Rocket North

To finish off my driveshaft restoration, can anyone tell me(or send a pic) as to the location & width of the 2 stripes that ID the driveshaft?
Thanks for any help.
Derek

jensenracing77

I have been looking into this a lot lately but there is no good answer. I "think" they just brushed the paint on when making the shaft. I have found zero consistency on the placement or the width of the stripes. I did document where they were on my drive shaft. I will see if I can find my note tonight and post it.

Boilerz25

Derek,

Quick question, how did you restore the driveshaft? I have mine on my bench and have been putting it off for a while.

Thanks
Sean

Allan R

Do you know what color the stripes were for your car? It's in the Assembly Manual. The color stripes were coded for different transmissions TH350, TH455, M20 and M21

I restored my driveshaft 2 years ago. The u-joints are original and in fantastic shape. I was lucky - I found the 'ghost outline' of the black stripe so I'm sure that was correct width. The yellow I had to estimate after reading a lot of driveshaft threads here and on other forums. This is how mine turned out. Actually now that I look at the before picture really close, I think the camera may have picked up that the yellow is in the wrong place. It 'looks' like there's another very very faint set of parallel lines just about 8" from the u-joint....too late for me now. Couldn't see that with the naked eye though. The black one was easy to spot. What do you think?? This drive shaft is original to the car (72 Cutlass S)

RetroRanger

The driveshaft looks awesome Allan, is it painted ?

My u joints were original too (injected plastic retainers) I changed them out and was glad I did. one looked fine the other was rachety and looked like this

Allan R

Yes, I took it down to metal and went over it with 80, then 240 then 400. Sprayed with Duplicolor metal cast. Leaves a nice satin finish. Here it is drying in the sun. Note taped off u-joints.



Close up of paint finish. The reddish tinge to the right is a reflection off my coveralls.



Reason for the taped off u-joints is mine came out of the car in pretty much new condition. I just taped them off and sprayed around them. They have the Saginaw S still on the caps. Everyone said to replace them, but in all honesty they didn't need it. Besides, if they do fail eventually I'll likely have to refinish the drive shaft because the only way to take those suckers out is with oxy.

RetroRanger

i just pressed my ujoints out, you can see the plastic still in the channel where it broke...

ill have to look for that duplicolor cast i have a cast color paint (not sure of the maker) but I think it is different than that

here is a pic of some parts I painted w the cast color (cuz they didnt have a stamped color )

RandyS

How do you remove the U-joints that have the plastic retainers? Are they replaceable?

Allan R

You must have a 4 ton press. The spray on my finished drive shaft appears darker because I also sprayed it with satin clear. For some reason it makes the color darker. Don't know why. Your reverse lights turned out just like mine. Took them all apart. Too many folks are afraid to undo the electrical connection. Makes it much easier to bead blast and paint. Here's the Metal cast I used


The Saginaw joints have that plastic fill. To get them out you typically heat the bay jaysus out of them. They 'melt' out like silly string and then you can remove the u-joint without much real effort. Here's a DIY vid that shows what I mean - it's for a Chevy Astro, but the same thing for all these older cars. BTW, when replacing u-joints, new ones don't have this issue. New U-joints also have zirc fittings to grease the joint, whereas OEM doesn't.

Rocket North

Hi Sean;
My shaft was heavily rusted & I sent it to Quanta www.quantaproducts.com
They did an amazing job & looks like new steel.
They even did the yokes & has a special coating to keep the rust off.
Price $175 plus the to/from ride.
Hope this helps.
Derek

Rocket North

Allan;
Thanks for the info & great pics.
My stripes are black & purple(70 W30 4 speed).
What is the width you painted the stripes?
Your black seems to be in the correct location- how many inches is it from the front yoke?
Only pics I have seem are from the auctions where they show a rolling video of the cars underbody. I can only recall the stripes being close together.
Your yellow one has me stumped, being about 1/2 way down the shaft.
Do u mean it should be 8 inches from the front yoke?
Appreciate your help.
Derek

Allan R

Going from memory I believe the stripe is about 1 1/8" wide. I'd have to go under the car and measure it to be sure.

re: yellow stripe. Yes, I was also a little unsure of that. I looked at some of the ones I could find references on this site - and all I could find was a 65 442 that Jasen did. His was finished in metal color and paint. I had to reference the Chevelle forums to find anything that talked about the position of the stripe. I put it where the Chev guys said was right for Chevelle, thinking the factories probably used the same references. As I said ^^ I'm wondering if it shouldn't be about 10" to the rear, closer to the diff yoke U-joint.

davebw31

derek is that you??? been trying to call you several times the last 1 1/2 yrs. call me 850-443-6877

I am going to Lansing Home-Coming June 14 th, you going? Also, going to Cinni. for Olds Nats. Taking my "new" 70" post race car.

If this is you, pls say hello to Sharron

costpenn

My 68 Hurst had the original stripes on it about a foot from the front of where the U-Joint holds the yoke and main shaft together. The stripes were only about 1/2" wide. On the '70, all I can see is a ghost outline of where they were - much further back on the shaft with the stripes also being much wider - like what Alllan did on his shaft.

Rocket North

Any luck finding your notes?

Thanks
Derek

costpenn

I will pull my shaft this out of storage this morning and see where they are, but it's a TH400 car. Hope it might help a little.

Rocket North

Hi Dave;
Yes, it is me. Called yesterday, no answer - u must be busy!
Call me at 613 446-2636.
Derek(Dick)

P.S. who's Sharron? Or do u mean Dee? Lols.

Rocket North

That would be great!
Believe all the shaft IDs locations might be all the same.

Thanks
Derek

costpenn

OK this is what I've got.

Shaft is original to the car. The original rear GM U-Joint with the strap that holds the cups on during installation is still on the shaft. It had the rear tapered tube.

Distance from the very tip of the front main shaft ear (not the yoke) to the first stripe is 17 5/8 inches. The first stripe on mine looks like two stripes, but if you look carefully you can see paint in the valley between the two lines. Must have been how it was applied that there was little paint in the center of the brush, or that the tension was AFU. First stripe is right at 7/8 inches wide.

Distance to the second stripe from the same measuring point is 21 1/2 inches. This stripe measures at 3/4 inches wide.

Hope it helps

Allan R

Joe, what car is that from? The 'ghost' stripe on yours is definitely a different width than the one I found on mine. Wondering if this is something that different assembly plants did.

Rocketbrian

I was fortunate, when I cleaned the driveshaft of my 71 442 with the TH400, I could easily see evidence of the two stripes. The first stripe is 22.5 " from the start of the driveshaft tube at the end of the front ujoint. The stripe is 1" wide. The second stripe is 29 3/4" from the same starting point and is 3/4" wide. I painted the shaft with Krylon chrome paint and painted the stripes with John Deere yellow and green as these shades looked more industrial than most paints of those colours. The assembly manual doesn't state the ordering for the colours so I guessed. You should look at the assembly manual for 1970 to determine the driveshaft colours. They may also be yellow and green. I painted the ujoint areas with cast iron grey. Hope this aids with your project.

costpenn

So Joe, based on your shaft, the spacing between the stripes and approximate widths on mine are correct. How far from the front is the first stripe located? I don't think the 70 model cars have the stripes as far apart as the 71's as detailed above.

Rocketbrian

Oops. My bad, I wrote later after reading and forgot you had a 4 speed.

Rocket North

Thanks to all for the info & pics, especially Joe & Joe!
Now I can paint on the stripes.

Derek

Boilerz25

I did my drive shaft this weekend. After a good cleaning and sanding with 600 grit I uncovered the yellow and a turquoise stripe which made it easy for restoring. I have not seen any other turquoise examples but, it was pretty clear so that is how I finished it. I still need a coat of clear.

Sean

Allan R

Absolutely stunning! Is the metal painted or cleared? Didn't see any reference to whether you kept the OEM u-joints or replaced them.

Boilerz25

Allan

I did a similar paint scheme as you and will clear over the paint to finish. The u joints were in good shape so i kept then.

Sean