Features Quick Change Book - In the Beginning.......

A while ago I started a thread asking for history and manufacturers of Quick Change rear ends. I have been gathering information and attempting to put together a book, mostly technical in nature, about Quick Changes.

The history kind of took on a life of it's own and the technical part got put aside for a time.

Well, I'm back on it now and I thought I would share the rough draft of the intro.

As I go, I will post some of the content here for your reading pleasure and feedback.

My goal is to have a book similar to 'How to Hot Rod Small Block Chevys' by Bill Fisher and Bob Waar. (I think I had this memorized in the 70's)

By the way, I am looking for a title for the book. A free copy to whoever comes up with the final title. Suggestions only accepted on this thread. In case of duplicates, first poster wins. Final determination of winner is by me. Everyone else is the Biggest Loser!

Enough! Here it is:

Introduction

Why would anyone write a book about Quick Change Axles? Have you seen one before? I haven’t either. Well then, does this mean that a book about QCs isn’t necessary? Maybe not, but when I first got started building Quick Changes 30+ years ago, the lack of information made it difficult.
My education started with a 1956 Corvette drag racer. This was a low dollar operation, meaning there was no budget and everything was scrounged as needed to build a fun little car to race on the weekends. The plan was to build a reliable combination and add power over time. This was built around a pair of 14 x 32 slicks and a 4 link with floating leaf springs. Originally, the Vette rear was narrowed, the frame back-halved and tubbed. When it came it came time to put in a ‘real race car’ rear end, I started looking for a Ford 9” like most everyone else. What bothered me was that I didn’t know what gear to buy. I had a 5:13 in the old rear, but I knew that if I changed the engine, the gear would likely need to change too.
About this time, I got acquainted with a local oval track driver and liked to hang around his shop. What I didn’t realize is that I was working with one of the Mid-West’s most legendary racers, Joy Fair! In one our discussions, I casually asked if he thought a Quick Change would work in a drag racer. He said something like, “I think they used to use them.” Having grown up on model cars and car magazines, I had seen them before, but really didn’t know much more than that they allowed final drive ratio changes. So I persisted, and finally got the answer I was looking for, “Since you’re using an automatic transmission and have such a wimpy engine, it should work, and probably last forever.” One more little push,”If I get the pieces together, will you help me put it together?” I’m sure he thought it would never happen, or would take so long, that I would probably give up on the whole thing. So he said, “Yes.” I had him now!
It did take a while to gather everything. I got a Frankland center section with pinion from another local oval racer, bought some side bells with bent axle tubes from a dirt tracker and a rear cover from a swap meet. Somewhere along the line, I acquired a 31 spline steel spool with a ring gear. I bought a 9” Ford axle from a junkyard and sold the pig for what I paid for the whole rear end. My dad, who was a machinist, cut and resplined the axles for me, and cut the housing ends off the Ford housing and turned them to fit in the shortened Quick Change tubes.
So, I took the whole mess to Fair’s on one of his Wednesday race car nights. I had counted the ring and pinion teeth and was glad to find that I had a 7:34 combination, which made it a 4.86. I was hoping that we could use the ring and pinion, even though they were not a matched set, to save money. The idea was that if the combination was a little noisy, it wouldn’t matter since it was in a race car. After messing with the backlash for over an hour we finally came to the conclusion that the ring and pinion were not compatible even though the tooth count was typical for a 4.86. With everyone giving me the ‘stink eye’ because no race car work was getting done on ‘Race Car Night’, Fair finally says, “Go upstairs, I think there is another ring gear up there somewhere.” So, I went upstairs. (This has since become one of my favorite places on earth.) Among all the bits and pieces of past race cars, I did indeed, find a ring gear. A quick count confirmed that it had 34 teeth. I looked to see if there might be a pinion too, but no luck there. So, back down the ladder I go. I’m too embarrassed by now to ask for help, and I had the ‘add a shim here, take one out here’ down by now. A little while later I’ve got a ring and pinion meshing in a Quick Change.
Now, Fair is interested in how I’m doing and comes over to help me set the preload and final backlash. And he has to show everyone this ‘narrowed Quick Change for a drag car’ and explain how two different ring gears could be made with the same tooth count but not work with a pinion with the right number of teeth. He wouldn’t let me pay him for the gear, just saying, “Put the other one upstairs, I might need it someday.”
In the car, I started with a 5.28 gear. Changed it up and down a couple of times and found that the 5.28 was just right for the combination. (292 cu.in. small block w/ hydraulic cam, single 780 Holley, Stahl Adjustable headers and TH400 w/3200 stall converter.) Unfortunately, the BIG motor never got into that car, and it was sold with the Quick Change. It didn’t make a lot of noise and never gave a bit of trouble.
I started fooling around with Quick Changes in race cars and built a few for street cars. I became the rear end guy for Fair’s cars and he let me experiment with ideas I had. Eventually, I started a side business building QCs mostly for street rods. Every time I built one, I discovered something I hadn’t known before. I kept thinking, why doesn’t somebody have this stuff written down somewhere?
So, here it is, my attempt to answer all the unanswered questions I had over the years. I’m certain that there are things that I have missed. But, I will tell you that I haven’t intentionally left anything out and have tried to make this informative and interesting. You may discover things I do differently than the way you do. You can use this information as you like. If you have a better way, by all means, use it. Of course, I accept no responsibility for anything. If you want to blame someone for problems you encounter from information in this book, please throw it away now!

 

How about " The Quickchange Rearend, A Historical & Technical Guide For My Fellow Car Nuts "

 

QUICK CHANGE ARTIST comes to mind.

 

Every thing you wanted to know about Quick change Rear ends............

 

"Quick Change Rear Ends - The Whole Tooth"

 

Maybe "The Quick Change Odyssey".

 

All I got is "Change is Good".

Subscribed.

 

Bringing Up the Rear...Technical History of Quick Changes.

 

""Change Me Quick"" is mine but I do like post #5..

 

How about going WAY back to the beginning? "From Downtown to the Dry Lakes, and Back".

 

Thanx guys. All good suggestions. Still looking for more. I have a little time to get the title sorted out. Writing books takes a lot more time than you might think.

Keep 'em coming. Anyone want to critique the Intro?

 

Quick, Look at Her Rear End

 

How about "A quick look at an American rear"?

 

"The tooth, the whole tooth, and nothing but the tooth"

"The aweful tooth about quickchange rearends"

"Quickchange rears- the art of making a faster dump"

 

1. A Syllabus on the care and feeding of the Quick Change rear axle assembly

2. The care and feeding of the Quick Change rear axle assembly

3. A how-to, on how to keep your Quick Change Axle alive

Mike

P.s. - I've got a Winters in the back of my 54 Stude Conestoga (2dr. wagon).

 

Photos did not load! Please try again.

 

I'm trying to imagine the artwork or cover photo for this one.

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Allard_QuickChange_450

 

Funny you should post this. The proposed title, "A Quick Look at an American Rear" with a drawing of a British made Quick Change (very much influenced by Halibrand).

I really like the idea of the cutaway. Note the roller bearings in the rear cover.

 

I like the intro. It shows how you got to where you and the book are now. I am always up for learning especialy when you have an old master to learn from. I like to stuff my head full of info about everything to do with cars. I am collecting the parts for a qc made out of a 3/4 ton rear and Frankland center with wide 5 hubs. I should be ready to assemble it this summer/fall. Thanks for all the work you have put into this book. Jim Ford (55willys)

 

"Quick Change Rears And Gears"

 

Changing times - the A-Z of quick change axles

 

The Hot Rodder's guide to the Quick Change Rear. Maybe for the art work show a QC under a 32 or model A hiboy . Sort of like a motor books cover


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New Life for the Quick Change. "The recreation of a fine whine".

 

I like the intro, it's easy and enjoyable to read and tells the story of how you became a quick change guru without sounding snobby as some authors do when telling how they came about their expertise. I've got nothing for a title right now....

 

Thanx Indychus, Guru is really stretching it. Busted knuckles, busted rear ends and a whole lot of what didn't work

 

Class!!! I love duble entendres.

 

I too enjoy your writing style! Very friendly and honest. Make sure we all know when the book comes out. I would be very interested in purchasing a copy.

 

Thanx David,

I've always felt that if something that's supposed to be fun, isn't, then it's time to do something else. And, it's just as important to tell others what you did that didn't work as well as what did.

 

"Quickie's......all you needed to know but were afraid to ask".........put me down for a copy...andyd