I got the shaft!

Discussion in 'The "Juice Box"' started by Dragdoc, Mar 8, 2020.

  1. Dragdoc

    Dragdoc Well-Known Member

    Well, not yet.

    So I am looking to convert my nailhead ‘66 ST 400 from the Buick large spline short tail to a 9” Chevy. Dont worry about why! I know I need a basic Chevy 9” housing and the corresponding basic Chevy output shaft, and it takes dissassembly of the trans to do this.

    Is this pretty much all there is to it? Or are there very specific parts I need to obtain i.e. NOT your average, basic, any ol’ 9” housing and shaft?

    Thank you for any input!
     
  2. 2manybuicks

    2manybuicks Founders Club Member

    Did she get the gold mine?
     
  3. Matt Knutson

    Matt Knutson Well-Known Member

    I think any ol housing and shaft will work for you. I may have a housing here - I'll take a look. If I do you can have it.
     
  4. Dragdoc

    Dragdoc Well-Known Member

    Very generous Matt! Do you think a used shaft off ebay would be fine? Clean oily metal with zero rusting of course. I truly don’t know if they ever really show much wear. Other than the splined end possibly being beat up.
     
  5. Matt Knutson

    Matt Knutson Well-Known Member

    Should be O'k I'll see if I still have the shaft, too. I don't think so, but, I'll look this evening.
     
  6. Matt69olds

    Matt69olds Well-Known Member

    I have a couple long output shafts and extension housings. If your interested, I’ll swap the short parts for the stuff your looking for, and I’ll pay the shipping.
     
  7. Dragdoc

    Dragdoc Well-Known Member

    Hi Matt69Olds to be clear the short tail and shaft are from a ‘66 Buick ST 400 trans. The splined end of the output shaft is 1.365” O.D. with a spline count of 32. Is this what you want?

    image.jpg image.jpg
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2020
  8. Dragdoc

    Dragdoc Well-Known Member

    Also, just to be clear, I am looking for the long Chevy housing which is 9” (more like 9.5”). NOT the super long 13”. Is this what you have, in good shape? I do not have a driveshaft made yet so spline count does not matter other than being able to easily obtain a yolk.

    If so I will try to get my trans guy to “harvest” the output shaft as soon as possible. Perhaps we should take this conversation to PMs
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2020
  9. Matt69olds

    Matt69olds Well-Known Member

    I’ll measure what I have. The transmissions I have came out of the typical BOP big cars with the long output shaft and extension housing. I haven’t taken it apart yet, I’ll take a pic and post it when I get home
     
  10. Dragdoc

    Dragdoc Well-Known Member

    Super! And looks like 27 or 32 spline are both common and easy to get slip yokes
     
  11. Matt69olds

    Matt69olds Well-Known Member

    CA66CEBD-D86B-4547-B226-2BC9B1CC9697.jpeg 3EBF0885-0695-48BA-AFE6-39029FA8625F.jpeg Is this what you’re looking for?
     
  12. Dragdoc

    Dragdoc Well-Known Member

    Yeah I think so.

    Well, the tailhousing is right. But I have no idea what the length of the corresponding output shaft is. Does the known length of a short shaft plus 5.5” equal 15”?

    I will contact my trans guy about getting into the guts of my ST 400 ASAP. Looks like the parts are greasy so no corrosion issues I hope
     
  13. Matt69olds

    Matt69olds Well-Known Member

    The output shaft and extension housing came from the same trans, and it has the big 32 spline shaft diameter. Yes, they are covered in 40 years worth of grease and grime. I’ll clean them up and make sure the threads are good.
     
  14. BRUCE ROE

    BRUCE ROE Well-Known Member

    Huh, every TH400 I have ever seen had the same dia/splines to fit the
    same yoke. There were some TH375s that fit a smaller TH350 yoke, is
    that what you are talking about? Bruce Roe
     

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