I knew it was in error in communication....not a fabrication......like some of the ...tales... that are printed here...



The smaller engines make less torque and as a general rule like the RPMs better. I have a friend with a ZZ4 350 crate engine ( 355 HP ) in his 40 with original driveline and he has has no problems either. But he is not 18 either........ I have found the axle keys to be the weak link.......sort of like a fuse in a electrical circuit.

thanks, I'm way on the other side of 18..........although with those steep rear end gears and those tall skinny tires (and probalby not a posi rear end right?) i bet you could smoke those tires all day long,or at least one of them....

UNTIL something broke........most likely one of the axle keys.....

ok looked tonight and couldn't see anything the banjo section is the middle part that is connected to the torque tube and resembles a "banjo" and it has the filler hole plug in it? and the two axle shaft housings attach to the "banjo"? how big will the stamping be? this stamping will be on the passenger side ,and the engine side of the "banjo" by the torque tube at 2:00?

Yes.......
The numbers should on the engine side........passenger side at 2 o'clock....
The numbers are 3/8 maybe......and not real deep.

IMHO..............I would go with a Chassis Engineering rear end kit. Buy a front end kit ...and proceed with late model stuff. My old black 40 was a lot of FUN....but it was not a maintenance free ride. The brakes are not self adjusting. The manual steering was old and had to be adjusted. The clutch and clutch linkage had to be adjusted. NO A/C... I enjoyed it.....But my wife did not like driving it.
AND I have a maintenance free DEUCE....to really ride in.

IF something happened......( which never did ) it was rollback truck time. Or go home and get the trailer.....because you could not find anything for parts to fix it on the road......other than SBC engine stuff......and with a fresh SBC....I NEVER have a problem....

You need to decide which way is BEST for you......before you ever turn the first bolt....

great advice and i'm still deliberating....i figure i will take care of some of the floor board rust this winter and get to know the car real well and then start coming up with a plan, partly based on what is the easiset for me to source with used parts such as the rear end. i don't mind buying a new front end setup but this is going to be a driver....i'm finished with show cars i want people to be able to get in the car and enjoy with out worrying about scratching paint....been there done that ....but not again...