powerglide tailshaft

[Mike N.]

THIS IS A TEST............

I'm trying to post a picture.

It is a picture of my "dilemma".....having to change the tailshaft on my '57 powerglide.

Hope it works!

[Roy B.]

Re: powerglide tailshaft

The pic. worked I see you need a Corvette Tail housing for your PG

[Mike N.]

Re: powerglide tailshaft

YES and YES.........

I'm glad the picture came up......BUT no camera icon.

If you mean the tailshaft with the 3 bosses, I would love to have one........do you know where I can get one at a descent price!

I have the tailshaft that came with this '57 transmission. All I need is the output shaft. I replaced the tailshaft with this 1960 one when I had the transmission rebuilt because the output shaft on the '57 was bad. What a mistake that was. Now I have too much of the YOKE showing!

I was going to DROP the body next week too.

[Roy B.]

Re: powerglide tailshaft

You have me mixed up .
You have the correct tail housing for the shifter ( long or short) but you say you have the wrong out put shaft in the trans. To long , to short/??

[Mike N.]

Re: powerglide tailshaft

Hi Roy......this is a long project to say the least.

A couple of years or so ago, I purchased a 1957 Chevy powerglide and had it rebuilt. The mechanic suggested I replace the output shaft because it was worn out. I had a 1958 and 1960 cast iron powerglide at the time. I gave him the 1960 and told him to use what he could. The mechanic rebuilt the '57 with the tailshaft and output shaft from the 1960.
Now, three years later.......I finally put the car together with the standard drive shaft and a long slip yoke. As you can see, there is too much of the yoke showing and getting a longer driveshaft will NOT solve my problem.
The ONLY solution I see is to put the '57 back with the 7 inch tailshaft so the shifter will NOT hit the yoke and there is enough yoke in the tailshaft.
I'll try to post a few pictures to clarify my dilemma........
I need to purchase a video so I can dismantle the trans in place a bit at a time and replace the output shaft.
I assume the 1960 output shaft is shorter than the 1957 since the tail shafts are different in length. It would be nice if all I had to do is replace the tailshaft. I kept the tail shaft that came with the '57 transmission.
I hope this clarifies it somewhat-
Let me know if the pictures came out........I can't view them on the preview.

[Mike N.]

Re: powerglide tailshaft

Roy, I think I finally figured out how to get at least one picture at a time to view.
Here you can see the original tailshaft that came with this '57 tranny.

I still need to purchase a copy of your video!

Thanks,
Mike

[Roy B.]

Re: powerglide tailshaft

MIKE
OK Now I see your problem , you need to replace the whole planetary gear out put shaft. 55 to 61 PG Corvette are all the same length .Cars were different lengths depending on the type of car. You have a car out put shaft in your PG.
Bad news , you cant just remove the center section from the front section to replace it , you need to remove the trans from the engine because behind the torque Convertor is ONE bolt holding the main case. I think I have what you need from a old trans I have.
I can get in big Do-Do asking for money on this forum, call me 530-265-4207 I may still be in horse dung now!!

[Roy B.]

Re: powerglide tailshaft

By the way the longer out put shaft was to help clear the frame Xmember

[Mike N.]

Re: powerglide tailshaft

Hi Roy,
Sure sounds like you really know your PG's.........
I had this tranny rebuilt and hate to have to change it back. The tranny is a 1957 Chevrolette PG. Now it has a 1960 tail shaft. The '57 Chevy PG tail shaft is 7" long......the '60 is 5" long.
My problem is that now the long slip yoke is ONLY in the tailshaft 1" with 4" showing. The original yoke on the 1960 shows that the yoke was inserted 2 7/8".
I would like to EXTEND THE DRIVE SHAFT 2" so I can get 3" inserted into the current tailshaft, leaving ONLY 2" exposed. What do you think about this.
As you can see in the attached picture. I mounted the shifter where the 7" tailshaft with the 3 bosses would have had it. Also, the longer the tailshaft, the closer it gets to the cross member....
Please let me know what you think. Bringing the driveshaft closer to the tailshaft is a heck of a lot easier than having to tackle this tranny again. I had a hell of a time just mounting the torque converter through the slot....you know what I'm talking about.
If you can't see this picture good enough, give me an email address and I'll supply a ton more which will show much better.
Thanks a million...........I'll probably call you. I'm in Southern California.

[Roy B.]

Re: powerglide tailshaft

Your only way out is to extent the drive shaft if you don't wont to rework the trans. But you may have XMember problem clearance of the U-joint . Then you may have to raise the trans rear mount to high also.

[Mike N.]

Re: powerglide tailshaft

Hi Roy,

I just read your response...........
I decided last night to go ahead and move everything forward 2".
I took measurements this morning.....the current location of the shifter is right on the $$$$$$$. The problem right now is that moving the driveshaft forward will hit my shifter. The solution is to move the shifter forward 2", then I will have to deal with the speedometer cable if it becomes an issue.

Any suggestions which vehicle has a 37 3/4 inch long driveshaft and 2 1/2 inches wide??? I'm thinking maybe a pickup truck.

Moving things forward 2" will put the shifter right at the end of the current tailshaft...........the same location it would have been with a 7" tailshaft.

The attached picture will explain it somewhat. There is plenty of clearance from the cross member and frame with 2" exposure for driveshaft movement and it will be inside the tailshaft 3" (the insertable part of the yoke is 5" long)

Thanks a bunch for all of your expertise,
Mike

[Roy B.]

Re: powerglide tailshaft

(The problem right now is that moving the driveshaft forward will hit my shifter. The solution is to move the shifter forward 2", then I will have to deal with the speedometer cable if it becomes an issue)

It would be easy to have your drive shaft extended by people that do drive shafts. Your shifter location should just be moved lateral not forward to clear the U-joint if needed, as far as your Speedo you should still be able to use it OR turn the tail housing %180.

[Mike N.]

Re: powerglide tailshaft

Roy,

Are you saying I can have the speedometer cable facing out towards the passenger door instead of the driver's. If so, that would be GREAT!

Thanks again for your comments..........I will let you know what I end up doing. Can't wait to get started.