Can anyone give me an idea of how strong the stock driveshaft is? I am either going to need to modify a stock shaft to adapt to my dana 44 rear end or have a new one made up completely to get my 190 race car up and going. I am worried about the center support bearing failing with 450hp. Is this a valid concern?

I have been talking to a few local driveshaft shops, and they have all suggested moving to a one peice driveshaft. This would require an aluminum adapter plate to be machined to bolt to the transmission output shaft to adapt to an american 4 bolt pattern.

Does anyone have any experience or any advice about this?

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George Carstens

is your rear end independant or live?

if you have live, probably you want the one piece.

in theory the two piece is stronger and lighter but i dont know if the hardware is available in such heavy duty applications.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I still have the independent rear end. I have a modified mercedes subframe to accept a dana 44 out of a 91 corvette ZR-1. If the stock driveshaft is strong enough, I will just have the differential end of the driveshaft cut and have a u-joint assembly welded on to bolt up to my dana 44.

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George Carstens

benz parts are pretty tough, but i wouldnt want to count on it holding 450 hp. if it comes apart it will be, remember, inches away from your body.

an exploding driveshaft can be pretty destructive, i would think.
tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Well

I did twist one in half on my 69 Cougar. Not much damage done except for the drive shaft itself. It did make a big noise and the engine burried the tachometer. The only real down side was that it scared the @#$% out of all of us. And then we all pushed the car hole about 1 mile.

John Roncallo

I got some advice from a 190e race car builder and racer and he said that they run stock driveshafts and have never had a problem with them. He told me that the center support is just a support and does not take any load and all you really have to worry about is the driveshaft itself. I am going to stick with the stock driveshaft and have it modified to adapt to a spicer u-joint.

Thanks for eveyone's help! I will update this if I have any problems.

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George Carstens

impressive.

so maybe it is just clutches that explode.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

maddog,
I will put in my .02 worth. I have built many street and race cars over the years, and in my opinion there are two areas that need attension. drive shaft and bell housing/clutch. I have had clutches exsplode in a shatter shield( damn scary) and I have had drive shafts break, most of the time they just rattle around in the drive shaft saftey loop, but I did have one come through the floor above the diff. SO do two things to protect yourself, one if you are running a clutch, put a scatter blanket around the bellhousing, two if you choose to run a stock/modified drive shaft consider putting driveshaft saftey loops front and rear to prevent the shaft from going throught the floor or getting loose at the front and making the car "pogo stick" (stand on the front bumper) the drive shaft saftey loops are a must for any modified car in my opinion. these are just sugestions, take them as you will, but remember.........saftey first.
Joe

I agree with you 100% about the safety. I have never heard of a scatter blanket before. Where might I get more information about them?

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George Carstens

look on line at Jegs.com or any online performance racing supply house, we used auto trans racing blankets. just move it more forward when attaching. pm me if you want to chat on the phone. Im on the west coast abve seattle washington
joe