If you have a good driveshaft, you will never notice it, but if you've got a bad one, it will be a nightmare. Vibration from an incorrectly balanced or assembled shaft will result in excessive noise and short U-joint life. Although anyone with a hacksaw and a welder can assemble a shaft, getting one right requires experience and professional equipment.
Many kit car builders need specialized driveshafts to mate up various engines and transmission combinations with independent or live-axle rearends. My project Devin was in need of a custom shaft to join the Chevy 283/T-10 running gear with a DeDion rearend.
To begin the job, first determine the size of the U-joints needed. There are three basic sizes: 1310 (approx. 3 1/4 inches wide with 1 1/16-inch or 1 1/8-inch diameter caps), 1330 (3 5/8 inches wide with 1 1/16-inch or 1 1/8-inch caps) and 1350 (3 5/8-inch side with 1 3/16-inch caps). The 1350 is also thicker than the other two and is recommended for racing cars with over 400 hp. For high performance you will want heavy-duty U-joints, and for racing you need ones without grease fittings (which weaken the joint). KC
