapping with a brass hammer and large screw driver - but decided tight is tight - and proceeded to torque the case bolts to spec.

Reassembly of the spider was a text-book operation:


which is complete when the retaining pin is screwed down tight:


At this point the rear is fully assembled and ready for a brake job:



Parts are on order. Once that is complete it will be ready to reinstall on the car.

But that won't happen for sometime as the balance of the restoration continues. I decided to start in the back
underneath - working on the least rewarding aspects of the restoration first . . .


regards,
stock49

Great photos and very nice work! I'll be sure if I need some work, I'll know where to go to ask questions!

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