Volume X, Issue 2, Page 37

Check Out That Chassis

By Scott Weney of S&W Racecars
02/22/08

Hello,

Do you remember watching the early '61, '62, '63, and '64 Impalas coming off the line with the front wheels up and the body twisting? Factory Impalas were equipped with a 2-piece driveshaft joined by a center bearing and carrier. Are you aware of any modifications I can make to my '64 Impala SS driveline in order to make it stronger and reliable behind a 454 BBC w/alum. heads and 4spd and in front of a rear end housing 4.88 gears in a twelve bolt? The car's body and chassis are all original like it came from the factory. The rear end is mounted in the stock position using the perches from the stock rear. The car is usually launched in the 5000-6500RPM range, shifted at 7500 with a SBC. What kind of driveline did Grumpy and the others use? My car's front end barely comes up while the rear end squats and launches straight. Thanks for any advice or tips.   

George Mosqueda
El Paso, Tex. 


George,

Sorry for taking my time to answer you but I had to do some research, I am not old enough to have worked on any of those cars. What I found is the cars like stocker today are only as stock as they need to be for the rules. So the front ends were lightened and they would run an air bag on the right side to stop the body roll. But for your driveshaft question they did still run the 2 piece shaft like the factory installed. I don’t know what to tell you for the center support bearing and how much load it will take. If I find out any more info on this I will let you know.

Scott Weney
President, S & W Race Cars
610-948-7303X111

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