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[Fot] Rear Axle upgrade GT6

Subject: [Fot] Rear Axle upgrade GT6
From: tr4abrad at gmail.com (Brad Eells)
Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2018 11:45:49 -0700
References: <2b813075-26a0-a848-cdb0-6527e8f39d5c@wishboneclassics.com> <SC1P152MB1696996AD943D670DD8CD5B0B2AA0@SC1P152MB1696.LAMP152.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM> <636988502.4638180.1521648410002@mail.yahoo.com> <0270eb69bf4e4251ab22a5d1eb28079e@dieselperformanceparts.com> <5264BB67-8313-41BE-B2BC-1936CF6A6955@me.com> <0D2CBCBB-2B6E-48C3-93B4-08C05E58EC71@voyagerhldgs.com> <453b9226c1214feb8b87514126efa76b@dieselperformanceparts.com> <CAGiQU1DsL9o3_Yvdg6R0SQ2TTVtuzeX2rSMWQoN3kn3dWJKV3Q@mail.gmail.com> <4e5cffd321ee42ffac69854b2ba6e562@dieselperformanceparts.com> <CAGiQU1CX6RvTwDzV3QMSFsTK8CyPpxwzgLvP_BQn+y1iNsyeTg@mail.gmail.com> <4c558cd758744538b042192e5ac7d0c8@dieselperformanceparts.com>
Hello Amici,

My Mk3 Spitfire came with a set of the original Kastner-Brophy rear axles. They 
were designed by my car?s owner/builder/driver, Doug Brown who worked for Kas 
at that time.

I found among Doug?s notes, much information and sketches of the design work. I 
am happy to share them if anyone finds value in the information beyond 
historical curiosity.

As Kas mentioned, it?s a combination of material, forging and ancillaries that 
make these particular axles nearly indestructible.

I have recently refurbished my set. I found the yoke parts to be Spicer parts 
that are still available. I also did some research on U-Joints and upgraded to 
a stronger, non-greasable Dana-Spicer unit.

This solution is applicable only to the earlier models without Rotoflex or 
other double jointed later axles.

Brad Eells
Sent from my iPhone

> On Mar 22, 2018, at 10:05 AM, DPPI - Mark Craig via Fot <fot at 
> autox.team.net> wrote:
> 
> Sure always need info on anything like that.
> I sure wish you had some of yours around today!!!
> I confirmed on that car as best as I could after the wreck that the axle 
> isn?t hitting the frame as it passes over it between the diff and the wheel 
> end. Checked the other cars I got too so far none of them do. I did notice 
> all the frames are crushed in that area and it seems like it was done at the 
> factory too??
> <image001.png>
>  
> MARK CRAIG
> Diesel Performance Parts, Inc.
> 411 Allied Drive, Nashville, TN 37211
> www.dieselperformanceparts.com
> <image002.jpg> <image003.jpg> <image004.jpg> <image005.jpg>
>  
>  
> Phone: 615-834-0066
> Fax: 615-834-9923
> Email: mark at dieselperformanceparts.com
>  
>  
>  
> From: Kas Kastner [mailto:kaskastner at gmail.com] 
> Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2018 11:59 AM
> To: DPPI - Mark Craig <info at dieselperformanceparts.com>
> Subject: Re: [Fot] Rear Axle upgrade GT6
>  
> Really sorry to hear of this.  My axles were made of material which was so 
> costly and hard to find I had to by 500 pounds of it.  Then I had the axles 
> forged instead of billet machined. All this  does not help you a bit but I 
> can give you a part number a much better and bigger U-joint which we also 
> included with my axles if that will be a help. My research years ago on this 
> was the rear end of the car was bottoming out and putting all the weight on 
> the axle and it just could not hold it.
> 
> Never be beaten by equipment.
> 
>  
> On Thu, Mar 22, 2018 at 9:47 AM, DPPI - Mark Craig <info at 
> dieselperformanceparts.com> wrote:
> Yes they were Sommers Bros out of CA.  The U Joint failed.
> I hear the Joe Siam ones are breaking too. A friend in FL has had two sets of 
> them break.
>  
> That?s why when I started to rebuild the wreck I thought I would go with the 
> Canley CV axles and the GT6 lower arms. At least if the axle breaks the wheel 
> stays upright.  But now I hear the Canley CV axle isn?t strong enough for a 
> GT6 and I am nervous.  I really didn?t want to do that as it changes the 
> ?Attitude? of the Spit and how it feels, but I don?t want to end up on me 
> head again either.
>  
> Here?s a U tube link to the accident:
>  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05dsw_zQD0k
>  
>  
>  
>  
> <image006.png>
>  
> MARK CRAIG
> Diesel Performance Parts, Inc.
> 411 Allied Drive, Nashville, TN 37211
> www.dieselperformanceparts.com
> <image002.jpg><image003.jpg> <image004.jpg> <image005.jpg>
>  
>  
> Phone: 615-834-0066
> Fax: 615-834-9923
> Email: mark at dieselperformanceparts.com
>  
>  
>  
> From: Kas Kastner [mailto:kaskastner at gmail.com] 
> Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2018 11:29 AM
> To: DPPI - Mark Craig <info at dieselperformanceparts.com>
> Subject: Re: [Fot] Rear Axle upgrade GT6
>  
> Are you using or rather were you using one piece axles where the hub and the 
> axle are one piece?
> 
> Never be beaten by equipment.
> 
>  
> On Thu, Mar 22, 2018 at 8:12 AM, DPPI - Mark Craig via Fot <fot at 
> autox.team.net> wrote:
> Hum, I got a set of the Canley CVs for the Spit that broke an axle and then 
> rolled 4 times.  
> I have that car almost in one piece again and now you got me cautious?? A 
> Spit vs GT6 is a lot of difference in weight and engine load though. Anyone 
> got any thoughts?? I don?t want to go for that ride again. I am adding GT6 
> lower arms to keep the wheel form getting under the car, but still don?t want 
> failure.
>  
>  
> MARK CRAIG
> Diesel Performance Parts, Inc.
> 411 Allied Drive, Nashville, TN 37211
> www.dieselperformanceparts.com
>   
>  
>  
> Phone: 615-834-0066
> Fax: 615-834-9923
> Email: mark at dieselperformanceparts.com
>  
>  
>  
> From: James J Dolan [mailto:jdolan at voyagerhldgs.com] 
> Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2018 9:38 AM
> To: Scott Janzen <sjanzen at me.com>; DPPI - Mark Craig <info at 
> dieselperformanceparts.com>
> Subject: Re: [Fot] Rear Axle upgrade GT6
>  
> Scott & Mark.
> I looked at my records and we show the CV joints that failed (yes it was me 
> in the 5 laps) we purchased were from Rimmer Brothers (sp?) in England in the 
> spring of 2016.
> I can?t tell if they are the same guys or were resellers of the same product, 
> but they looked identical to these units and I doubt there were more than one 
> manufacturer of these in 2016.
>  
> And yes they failed, so I would NOT recommend for racing.
>  
> We compared the rear end system on our Kastner 1972 GT6 #6 and the Group 44 
> 1972 GT6 and reviewed the whole history with Kas, Scott, Craig Miller, Andy 
> MacLaurin.
> In the end we converted the Group 44 car to the Corvair Datsun solution as 
> engineered in 1971 based on a set of engineering drawings Craig Miller had 
> that had all the machining details.
> Since that installation in Sept 2016 we have had no problems.  The Group 44 
> car runs a Quaife diff with Redline Shockproof 75W90 gear oil with this 
> configuration.
>  
> Kas? 1972 GT6 runs a different outer hub configuration he constructed using 
> Vascojet steel. Here is Kas?s note from 2016 ?We broke axle shafts and hubs a 
> lot in the beginning and gave up on the normal steels available.  In the end 
> I purchased a load of Vascojet steel that was prescribed by steel engineers 
> to me, this is what is used in the outer axles of my GT-6. It was  expensive 
> and hard to find and I bought all in the USA at the time about 200 pounds. I 
> paid for forging dies and had the axles forged from this material. Now this 
> was almost 50 years ago so inquiry of steels might be a hot tip.? Kas? 
> solution provides an inner bearing retainer flange and nut at the hub carrier 
> side of the axle, thereby preventing wheel loss in a failure. That car runs 
> his original parts from 1972 and our last magnaflux shows no signs of failure 
> or cracking.  As he says, Never Beaten by Equipment, even after all these 
> years.
>  
> We had no trouble sourcing Corvair parts and GM bearings.
>  
>  
> From: Fot <fot-bounces at autox.team.net> on behalf of Scott Janzen via Fot 
> <fot at autox.team.net>
> Reply-To: Scott Janzen <sjanzen at me.com>
> Date: Thursday, March 22, 2018 at 2:10 AM
> To: DPPI - Mark Craig <info at dieselperformanceparts.com>
> Cc: 'Friends of Triumph' Triumph <fot at autox.team.net>
> 
> Subject: Re: [Fot] Rear Axle upgrade GT6
>  
> I?ve seen one of those break after five laps in a GT6.
>  
> On Mar 21, 2018, at 3:19 PM, DPPI - Mark Craig via Fot <fot at 
> autox.team.net> wrote:
>  
> Canley in England has a CV axle set up for the Spits and GT6.
>  
> <image001.png>
>  
> MARK CRAIG
> Diesel Performance Parts, Inc.
> 411 Allied Drive, Nashville, TN 37211
> www.dieselperformanceparts.com
> <image002.jpg> <image003.jpg> <image004.jpg> <image005.jpg>
>  
>  
> Phone: 615-834-0066
> Fax: 615-834-9923
> Email: mark at dieselperformanceparts.com
>  
>  
>  
> From: Fot [mailto:fot-bounces at autox.team.net] On Behalf Of Robert Lang via 
> Fot
> Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2018 11:07 AM
> To: FOT <fot at autox.team.net>
> Subject: Re: [Fot] Rear Axle upgrade GT6
>  
>  
> Vince - I'm not sure that the TR6 axles would fit your GT6 because the 
> bearing carrier for the Herald-based cars is a lot smaller than the TR6 is. I 
> suppose you could make it fit, but you'd have to make a custom hub carrier. 
> That said, I know that folks have done various solutions using stub axles 
> from cars like the 240Z. The "trick" would be to find a hub flange that can 
> be drilled for the Spitfire / GT6 bolt pattern and then work from there. And 
> you can get brand-new stub axles for the 240/260/280Z.
>  
> Else, source something from the UK.
>  
> Also - do you have a GT6 Mk 2 or the early or late-late setup? That also 
> makes a difference in the solution.
>  
> For my TR6, I run Corvair hubs like Group 44 did. But I had those hubs built 
> up about 20 years ago - the Corvair parts are pretty scarce now. If I were to 
> build a new car, I'd def. buy the Goodparts setup - he makes really excellent 
> parts!
>  
> Regards,
> Bob Lang
> On Wednesday, March 21, 2018, 8:44:11 AM EDT, Vince G via Fot <fot at 
> autox.team.net> wrote:
>  
>  
> Good day all,
>  
> I am wondering if anyone has tried John Goods Axle conversion kit on their 
> racing GT6?  It is a CV conversion but doesn?t replace the Hub which worries 
> me. 
> http://www.goodparts.com/shop/index.php?categoryID=20
>  
> There are sturdier more complete TR6 kits but I?m not sure I could retrofit 
> one of those. 
>  
> Thanks for any feedback. 
>  
> Vince
>  
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