There are certain pieces in hot rodding that reign supreme, they're king, top of the heap, and there's no chance of dethroning them. Be it a full-house Flathead, the big, bad Hemi, or the entire '32 Ford family of cars, certain iconic pieces of hot rodding endure. When it comes to third members, the quick-change rear will forever be king.
How can anything top the quick-change? After all it has unsurpassed good looks, its function and versatility are legendary, and it even sings to you when you're driving. That's a lot to ask of a pile of gears and two axles. Like most hot rod parts and pieces the quick-change rearend evolved over time. In early hot rodding, homemade quick-change rears were found using the centersection of a flanged early Ford rear axle assembly and others used 3/4-ton truck gears. That was followed by a cast-aluminum centersection with Halibrand Engineering being the early pioneer for quick-change rearends. But like all hot rod parts soon there was competition in the rear axle field and Frankland, Winters, and others were soon making their own versions of quick-change rearends, and today's offerings are far superior to those early versions.
The components are simple and good looking. Two tapered tube axle housings made to order for length and bearing ends along with a V-8 centersection, end plate, and a differential. Not shown are the final drive gears that go in the rear cavity of the quick-change and the axles.
While these rearends were originally designed for racing, today finding a quick-change rear end under a street rod is as much a cosmetic statement as a performance statement. In the early days dropping in a set of race gears for the dry lakes, Bonneville, or the local drags was important because many hot rods were also the owner's only mode of transportation. Oval racers loved the quick-change because they could select the perfect gear ratio for track configuration.
Today one of the leaders in the industry is Winters Performance Products in York, Pennsylvania. While they still service a huge contingent of racers, they are also very in-tune with the street rod crowd and their special needs. It was this awareness of street rodding needs that inspired Winters to release a new, tapered tube quick-change rearend and frankly, it's simply a thing of beauty that looks absolutely correct under any hot rod, but we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves.
This is the V-8 centersection with the ring-and-pinion installed. The lower shaft passes through the housing into the rear cavity where the final drive gears are located.
Buying a quick-change rear involves choices and when we began speaking with the good folks at Winters is became apparent there are many choices available to provide a cool quick-change rear for every street rod application. From vintage to high tech there is a quick-change rear prepared to handle your horsepower needs.
The V-8 Center Kit
Two things to consider when selecting the rear gear for your car is the weight of the finished car and the horsepower of the engine (and allow for any future engine mods). If you're running a lightweight car, say 2,500 pounds or less with vintage power of under 300 horses you might consider the Winters V-8 Center kit. This quick-change centersection is machined to accept classic early Ford axle tubes and stock-style Ford axles. The kit was developed in conjunction with Dick Spadaro and is sold exclusively through his shop, Dick Spadaro Early Ford Reproductions. The unit is based on an 8-3/8-inch, 3.78 ring-and-pinion with a heat-treated lower shaft and a stock-style differential. The kit ships with one set of straight-cut final gears in the ratio of your choice. For early hot rods the use of an early Ford bell axle housing will look very traditional painted or chrome plated. If you're up to the task you'll end up with a quick-change rear suitable for that Flathead-powered roadster.
A constant weld is provided around the bearing flange and the unit is rotated during the welding process. Each tube is checked to ensure everything is straight and true prior to fitting them to a housing and having axles installed.
The Champ Adapter Kit
Of course if your latest project is running big horsepower but you long for the traditional look of early Ford axle tubes, Winters can supply you with the big Champ centersection with a set of adapters for the early Ford axle tubes. For rodders who are building independent suspension, this same centersection is available configured for dual inboard disc brakes and Corvette-style half shafts. This gives you the big, 10-inch, 4.12 ring-and-pinion, a Winters Track limited-slip differential (LSD), and a 10-spline straight cut gear set in your choice of ratio. This is a lot of equipment, and with the Wedgelock differential you will enjoy all the benefits of a torque-biasing LSD. Since this LSD system works with gears rather than clutch packs, it's exceedingly smooth and requires no maintenance. This unit is great looking and larger than the V-8 center kit. The early Ford axle housings must be cut to the owner's desired length, 31-spline axles will need to be made, and the late-model bearing flanges must be welded to the early Ford tubes. If you're a fabricator at heart, and have a set of good clean axle tubes laying under the bench this might be your perfect solution.
The V-8 quick-change comes with a Winters' Wedgelock limited-slip differential. The torque-sensing, limited slip is different than the old clutch pack "posi" rears. Wedgelock limited slip senses the torque from each wheel and then loads and unloads the appropriate wheel for ultimate traction.
The Championship Quick-Change
This is a complete flange-to-flange rear axle assembly with the famous Winters Championship quick-change in the center. This is the rearend of sprint car champions and since it is tough enough to handle the rigors of sprint car racing it will take everything your street rod can dish out. You can choose from six or eight rib side bells. Six ribs will handle street cars with ease, making this a mostly cosmetic choice for street rodders. The assembly is offered with either large or small bearing ends (3.150 OD or 2.835 respectively) and your choice of axle flanges suitable for drum or disc brake applications. Virtually any aftermarket disc brake kit can be adapted to these rear axle assemblies. Finally there are several different rear gear covers to choose from, including the traditional ribbed, smooth, or a combination of the two. This is a great choice for any hot rod, small wonder they call it the Champ.
The tapered tube, bell, and axle bearing flanges are all precision-made pieces. The bearing flange is pressed onto the tapered tube and then welded in place, followed by pressing the tube into the bell and finally welding the tube to the flange. Note the straight tube ends that facilitate 3-inch suspension mounting brackets.
The Xtremeliner
OK, if heavy duty is what you're looking for, or if you are in hot pursuit of a land speed record at Bonneville this is the assembly for you. It holds the largest ring-and-pinion ever found in a quick-change-style rear axle and it is based on Winters new 10-inch, 3.08 or 2.00 ring gear. It has a beefed up centersection, heat-treated lower shaft, and 22-spline quick-change gears with a heavy rear cover. A 31-spline Winters Track differential keeps traction problems under control. Aftermarket disc brakes fit the rear well, and if big and unbreakable come to mind, look at the Xtremeliner.
The Ultimate Street Rod Rear Axle: The Winters V-8 Tapered Tube Quick-Change Rear
If there is any one quick-change rear axle that incorporates everything a street rodder wants in a rear axle our vote would go to this new kid on the block: the Winters V-8 Taper Tube rear axle. This complete assembly incorporates the very best of both worlds. Brand-new, precision-produced products with the look and feel of vintage parts. Rather than search for old axle housings, and then cut, weld, and assemble the unit you can simply order a completely new Winters V-8 quick-change with the tapered tubes. What you'll get is a fully assembled unit that is built to the exact desired width with bearing flanges suitable for the brake system of your choice, be it drums or aftermarket disc brake kits.
The tube is then pressed into the bell. This precise fit ensures the tube remains perfectly straight in the bell prior to final welding.
The unit is nothing short of beautiful and with the steel axle housings you have the option of chrome plating the axle housings or painting them to match your car. Inside the unit you'll find an 8-3/8-inch ring-and-pinion, heat-treated lower shaft and a Wedgelock LSD, and one set of straight cut, six-spline gears in your choice of final ratio. Bearing flanges are available in both small and large sizes (3.150 OD or 2.835 respectively) and the small bearing flange provides you with a brake mounting flange with holes spaced at 3.330 wide by 2.00 high while the big bearing flanges have a mounting flange with holes spaced at 3.50 inches wide by 2.375 inches high. One final axle flange offering is the Big Torino and that flange provides a slightly wider spacing on the horizontal holes at 3.562 while the vertical holes remain at 2.00. While the big Torino bearing flange seems to be popular with big drum brake conversions and disc brake kits, our research indicates there are disc brake kits widely available for all of the above flanges.
The Winters' Wedgelock senses torque through a series of gears that then transfer power to the appropriate wheel to provide smooth, maintenance-free, limited-slip performance.
There are two basic-style drum brakes: the 10-inch brakes with a brake shoe width of 1-3/4, 2, or 2-1/2 inches and then the larger and more desirable 11-inch brake that generally has a brake shoe width of 2-1/4 inches. For drum brake applications we lean toward the big flanges because it is easier to find the big 11-inch brake backing plates in this bolt pattern, and better yet companies like Currie Enterprises offer complete 11-inch rear drum kits with powdercoated backing plates and all-new brake parts. There are also some very nice rear drum brake kits available with Buick finned aluminum brake drums and chrome backing plates from John's Industries. These brakes are both high performance and picture perfect on a V-8 quick-change rear, think ultimate vintage style and flavor.
Each Winters' quick-change is assembled by hand with careful attention paid to attain proper gear lash. These are precision pieces when they finally leave the Winters facility.
The large and small bearings also provide different offsets from the axle-housing flange to the face of the axle. The small bearing offset is 2.66 inches while big bearing offsets are available for 2.36 inches and 2.50 inches. We recommend consulting Winters and your aftermarket brake manufacturer prior to ordering to be certain the proper flanges and bearing are used.
The final piece of information you need when ordering a quick-change rear axle is the bolt pattern for the wheels you plan on using. It seems obvious that the rear bolt pattern should match the front pattern on your car and happily the axle flanges are available drilled to all popular bolt patterns with wheel studs installed to your specified length.
Finally the axle bearings are pressed onto the specified axles and installed in the assembled quick-change rear. A variety of axle splines and end bearings are available so you can match the rearend to your engine's output and the desired brake kit.
Once your new V-8 quick-change arrives, the installation is much like installing any third member in a street rod. When welding brackets to the housing for suspension pickup points weld in 1-inch passes, alternating sides to prevent warping or pulling the axle tubes. And here's a very cool feature, while the axle tubes are tapered from the center, the outboard ends of the tube remain a constant 3 inches, so most aftermarket weld-on brackets will fit the tube without modifications. Clearance must also be provided in the center of the chassis to allow for the longer extension on the rear of the quick-change housing. Generally speaking '32-48 Fords will require a different or modified rear crossmember to provide clearance, which in turn dictates modifying the floor to accommodate the raised rear crossmember. It is common to use a Model A rear crossmember to provide the clearance and Posies also manufacturers a nice rear crossmember with ample clearance for the quick-change rear. For obvious reasons the quick-change units are shipped dry, no gear lube so be certain to fill the housing with a quality semi-synthetic moly lube, such as Winters 80, 90, or 140 gear lube.
To fill the housing use the fill plug on the left side of the housing while the level plug is on the right side. Fill the housing until the lube is level with the bottom of the right side level plug. While the "more is better" thinking is common, do not overfill the unit as higher levels of gear lube causes excessive heat. On V-8 quick-change the oil level is 1-3/4 inches below the axle centerline for both the main centersection and rear gear cavity.
And here they are ready to ship off to a street rodder somewhere. The suspension brackets will have to be added along with the brake kit of your choice but other than that it's add oil and ride.
And then there is the noise factor. First of all, just by the ring-and-pinion and lower shaft design some noise is inherent in the design, but the most noise comes from the two straight-cut gears located in the rear gear cavity. Winters offers helical cut gears that go a long way to keeping the quick-change full song at a reasonable level. These helical cut gears are not recommended for race applications, but for highway use they can make the difference between installing a radio or not bothering. Of course the joy of a full gear chorus out back is a real pleasure to many street rodders and in that case the straight-cut gears will do just fine. One other option would be to have a set of helical cut gears for those long cross-country trips and then once you're in town swap in a set of straight-cut gears for around town cruising, after all it is a quick-change rear.
The use of a quick-change rear is easiest if the chassis is planned from the beginning to incorporate this type of rear axle, but retro-fits are often done with fairly minimal surgery. Virtually any type of rear spring will work from the traditional buggy spring to coilover shocks or parallel leaf springs. My personal favorite is a set of split wishbones, buggy spring and Buick drums, the ultimate in traditional rear suspension. Make your choices to suit your own needs and style. In the end you'll have a piece of equipment under your street rod that provides instant attitude with good looks, great performance, and a song to match.
The latest and greatest breaking news from Winters is the introduction of the Champ quick-change with tapered tubes. This unit has all the great Champ inners but with special aluminum adapters to mate it to the tapered tube bells. It's available now.
Breaking News: Champ Quick-Change With Tapered Tubes Now Available
Proof positive that things are rocking at Winter's Performance Products, as we go to press we received a call from Winters telling us about a brand-new product they just released. The new tapered tube Champ quick-change is now a reality. For those street rodders looking for the massive good looks of the Champ centersection, combined with the traditional good looks of tapered tubes, your desires have just been fulfilled. The housing is filled with all of the big strong champ parts but fitted with aluminum to steel bell adapters to fit the tapered axle tubes. Like the tapered tube V-8 rear, the tubes are tapered with the ends remaining a constant 3 inches in diameter to facilitate suspension attachment brackets. Once again the choices are many but chrome-plated bells or painted make a real hot rod statement. Virtually any drum or disc brake can be mounted to this new quick-change. It is our understanding this new quick-change is now ready to ship, so this could be your chance to be the "first kid on the block" with the new Champ tapered tube quick-change from Winters.
