How to build a cheap Traditional QUICKCHANGE!!!

Ive never written a tech artical, but here goes....


First off, this worked for me there are hundereds of different ways to buld a champ Quickchange. this should be doable for under $500. This information was compiled by me from many differnt scorces, mainly local old racers and on the HAMB. Also this is a good way for someone to change the ratio of rearend in a truck to something more streetable, but still have the ability to change to a stump pulling ratio at a moments notice

Not much has changed on this basic design since it was introduced by ford on the 1938 and ran through '52 in 3/4 and 1 ton trucks, I have also been told they have been used on stude's but i dont know the years. Sometime in the '50's with the onset of overhead valves and big HP flatties, the racing industry found it needed a bigger rear for a quickchange because the v-8 rears were getting blown up. The easiest way for them to design one was to use Exhisting parts. First they needed a Center pinion, as related to the ring gear, so they could put a countershaft offset underneath and miss the differential, second they also needed a bell type rear so all they would have to do was make a simple center, and lastly floater axles are good incase you brake an axle the wheel cant slide off. The 3/4 ton rear fit the bill, only problem is it is a 2 piece banjo like a Model T rear, so 2 were needed to take bells from

In the time when the 3/4 ton qc also known as the Champ rear was introduced there was a lot of different configurations on the v-8 from the normal ford bells and brakes, to live axle to floater axle running 3/4 ton axles with the truck tube ends welded on v-8 car tubes

V-8 with floaters and a champ rear with same drums...

 

So lets start the show...

As it goes all you really need is a quickchange center with ring and pinion, and 2 3/4 or ton rears. If you notice i dont mention repacing bearings, these are heavy duty rears and rarely loose bearings, but if you should, you have 2 sets of truck diff, and drum bearings and seals and the QC spacific bearings are easily attainable from many aftemarket companies

My Supply list

2 3/4 ton rears, one 1941, one 1951 $20 for pair
One gently abused frankland QC $200
One blown up winters live axle QC I needed for Ring and Pinion $100
Stainless fasteners $61
Gasket material $7
Gasket goop $4
"Truck spool" shim kit from speedway $about $10
Aluminum Drum brakes $200
Dana 60 axle gaskets $6

Modern Live axle, no diff rear, VS my qc

 

Drums
As you can see one of these can be built reasonably with a bit of hunting for parts the hardest of which to find are the Drum brakes, but as of the early 60's many of the rears were already running discs, so that wouldnt be out of line either. Anouther option which will really keep the cost down is using the truck brake hardware, you may be able to use 38 or 39 wide 5's but i'm not sure if the 38's will fit over hydralic brakes, otherwise stock drums come in the regular 8 lug or a 5 on about 6", All of these i've seen on Racers. Watch for LEFT hand lug nuts too!! Unfortunatly a normal five lug wont fit with the truck floater hubs, the diameter of the hub is just too big.

The first set of brakes i bought i didnt look at close enough and the lining was cracked from rust, oh well they can probably be relined by someone who does brake linings, but that aint cheap. My second turned out to appear to be buick 45 fins or extremely close recast, with the outer lip trimmed, centers cut out and an aftermarket unmarked wide 5 hub used.

The spindle nut, and lockwasher are all the same between all ford drums and aftermarket drums, so I reused them

So with these hubs, even if the there isnt enough meat left for turning the hubs can be reused with new buick drums machined to fit. As for cylinders and shoes i've heard most run 60's buick full size stuff.

Center pic, Buick drum on left vs aftermarket with the outer lip cut off

 

Center sections
The Qc center hasnt changed much since it was introduced. For the most part they are all simalar and most parts interchange between makes, some dont though. There are many brands of cases that will work for this conversion, they all have a 11 bolt bell flange with one blank spot where it looks like one hole is missing, probably so it didnt weaken the case around the pinion. I am going a frankland with the deep 6 bolt rear cover, which i belive is still produded today.

As for damage, dont let most repaired case scare you, especally if it was run again successfully, Most repaired cases are plenty fine for street use because FACE IT you probably arent building a 800 horse wide slick monster, nomatter what your ego says contrairy

Cases can really be broken anywhere from racing, the one i have had a broken pinion support that was rewelded, the one i got to raid a Ring and pinion off of had the bottom of the case blown out of it a couple times, a few years back by a local i know running a nationally ranked sprint.

Some have in-out boxes built in too, which are identified by a lever coming off the side of the imput shaft

unrepairable winters w/10 bolt cover vs frankland W/6 bolt cover

 

Bells

Pretty straight forward here you can run adapers to lighter v-8 bells with new floater axle ends, which i am not too farmilliar with or go 2 of the short side 3/4 ton P/u bells, like i did, or the aluminums can also be used, but the ones i have take a larger bearing, so i really can't help too much there either

Truck bells are pretty straigh forward they come in a few different lenghts but are easily pressed apart and shortened by someone with access to a lathe the '41 rear had the perfect lenght bell and axles that when combined with the offset of my aftermarket drums made the rear 58", perfect for my roadster, But my '51 rear was 5" wider and the bell off of that needed to be shortened 2 1/2" to match my '41 axles

Also unless someone knows of a scorce you are on your own for gaskets. I made mine out of 1/32 gasket material which is the same thickness as the ford gasket these days they have switched over to a o-ring seal and goop


Cutting a gasket, the end of the ford bell, and Newer style o ring seal

 

Axles

Unlike a lot of rears quickchanges run the same lenght of axle on both sides, the outsides are the same the DANA 60 which means gaskets are the same, but on the inside the spline is different than dana and i belive atleast some of the quickchange lockers. Due to Ford changing widths as mentioned above try to get atleast one rear that is the same width as what you want, the earlier the rear the narrower it is, some aftermarket brakes also have different offset on the lug flange too so take that into account if possable.

Many rears you find these days are live axle, those should NOT be considered for a street car because the dont use a differential infact the ring gear bolts directly to a flange on the tube so they act the same as a spool. That said dont let it stop you from getting one just to pull the center section and ring and pinion becaust these are some of the best bargins out there.

 

Diff,R+P

As the diff goes it is a direct bolt in, even the winters or other brand ring gear off a live axle setup will bolt right on as long as you dont mind a "one wheel peel but the newer lockers are also supposed to bolt in possably with some adapting. As for shims to set preload and backlash, speedway motors sells a "Truck Spool Shim Kit" that works fine. I know that the winters and frankland pinions will also swap between rears, because i had to swap a winters r+p into my frankland case because i didnt have a ring gear for it

As for the ford R+P some stude truck guys want them for restorations because of better gear ratios but unlike ford car rears the pinion cant be machined to fit a quickchange because of the tapered end that attaches to the drive shaft yoke. There is one possable exeception though, the 38-39 and possably '40 closed drive setups which i havent been able to get my hands on

Shim kit, center section

 

Thanks to studefreak, polocks rods and sprcheeze for parts and also Baliegh for the contest!


As for assembly i've already written a bunch already my girlfriend is fussy, cuz it's 2 am and i'm using her laptop, it's pretty straight forward. and covered on other sites and also int the tech manual here http://www.wintersperformance.com/catalogs.htm. If you have anything to add go ahead. I havent set backlash on mine because i still need ring gear bolts (monday), and havent put all the brake hardware on because i still want to blast and paint it, but over all it went togather rather easy even for me who has never before done a Full rear end rebuild only helped friends.

For specs and assembly tips go to these sites, the Halibrand book speedway sells isnt worth the money but a good set of basic stuff to help a beginner like me

Oh, repacing pinions can be a total pain in the ass!! involving a propane torch(not O/A) and cold, the reason for not using O/A is according to halibrand and winters, it can damage the heat treating on the case

Freezing the pinion, driving it in, and finished product w/wide 5 ford wheels

 

Good info Shaggy! Thanks for posting.

 

I have found another source for the bells and internal carrier parts. A friend of mine was walking through an old farm equipment junkyard and came across a Worthington tractor from the 50's or 60's that had the ford 3/4 ton rear in it. He got it for me and other than having 8:1 tractor ring and pinion all the parts are the same as the ford rear. I used the carrier and the spider and side gears in my Frankland rear under my 32. Just another source for those looking for parts.

 

Nice info. Worth a gold star from me anyway. Gary

 

Don't forget the 6 pin Studebaker rear ends too.

 

Shaggy mentioned the Studebakers but he couldn't recall what years. 7&7 do you know the years?

 

This helps a lot...Thanks for the info...

 

a few notes to consider; champs came in 11 & 12 bolt covers.the side bell adapters to 10 bolt are hard to find as halibrand stopped production years ago.(they show up on ebay but usally sell for $800+).the two short bells of the 3/4 ton rears will bolt up but you will need a 2 inch (?) spacer adapter for the bearing on one side and no one makes it.if you compare the two aluminum side bells of a champ qc. you will see that one bell has the bearing spaced out a couple of inches from the other.hope this helps

 

Interesting article. Thanks for the information and all the time posting.

 

Thanks! Nice collection of information. Could you or someone post a photo of a stone stock 3/4 - 1 Ton Ford truck rear? I don't think I've ever seen one.

 

Note that the ring & pinion have been replaced. The original (Timken) had a tapered/keyed pinion shaft that is incompatible with most available pinion yokes or sleeves. The Winters, Frankland, and Halibrand R&Ps have splined pinion shafts.

 

Damned good info....Thanks for the post!

 

I've tried to look up the info on the Studebaker rears but with no luck. I do know they are also 3/4 ton variety. Late 1940's-1950's trucks. They look the same as the Ford. The side bells for the axles are a little different and of course the 6 pin configuration. Pulling the tapered pinion is a pain! If you find yourself pulling one press it out. The Ford 3/4 ton rear I have was out of a 1939. Heavy as hell. 12 spline axle 5.89 ring and pinion but you can use the carrier in the quick change housing as well as the axles.

 

Thanks for posting the additional info guys!!! I've never seen a good artical on this conversion so i figured i'd write one. Keep it coming!!!


Next time on tech week shaggy shows you how to build a 32 five window from 2 Geo metro's and a '60 edsel.....

 

great tech Shaggy. a thread on this subject has been long overdue

Dale, i believe the tapered/keyed pinions were for the open driveline only. i just took apart some BB torque tube stuff a few weeks ago to get the tt, the wishbones, the driveshaft and the pinion support and the pinion has the coarse spline

does anyone know if the coarse splined ring & pinion sets are still available, this one is toast

 

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/859697-f-2-f-3-timken-rear-studebaker-guys-want-them.html

there are some Ford rearend photo's here, i havent read the full artical, but mabey someone can post them up, because i'm on my way out, See Ya!

 

Yea, i know the open drive ones are, BUT closed drive 38-39 or 40 MIGHT work, i've never had one to measure/modify

 

Huh?? It looks good to me?? mabey if you put 3/4 ton bells on a v-8 rear, but the assembled photo's have the diff in it

 

anyone need a need a non quick change center?? removes the quick change center made by MRE I think
still got 2 sets of truck gears for it I think
give a ton of side bells and tubes away and sold my 3 extra quick changes long ago
magnesium side bells and center are much lighter
speedway motors got some parts
you need to make a checker like the frankland true checket for center drag and pinion backlash
oh sometimes you need a spacer forone side bell if using a spool
be sure and check as you assemble mistakes are costly

 

Shaggy,

in a previous thread i'd mentioned wanting to find/build a no-change center for one of these and you had never heard or seen of one before. this one's not mine but here you go....

 

Thanks Shaggy. This was right on time for me. I just picked up a used Winters aluminum centersection and side bells and didn't have a clue what I was doing. This should be a big help.

 

Now that's what I'm talkin' about GOOD STUFF!!!...Thanx Shaggy..A 32 coupe out of 2 Metros and an Edsel???....Man, no wonder your up at two AM writing tech articles...your workin' way too hard.....Thanx again for all your info.!

 

The edsel thing i thought was good for a laugh!

Yea and wait 'till i get my garage up this summer!! then it's no life for me!!!

I know in the Tardel book they mention a fake QC that halibrand made that had a shorter rear cover, but no i really wasnt farmilliar with that critter, yea in certain applications it would be great and best of all it aint phoney