Hello. I'm building a 1932 Roadster old school style, original frame, reprosteel body,1953 mercury flathead, 1939 3 speed. I would like to have a quickchange but I will see what I end up with. I have found one old Halibrand 301, for 400$ but I wounder if it's to big or just overkill. What do you think.
I think you will find the consensus here is that the 301 will look a bit large under that 32. It is definitely overkill for a flathead/39trans combo. You will also find that the 201 (V8) is really expensive. If you want nostalgia you pretty much have to find an old V8 Halibrand or something else that was available back in the day, Cyclone, Pat Warren etc. If you can live with a newer style, I would go for a Winters. Or you could build one from a banjo. If you want a Winters message me. I'm editing this from this point forward. The above was a quick response when I was about to leave for church. I want to be clear, I prefer the larger (301 or equivalent) center. They are bigger, but soooooooo much stronger. A lot of the bulky look is due to the 8 rib stock car style side bells that are common on these rear ends. There are other styles that change the look. The 4 rib Winters is quite sleek and is Dennis Frings (Frames) favorite. My choice is the 6 rib Winters. It looks 'Old School' to me. Though I have built several V8 rears, they are fragile at best and upgrading them for modern differentials and axles is EXPENSIVE. I thought I had some good pictures to post for comparison, but I don't think the ones I have will show what I wanted. Will try to post some up but it may be a few days.
Hello again. Thank you for your input Gearhead. I'm not used to this computer stuff but I will try to post a picture of the quichchange I'm talking about. My idea was to use some Ford 36 to 48 axle tubes/trumpets to the QC center piece. If there is a spool in this QC, I understand it has to be changed to a differential, how big deal is that? How much will it cost?
A used differential will be about $350, modifications (narrowing) $150. The early '36 trumpets will look too skinny on that rear. 40-48 more in proportion. Get the left side plate off and see if the pinion support is broken. If not that is a reasonable price.
Question- If I want to run a Halibrand QC center and have a nice A banjo as a starting point, do the guts of the banjo just drop right in to the center housing? I don't know anything about quick changes.
If you have an A sized quickchange the internals will go in with very little mods (turn down the snout of the pinion shaft, grind a little clearance on the iron gear housing for the lower shaft). But, finding an A sized quickchange is rare. Many more V8 or Champ sized rears out there.
$400 for the Halibrand pictured is a "STEAL" for the unit if in good shape. The side plates bring more than that in the US. I use the Champ in 34's because I like the strength and have a heavy right foot. In the 80's Halibrand offered the champ with some new side bells and Brizio put them under many 32's and I thought they looked great. Use the 40 bells, have the unit media tumbled and you will love the look. Here are some Deuces that feature the Champ QC…look good to me. Buy the unit.
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