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| | | | Joined: Jul 2015 Posts: 203 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Jul 2015 Posts: 203 | Take it to a shop or do-it-yourself? I always took it to a shop but thinking of trying it myself. This is an open driveshaft on a '53 1-ton.
1953 GMC 1-Ton Pickup with 350 and 700R4
| | | | | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,796 Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) | | Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,796 | Can you get it straight- - - -like less than .005" runout and less than 1 degree phase angle error of the yokes? If so, go for it! I build my driveshafts in a lathe with a center rest, a machinist's level, and a dial indicator.
Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
| | | | | Joined: May 2015 Posts: 11,065 Housekeeping (Moderator) Making a Stovebolt Bed & Paint and Body Shop Forums | | Housekeeping (Moderator) Making a Stovebolt Bed & Paint and Body Shop Forums Joined: May 2015 Posts: 11,065 | Without a lathe, I would never attempt it. Although it doesn't turn that fast, getting it in balance and aligned correctly would be difficult.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truckFollow this saga in Project JournalPhotos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together. | | | | | Joined: May 2005 Posts: 8,983 Sir Searchalot | | Sir Searchalot Joined: May 2005 Posts: 8,983 | Not a DIY even if you have a lathe. It is not that expensive. Let them cut, weld, balance.
Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it. - William Penn
| | | | | Joined: Feb 2000 Posts: 5,215 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Feb 2000 Posts: 5,215 | We used to do it on school buses when the yokes would get damaged. Marking it before cutting really helps the alignment when going back together. Chop saw, welder, and straight edge is all we used. A friend of mine welded wider rims to his Pontiac wheels center section using only an indicator to align them while spinning the axle. It's just as crude as welding a driveline, but they turned out true and have run over 140 mph.
Joe | | | | | Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 9,671 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 9,671 | Not true KL, that drive shaft in a straight 1:1 transmission is
gonna turn the same RPM as the engine is turning. In a stock
Stovebolt that's not much more than 3,000 rpm but if your hot
rodding it it's gonna see a lot more.
Besides the alignment challenge, you've got no way to balance
it.
dg
Denny G
Sandwich, IL
| | | | | Joined: Dec 2001 Posts: 14,522 Moderator: Welcome Centre, Southern Bolters, Legion Hall | | Moderator: Welcome Centre, Southern Bolters, Legion Hall Joined: Dec 2001 Posts: 14,522 | ....its amazing how many "home repaired" drive shafts we have to fix at Carolina Driveline, and many from shops who have the tools but found its better we do it. http://carolinadriveline.com/ you'll even see a shot of my truck and panel if you click on Restoration under Product Line Up  Unless you have the equipment to do it right the first time save yourself a lot of trouble and let a shop cut and balance it. | | | | | Joined: May 2015 Posts: 11,065 Housekeeping (Moderator) Making a Stovebolt Bed & Paint and Body Shop Forums | | Housekeeping (Moderator) Making a Stovebolt Bed & Paint and Body Shop Forums Joined: May 2015 Posts: 11,065 | Not true KL, that drive shaft in a straight 1:1 transmission is
gonna turn the same RPM as the engine is turning. In a stock
Stovebolt that's not much more than 3,000 rpm but if your hot
rodding it it's gonna see a lot more.
Besides the alignment challenge, you've got no way to balance
it.
dg I was talking in relative terms on RPM, thinking the OP was putting it behind a stock engine. A stovebolt and a high revving V8 are different animals for sure. Only with an OD tranny will the driveshaft turn faster than the engine.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truckFollow this saga in Project JournalPhotos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together. | | | | | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,796 Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) | | Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,796 | I've had a pretty fair success rate balancing a driveshaft by clamping a 1/2 oz. wheel weight to the shaft at one end or the other with a big hose clamp, and test driving the vehicle. The floorboard and seat makes a pretty good monitor of vibration. Move the weight around the shaft in 1-inch increments until the sweet spot is found, then tack weld a steel washer or two in that position for a permanent fix.
Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
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