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Hello, I currently own a '76 B, I have a chance to buy a set of wire wheels, including complete axles,spindles etc. from a '63B, my question, are the '63's interchangleable with my'76? Any help would be great, if anyone has done this any pointers or things to look out for would be great? Another thought, if this change is possible do I have to worry about gear ratio changes? brake line fittings etc thanks again. Mack /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
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Wire Wheel swop
- Thread starter Mack
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Rick
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Hi Mack,
Actually, I recently did as you are contemplating. I beleive the rear axle for a '63 is the banjo style. Your car likely has the factory tube type axle. Maybe some other folks can advise if it's okay to put a banjo axle in a late model car.
Regarding the wheels and hubs--this is where you can get "burned". Hub and wheel splines wear and as they get more worn, you'll hear a clunking sound when you apply the brakes (if fronts are worn) and also when you accelerate from a stop and shift (if the rears are worn). This is what I got when I swapped mine. I inspected the splines and they "looked" good, but in fact they were not. The most telling sign of wear is if the splines come to a point, or possibly the point is starting to bend over. Healthy splines should have a squared-off look, both on the hubs and wheels. It's not a good idea to mix new hubs with worn wheels and vice versa as one will simply cause the other to wear sooner.
The other things to watch out for are rusty wheels and broken spokes. I ended up spending way more money on my conversion than I thought and I still have clunking, worn hubs. I feel I would have been better off biting the bullet and purchasing the Moss conversion kit. You don't need to change the axle and you'll get brand new kit all around. I think the wheels might even be the new tubeless type?? Not sure about that though.
Oh yes, you'll also need a parking brake cable to match your new setup if you change the axle. The wire wheel axle is 1.75 inches shorter...
Good luck,
Rick
Actually, I recently did as you are contemplating. I beleive the rear axle for a '63 is the banjo style. Your car likely has the factory tube type axle. Maybe some other folks can advise if it's okay to put a banjo axle in a late model car.
Regarding the wheels and hubs--this is where you can get "burned". Hub and wheel splines wear and as they get more worn, you'll hear a clunking sound when you apply the brakes (if fronts are worn) and also when you accelerate from a stop and shift (if the rears are worn). This is what I got when I swapped mine. I inspected the splines and they "looked" good, but in fact they were not. The most telling sign of wear is if the splines come to a point, or possibly the point is starting to bend over. Healthy splines should have a squared-off look, both on the hubs and wheels. It's not a good idea to mix new hubs with worn wheels and vice versa as one will simply cause the other to wear sooner.
The other things to watch out for are rusty wheels and broken spokes. I ended up spending way more money on my conversion than I thought and I still have clunking, worn hubs. I feel I would have been better off biting the bullet and purchasing the Moss conversion kit. You don't need to change the axle and you'll get brand new kit all around. I think the wheels might even be the new tubeless type?? Not sure about that though.
Oh yes, you'll also need a parking brake cable to match your new setup if you change the axle. The wire wheel axle is 1.75 inches shorter...
Good luck,
Rick
Thanks for all the great tips, I know now to take a better look at the spokes and hubs when I take a second look at the parts. Thanks again and I'll keep ya posted on the conversion if I do it. One other question. How long should I expect this job to take? Over the weekend or over the winter, are the two time frames I like to judge how long a job might take, I'm not an ace mechanic, but I've installed the engine/transmission, rebuilt the front end and have changed the front and rear brakes on my B. I should also ask if it sounds like I have the mechanical skill for this swop??
Steve_S
Yoda
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If you had done it before and had all the parts and tools ready, you could complete it in a weekend. Assuming you plan to rebuild the new axle and refurbish / refinish all the parts, and that you're working on a limited time schedule, I would plan to finish the job in a couple weeks.
tony barnhill
Great Pumpkin - R.I.P
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There will be some problems wth the rear axle but not unsurmountable - place them side by side & you'll see wshere some of the little brackets are different - just cut them off your axle & weld onto the new one.
Radford
Jedi Knight
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Steve
Let me ask a really dumb question then, is the tube axel that much better than the old banjo style? I figure that BMC/BL made the switch from one to the other for some reason. Was the reason a performance or safty issue, was it a cost issue, or did they just get a wild hair one day?
Let me ask a really dumb question then, is the tube axel that much better than the old banjo style? I figure that BMC/BL made the switch from one to the other for some reason. Was the reason a performance or safty issue, was it a cost issue, or did they just get a wild hair one day?
Steve_S
Yoda
Offline
The tube axle is a stronger unit, but a little heavier. Changing the differential on a banjo unit is easier due to the design. Other than that I'm not sure of any major differences. If it were me and I had both available I would match the axle type to the year of the car. But if the price is right I dont see a problem with using the early unit.