A question....are all early corvette 54 until 62 the same? I have a bent axle in my 62. There is a pair of 57 axles for sale on ebay. Are they the same?
Thanks for the help.
Dave 62

 

Yes, they are - the original service parts were 3775689 (LH) and 3775690 RH), common to all '57-'62 Corvette usages.

 

Dave62,

I also have a bent axle on my 62 (maybe it's a conspiracy).

If the bent axle on your Vette is the Pass. side, then I will split the cost of the 2 axles and buy the Driver's side from you. Let me know.

Confirmed from my info, that JohnZ is correct (per usual) and 57 to 62 axles are the same.

Thanks,

 

they also fit from 55-64 chevy, no need for a c1 axle.

 

Dave,
Which side do you need ? I have an NOS axle for sale. Let me know. Rich

 

Thanks for the info!!! I really need both sides as one goes up and down and the other has some in and out movement. My brother used to race 55 chevys and I am going over to our old shop this afternoon to see what parts he had left over. Parts are 30 years old....but then again I guess they will work just fine if he didnt give all the spares away when he changed the 55 to a 12 bolt.

Again thanks!


Dave 62

 

jcmsp,

If Dave62 does not it, I do need a 62 driver's side axle. PLease advise.

Thanks,

 

Here's a sidenote for all you C1 guys.

I've been doing lots of research on different Vette IRS setups of the last 20-30 years or so and I came across and interesting article in the June '71 Hot Rod.

It concerned the installation of Mopar 8-3/4" axles in the early Chevy housing. The plan was to use the much stronger axles and spider gears to eliminate breakage in the old days without spending big $$$ on custom axles.

It takes a little machine work but nothing a lathe and a drill press couldn't handle.

They say the 31 spline spider gears are a drop-in to the Chevy diff. They said part number #1829448 for the spiders and clutch plate retainer # 1829447.
No machine work necessary.

They used axle #2404233 for the right side. It was in a 65-69 Coronet, 56-69 Belvedere and the Charger R/T 66-67. Length is 28 7/8".

Axle #2404228 for the left side. It was in 65-69 Chryslers, Dodges (except Coronet) 65-69 nad Plymouth Fury's 65-69. Length is 30 ".

Also a #2404139 from the left of a 65-66 Imperial will work. Length is 30 1/2".

The right axle must be shortened at the spline end 1/4". They then turn the actual shaft diameter from the splines to the just short of the bearing area to 1.360" diameter. The 2" of bearing area are turned to 1.379" leaving a 5/64" radius to strengthen the area.

The left axle is left at 30" (or shortened to 30" for the Imperial one) It is then turned to the same diameter as the right axle.

The axle flange must be thinned to 5/16" to use the Chevy Drum. The lip that sticks through the drum must be shortened to 1/4" total and the diameter needs to be 2.804" to match the drum.

Of course you are also going to have to re-drill the flange to match your Chevy bolt pattern.

They used Chevy axle bearing retainers # 3739104. They had to remove 5/16" from the inside of the retainers.

They used replacement bearings # RW307R.

I know this sounds pretty complicated, but it's really pretty simple machine work. I think the neat thing is that folks were still plying with these dudes in the early 70's and were still developing ways to improve them.

I wonder if for the price of NOS or another 40 year old axle shaft, it might not be better to contact one of the Custom axle makers for a set of street axles. They sell in the $200-300 range and would be infinitely better than any old stock stuff. You might even use some of these tips to install the Mopar spider gears and upgrade to 31 spline axles instead of the stock ones. Aren't they like 17 spline or something?

Just a few thoughts.


Jim

 

427Hotrod,

Nice 67 you have there! I used to have a 66 with the same color combination and wheels (but a 327/350HP instead)!

Back in the early 70's we drag raced a 57 Chevy with the original 57 rear end, in bracket racing (bored 327 with 780 Holley, and ran low 12's). We saw first hand how weak the axles were. We would bust them on a regular basis. After a while, we started pulling them after each round, and checking the chalk line we had marked them with. If the chalk line twisted more than 1/2 turn, then we replaced it. We also tried some Strange axles, but we broke one on the first run (too brittle). We also found that the rear end housing was not up to par as well. Broke one of the ring gear bearing caps away from the housing when our driver hit 3rd gear on the final race of the season on the money run (had our competition beaten until that happened!). Had to flat tow the car back home 40 miles while the rear end made terrible noises! We did not care (other than losing the race), since we went Altered racing the next season, but that's another story.

Thanks for your info, but I think I would replace the entire rear end with a 12 bolt or a Dana 60, rather than just the axles (if I was to go racing on a regular basis), based upon my previous experience. The axles for the older Vettes (and Chevys) are available, if we look hard enough.

Thanks,

 

It would appear that there are several folks who are NOT familiar with the difference in 53-62 axles.
First, the 53-55 axles are TOTALLY different. They are C-clip type and they are the same as 50-54 passenger cars.
The 55-6 passenger car and 56 Vette axles are the same-------------AND WILL NOT, REPEAT, WILL NOT FIT 57-62 VETTES.
The 57-62 Vettes and 57-58 pass car axles are the same.

AND LAST, 59-64 Passenger car axles WILL physically fit the 57-62 Vettes, BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT--------------------- the 59-64 pass car axles are about 1/2in wider (between the bearing and wheel flange) on each side. If you installed a 59-64 pass car axle into a 57-62 Vette housing, not only would the wheel stick out an additional 1/2in, but the brake drum would also be moved away from the backing plate 1/2in.


SO, BOTTOM LINE-------------------57-62 Vette and 57-58 passenger car axles are the only ones which are exactly the same.

 

Thank you DZ for a very accurate update on this last post . There is a difference between the axels from 55 thru 62 as DZ spells out. And positraction axels vs. one leg units had similar problems in length.

Al Colvin's ' Chevy by the Numbers" does a good job in pointing out the differences in length.
Jim

 

DZAUTO,

SIDE BAR? Are all posi drop-outs (P case) the same 58 - 64 and are they 17 spline?

Thanks
Andy

 

ANDY,
Yes! As far as basic, bolt-in, complete interchange, the 55-64 passenger car and 56-62 Vette center sections are a 100% bolt-in swap.
Now, internally there are various differences. If you need me to explain those in detail, I will be glad to do so, on-line or email, your choice.
But, just to make sure that you fully understand, you can remove the center section from a 55 Chevy and bolt it into a 62 Vette, or, you can remove the center section from a 64 Chevy and bolt it into a 56 Vette, or anything in between.

THERE IS JUST ONE TINY EXCEPTION HERE. If you install a 57-64 posi into either a 55-6 Chevy or 56 Vette axle housing, with the STOCK 55-6 axles, it will be necessary to grind off about 1/8in from the splined end of the axles.