Has anybody out there made the conversion from the 2 piece shaft with center support and rear cv to a single shaft on a 65-68 Wildcat or Electra? I'm finishing up my 68 Wildcat 2-door and I have made all the modifications to pull a 68 Boles Aero travel trailer that weighs in at 5,700 lbs loaded. Everything has been modified for the task except the driveshaft. I have seen several high performance Riviera's that can't seem to keep a center support bearing in place not to mention the lost art of balancing one of those shaft assemblies. With that in mind and the cost of rebuilding and balancing my existing shaft, I'm very close to the cost of having a custom steel (or aluminum $$) shaft made. I saw that someone had made the change on a 65 or 66 Cat but, they had added a gear vendors unit - I wish. ray: I have to take some measurements but the entire Wildcat shaft assembly doesn't look any longer than the shaft on my 69 Sport Wagon - for which I had a new shaft made for in order to rid myself of the old inner/outer rubber bonded shaft - I didn't want it letting go on I-10 in the summer in beautiful Blythe, CA while pulling a trailerou:. This is the same fear I have regarding the center support bearing on the Wildcat. I am using the the original TH-400 trans (rebuilt to tow) so there aren't any length issuses. I'm just worried about getting proper angles so that I don't have to deal with vibration issues especially since this car will see a lot of highway miles. Any input or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Alan
I'm not sure that it can be done, the 67-68 has the engine and transmission cocked at an angle that doesn't preclude the use of a single piece shaft without jacking the back end up high. I know the 69s were 1 piece, - but smaller car, smaller body. The changed the engine position/geometry for 69-70, and made the tunnel deeper. If it could be done, I would do it; - I know exactly what you mean, - those driveshafts are a pain, and they're the only part of the car that worries me.
Larger trucks have 2 piece driveshafts so there should be a way to make it better. A friend of mine bought a center support bearing like this for a '62 imp. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ied-ie210527xs I'll end up needing to do something for my '67 Wildcat.
Alan, Thanks Marc and Alan for the quick input. I know I can always count on this forum. Marc, I know the Rivieras have a strange angle and that if you switch to 200-4R you have to shim the back of the trans up to keep the angle. I didn't know that the Wildcats did too? Of course you don't have a choice in an X frame Riviera either but the Wildcat is wide open... Alan, I know that most 1/2 ton, non-4x4 trucks have a center support bearing - but those carriers are typpically more substantial than what is on the Wildcat - or the Rivieras since they anticipated the loads. Maybe it's worth making a call to Inland Empire??? If I could get my hands on something like that, I wouldn't worry so much. I have a buddy with a 526 stroker in a 68 Riviera - it eats carrier bearings like candy if he's not careful. Please keep the thoughts coming on this, I really appreciate it. Alan
I have raced my lesabre for years with no problems. if your bearing and housings are good you should not have any troubles. but that is a heavy camper .if you put in a one piece shaft you might have to change the tunnel.
In 69 they changed the saddle design of the front crossmember and that allowed for a different position of the engine and transmission. The goal was to get better weight distribution over the length of the car and as s result, better handling. That allowed the use of a one-piece driveshaft. IMHO, out of the 30 plus full-size Buicks I've had over the years, the 69 Wildcat had to be the best car I've ever driven for handling. It was far better than the later boats, (less roll and tighter cornering) and it was much more sure-footed over the older ones. Personally, I think it was the best handling Cat built, as even the 70 was a bit longer and a bit heavier and the 69 just had the right combination of things going on.
I've run these driveshafts in a number of cars over the years. I understand your concerns, but I haven't had any big issues with mine. My '66 Electra needed u-joints and one of my cats had a grumpy center bearing. The Cardan joints have been OK. One thing I'll sometimes do at trans or rear end maint time, since it's a quick and easy job, is pull the shaft out of the car and lube and inspect it. The Cardans need a rubber tipped grease gun adapter to compress the check balls to lube-these are often neglected. The adapter is also good to lube the center bearing after removal of the plug. As I recall, the center bearing is a pretty standard part as well as the u-joints. The driveshaft shop, Proven Force, in the Twin Cities has done work on these for some of us Minnesota folks and done OK. I wouldn't be surprised if you can make a one piece shaft physically fit, but angularity may be too extreme for the joints. Good luck
In my opinion, you'll be in good shape with the stock set up. Just use all good USA made bearings, u-joints, etc. A good drive shaft shop will balance it for you. Spend the extra dough on weight distribution hitch, the BEST electric tailer brakes, and go enjoy the road trip! mike <script type="text/javascript" src="safari-extension://com.ebay.safari.myebaymanager-QYHMMGCMJR/1e3d64fe/background/helpers/prefilterHelper.js"></script>
Alan, Here in Canada there were very few pick-ups with 8 cylinder engines in the 60s, (and if they had one, it was usually a small one with a 2 bbl carb) so these big cars were the tractors of choice to drag heavy steel 2 horse trailers over some of the crappiest muddy roads and territories you can imagine. I've never heard of anyone twisting one apart. One farmer I know used a 65 Wildcat sedan to drag a horse trailer around all over western Canada until the body literally dissolved and fell off the car. He never once had an issue. In fact, he still laments letting that car go; - he says it would easily out-pull his new Dodge diesel.
