Scored a Banjo Rear A Couple ?????

Just picked up a banjo rear for next to nothing and have a couple questions. I want to use it in my 31 coupe with a mostly stock Y-block. The guy said he thinks it's a 38 but not sure. How can I find out what year it is and what ratio it is? It has juice brakes. I am going to convert it to open drive. Will it handle a Y-block? I am not building a race car just a nice driver.

Thanks for any help.

 

Anyone?

 

Looks more like a '48 than a '38-the heft of the spring and the small (5 on 5.5"B.C.) lug pattern. '38s had wide five bolt pattern. Turn it upside down and clean the bottom of the center section up close the pinion shaft. If you're lucky you'll find the ring and pinion too count stamped in it. 9-37=4.11, 9-34=3.78.

 

Kinda hard to tell year with out seeing how the radius rods mount and the width over the drums varies a bit. On the bottom side of the center section under the torque tube flange the ratio is usuall stamped. But 60-70 years later ?? Easy way here is keep 1 drum from turning ,mark the other and turn the driveshaft 1 turn and see how many times the one drum turns. Then double that for the ratio. Should stand up to a Y block no prob., they are pretty tuff rears unless you get real abusive ,side steping the clutch at 5k with 12 inch wide sticky tires.

 

From what I can see of the bones they are long enough to be '36s.

 

I'm guessing it is a '40. Drums are and you can see a bit of the emergency brake stuff. Prob. pick up with that heavy spring.

 

Thanks. How can I be sure about a year so I can get brake parts or are all later years the same parts?

 

Here is another picture if it helps any:

 

Big diff is the shoes themselves. 42 and earlier will have adjustable anchors oppsit the wheel cylinder on the backing plate. You will see 2 nuts with a bolt with 2 flats through each nut. Drums are 42 earlier but like I said after all these years stuff gets swaped around.

 

What about the wheel cylinders? Any way to id them? Maybe by seal size?

 

I am pretty sure he said it was a 38 that they converted to juice brakes. It was under a 29 roadster that he said he helped a friend build back in the late 50's. The guy died and the car sat in a field for years. He bought it a few years ago and tore it down to rebuild. He did not want to go back with the banjo rear so I traded him a flathead 3 speed for it. I just need to get an idea what year the brakes are to get parts and if the rear is in fact a 38 or not.

Thanks for the help.

 

As I recall all the rear cylinders are 1-1/4 X 1 inch .

 

Your rearend is probably a 1940, It has what appear to be the original brake lines and brackets that would not be on a 38. The axle housings are basically the same. To properly identify the axle you will need to measure the width bolt flange to bolt flange and then identify the brake backing plates to differentiate between 39-46 and 47-48 style. The lower brake shoe anchor pins are the giveaway. You dont even have to disassemble the axle. If the backing plates have lower anchor pins that are like a bolt with a flat tang held on with a nut then they are 39-46, if they can only be seen as a flat plate with circular welded studs then they are 47-48. What you are going to have to borrow or purchase is the correct hub puller to remove the hubs from the axles so that you can do the necessary maintenance and not damage any parts in the process.