> Or, alternatively, unbolt the straps, throw them in the bin, turn the
flange 90
> degrees and bolt it straight to the remains of the propshaft. This is what
> John Kipping does with these things I believe. I would assume all the straps
> do is eliminate some of the 'shock' in the driveline.
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WOW. . . I would definately recommend against this. Those straps are there
to take up the small fore and aft movement of the engine and differential on
their respective rubber mounts, plus any small deviation in driveline
length's attributed to production tolerances. If you were to bolt it up
solid you would be applying undue strain to the driveshaft u-joints and
engine/differential mounts. Remember, the bean counters at B/L were always
screaming to lower costs (as any corp. will tell you) and if these items
wern't absoulutely necessary they would have been eliminated in production
as a cost saving measure. Think about it for a moment, if the 'sliding
shaft' wasnt necessary none of the TR;s would have them as a simple straight
tube with a couple u-joints and flanges would certianly be cheaper! As a
sidenote, the John kipping your reffering to I believe were racing
Spitfires which probably had solid (read bolted directly) engine and
differential mounting? In this case you could bolt things directly without
concern for engine/diff movement.
Barry Schwartz
Bschwartz@encad.com (work)
Bschwart@pacbell.net (home)
(San Diego)
70' Spitfire (under-going major surgery) , 72'-V6 Spitfire (daily driver)
70'GT6+
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