Thread: Driveshaft ?

Tweet

Hey guys I have a 7.5 rear axle from a 91 Ford ranger, Iam putting in my 50 Plymouth coupe. It has a round front yoke, is there a regular yoke that will fit it ? so I can use a regular ford driveshaft. Also it has a 345 ring and pinion, how does this sound mated to a 66, 200 cid Ford 6cyl. with c4 auto. Trying to build it cheap to drive and dependable. Thanks Terry

Originally Posted by mekanic

Hey guys I have a 7.5 rear axle from a 91 Ford ranger, Iam putting in my 50 Plymouth coupe. It has a round front yoke, is there a regular yoke that will fit it ? so I can use a regular ford driveshaft. Also it has a 345 ring and pinion, how does this sound mated to a 66, 200 cid Ford 6cyl. with c4 auto. Trying to build it cheap to drive and dependable. Thanks Terry

Which shaft are you going to use - the Plymouth, Ranger?? You should be able to get the correct ends to whichever shaft you are using at a driveshaft shop. AS far as the yoke, get one that fits the C4, take the shaft and the yoke to the driveshaft shop and he will have the correct shaft ends for you. Try to get the yoke with attached shaft that fits the C4 (make sure its long enough to fit the Plymouth wheelbase), then all you have to do is get the shaft cut and welded to the correct length The driveshaft shop will have the correct shaft end (rear) and a ujoint to mate the shaft to the ranger rear. If you cannot get one that is long enough, the shop will have new tubing. It's not going to be cheap, but going "cheap" on a driveshaft is not the way to go.

Someone here posted a good thread on how to DIY driveshaft customization.

if I remember correctly, you first mark the orientation of the yoke.

Then you mark the position of the weight.

Remove the weight, and cut off the yoke.

Cut shaft to length ( and swap in correct yoke if applicable )

Weld it up. ( short welds at opposing sides of shaft to minimize warpage / shrink )

re-attatch weight

Some times you can get lucky,when I needed a driveshaft for my '54 with a 302/AOD I was able to use a '86 Crown Vic shaft and a NEAPCO conversion u-joint and it was a bolt in.Since you are using a C4, a shaft with an AOD front yoke will interchange,so if you go to a driveline shop(check yellow pages) they can tell you how to measure for the correct length,most will have a large pile of used shafts to choose from also look for a wrecking yard that specializes in Fords' as they will probably have a rack with nothing but driveshafts in it,you'll be surprised how much you can save using a measuring tape.

In my thread "Another Build Thread? Yep, My Track-Style T" I went into detailed explanation of how to shorten your own drive shaft. I have cut at least a dozen drive shafts in my lifetime and only had one that shook because I didn't get the yoke on straight. I re-cut it and re-welded it and all was fine...