[V8Vairs] Kelmark/ME input shaft

[Bruce Tester]

I don’t know why the Kelmark requires the extra 1 1/8  inch length.  I do know that Clark’s sells a strengthened stock length 66-69 shaft.  It has the same strength specifications as the longer (Kelmark) shaft they made in the past but is not now available.  I bought one of the strengthened stock length shafts to use in a Kelmark Corvair I am assembling.  To use the stock length shaft, you need to use a 64/65 Borg Warner Corvair 4-spd instead of the Saginaw.  I haven’t finished assembling mine yet, but one issue seems to be the shaft oil seal at the input.  The Kelmark instructions say how to deal with this.  A bearing retainer on the 66-later differential has to be slightly modified to eliminate some interference with the earlier transmission.  I think this is going to work for me.
Bruce Tester


> Was there a reason the KM/ME driveshaft had to be an inch longer than
> the stock part? For clarity, I'm talking about the little rod-like shaft
> that goes between the clutch disk and the differential. Could the stock
> shaft be used if the bell housing was shorter front to back (not
> considering possible strength differences)? Could the stock shaft be
> heat treated to make it more resistant to shock and less likely to
> break?
> 
> Would cryogenically treating the differential gears make them stronger
> and less susceptible to wear?
> 
> Bob Thomas 
> 68 Monza
>