I spoke with Toms Differential about the 17 spline upgraded inner stub axels and he said the were not set up for production. He took my number and said he would call [I'm not holding my breath waiting] He also informed me that when they get enough calls for them they would setup some production. Hint, hint hint Call them and try to place an order if interested

 

who did you speak with?

 

I don't know, to tell you the truth, how does some guy who answered the phone work? Sorry T

 

@terrys6t8roadster
I guess the underlying question is, since Tom Watts passed away (RIP), and his wife, as I understand it, was looking to sell the business, and it seems the website has been revamped, although the pdf catalog still looks the same, who's running the business, has the business been sold, etc.

i.e., was it the new owner that you talked to on the phone?

 

Toms is still owned by Tom's wife and her daughter, at least it was 2 weeks ago the last I spoke with them. I don't know their plans, that's none of my business, but I do offer tech support for them so many times questions are directed to me.

 

Gary: I have a 68 which I have had for over 50 years. I don't drive it nearly as much as I used to. I have noticed that there is too much endplay in the stubs. I plan to replace them. Do you think it's a good idea to pick up a pair from Tom's while they are still available? Thanks. Jerry

 

I bought my first 17 spline from Mamo. They were more than double the cost custom hardened yokes. billet caps with 12 point bolts. Worth every penny because I still running them hard 30 years later. Corvette Parts and Accessories (mamotorworks.com) I bought the stage 6 or 7 Toms posi units. Later on I ask Gary about where to get them and I think they were made by International. I have two rearends with different gearing depending on what i'm doing.

 

I don't know whom I spoke with, sorry, T

 

Hi Jerry,
68 axles are usually still good. The only way to know is to remove them and check them. Axle end play comes from a few issues, mostly axle face wear and posi setup, sometime the cross-shaft holes are worn out. I've rebuilt plenty of 63-70 diff's and the axles were still good. If they have a little wear then I have them hardened and tune the posi, after which the axles are better than new.

Depends on what axles you are thinking of - 17 or 30?

I can tell you the new, rebuilt, & knock offs of Tom's sold today are not impressive. New are Chinese, they are hardened but they don't know where to locate the snap ring groove and use cheap, thin snap rings. Some may get to 020" endplay in a stock posi, the ones I checked in a stock posi I didn't rebuild yet had 045"endplay which is terrible, 020" is bad as well. Rebuilt axles? some are a crap shoot, you may get a good one or you may get a bad one, QC isn't followed. Then there are cored rebuilt axles, dumbest thing I have seen yet and have been around for years. They work great until you load the diff and then can shear in 1/2. If I told the names of some of these places most would think I am lying or hold a grudge against them, neither of which is true. Just ask some simple questions from anyone selling axles- who makes them, what is the hardness range on the tip, what is the location of the snap ring groove, what are them made from. I know those answers but I am not posting them anymore due to some concerns I have. I have pretty much stopped using them and instead I have gone through my cores that don't have a lot of wear on them, had them hardened and cryo treated, then polished. They are better than what I can buy today from anyone. When I have time, I have a box of worn cores that I am going to make my own hardened tips for and use. Anything worn past the snap ring groove is junk, yet some still core and rebuild them.

I have not used Tom's 17's in a long time, not sure of the status of them at this point, you will have to call Leslie and ask her.

 

I think International is gone now. I haven't been able to reach them since precovid days. Their axles were USA made and very good, the only thing I didn't like was the fit of the caps and usually swapped them out for used GM caps that are the best.
If you know anything about them let me know.

 

We're an aging group, look at how many vendors sold out the past few years, how many of the old timers have retired or died outright. There's not a lot of us left that know the custom builds as compared to 20-30-40 years ago. Some of those out there are crooks, others I don't know where their head is at, with some of the things I see being done today. Some try copying parts but can't get them right but still sell them. I may do this work another 7-8 years and that's it, if the parts are still around or I can make my own, or I drop dead.

 

I was talking to you like 8 years ago and international was on the way out, I was never able to get them again. I got two for $420 delivered without cores.

They are very high on parts, but

Vintage Corvette Engine & Driveline Racing Parts - Duntov Motor Company (duntovmotors.com)

 

Duntov was Fastcorvette, I will pass

 

Agreed. Hard pass.

 

Why is Duntov listing their axles as new GM? I though GM discontinued these. Unless they started production again...

 

Call and ask them that very question, better yet they probably troll this site maybe they will answer directly. I doubt GM is tooled up to make 50 year old axles, makes no sense. Probably they are licensed GM parts, which I was told comes down to paying to use the GM name on your own product. I may be wrong about it but my guess is they are new Chinese axles, same as others are selling. International made their own, Mark Williams makes a nice 30 spline yoke axle, Tom's has nice 30 spline axles.

What I have seen with the new axles is they were hardened, whereas in the past they were not. I would still check them though. The snap ring groove is all over the place. Some work well others can be out 030" in a tuned posi.

 

Turns out their website needs updating. They source their axles from a couple different sources but long story short, they are not GM.

 

Why am I not surprised?
There are only a few suppliers of new or rebuilt and all have one issue or another. You may get a good one and the next, who knows.
rejected up to 50% from one place and the other is making very questionable rebuilt axles. I prefer to use real GM axles and if they are within the range I want, I will have them thru hardened and cryo treated. These are not new licensed axles, they are original GM axles, not twisted, not cored, and not worn too much.

 

I'm glad I grabed 2 sets of 31 spline stub axels inner and outer and half shafts it came in a kit with bearings and stuff .