QuestionThanks for taking the time to answer my question. I recently purchased a 1955 Plymouth Belvedere from a small car lot in my town. It is a 3 speed manual trans, 6 cyl car. Somehow, as I was driving off the lot, the right rear tire came off the vehicle, spewing brake parts all over the road.
Further inspection revealed the large castle nut that holds the brake drum onto the conical style drive axle had come loose, allowing the brake drum to spin off the axle, shearing the woodruf key and cracking the axle, and damaging the brake drum, and breaking the return springs and various other brake hardware.
Now, the problem is easy to diagnose, and the repair is also pretty straightforward, however I cannot find parts anywhere! So my question is: is there a late model rear axle that I can bolt into my car that will have easier to find parts? Can I pull an axle off an old Dodge pickup and fit it in with little to no modification for example? I really look forward to your answer!
AnswerHello John,
Whew!! A headache indeed. I've heard of it happening on a Chevy before but it's unusual. Here's what you do depending on how original you want to be:
A) Stay original: Sounds like your existing axle is damaged but repairable. Expertise for parts and assistance are available from Hemmings Motor News, your local chapter of the Plymouth Owners Club (highly recommended)and theforwardlook.com website. There's more support out there than you might think--you just need to plug into these resources! And yes, you could pull the axle from a pre-1963 Dodge light truck and use it. You'd want to make sure the width and wheel offsets are the same and check the rear end ratio while, of cours, checking and/or renewing bearings, shoes, wheel cylinders, etc.
B) Go later: That old conical drive axle rear end has been the bane of MOPAR guys since time immemorial not because of strength and reliability but maintainabilty--the wheel tends to weld itself with rust to the tapered shaft and is a bear to remove. Other than physical breakage of the axle, your original failure may have been due to some shade tree mechanic's attempt to service an axle requiring specific knowledge to properly service.
Post-1962 MOPAR open axles will work given you dimensionally match them as above. I've even seen a Chevelle axle successfully grafted to '49 Plymouth. Horrors!!! It actually worked quite well as a matter of fact, due in part to a more highway friendly 3.08 gearing verus the 4.something original. The only caveat here is to pay attention to wheel bolt pattern--you won't be able to use your original rims on a Chevy axle--nor will you be able to use them if you get an A-body (Valient, Dart, Barracuda) axle which uses a smaller bolt pattern.
In summary, go with the original if you want to maintain the originality of the car--once you lesrn them, the old style axle is no more trouble than any other. If you want easy, go with a Belvedere/Coronet open axle from the mid-60's-70's including various Diplomat/Chrysler 5th Avenue/Grans Fury's through 1992. The rear drums just slide off the axle and reliability is bullet proof also.
Good luck driving this fine car!!
Bob
