Driveshaft and Half shaft restoration?

[David S.]

Re: Driveshaft and Half shaft restoration?

Bill, contingent upon what engine is in your Corvette, ( all from 1965 through 1972) if it is fuelie, 365, big blocks, LT-1 they had their hot shafts shot peened to relieve the stress of their welds because of the torque of the high-performance engines. They were shot peened with a number (31) shot. I know of a company in east Hartford, CT that does a great job.

Ron,

Can you share who the company in Hartford is?

Thanks,
Dave

[Mike Z.]

Re: Driveshaft and Half shaft restoration?

We restore both half and drive shafts in the shop. I have seen hundreds of both and have never seen driveshafts shot peened. Big Block and LT-1 half shafts were shot peened, while lesser hp motored cars were not. It is difficult to find the exact tubing for re-tubing, as the thickness and seem are different from modern day run of the mill shop tubing (we found some correct 2.0" & 2.5", which interestingly are different thickness and slightly different seems). It is very easy to "cook" the half shafts too long in shot peen, which will completely take away all of the seem and heat margin character-so go light or they will look like you glass beaded them, so why go through the effort. Correctly done with shot peening, you can maintain a ghost of the seem and heat margin enough to know it is very different from media blasting. Have your rebuild shop take measurements of the weld width, as modern tubes use much wider welds and most shops want to go way too wide. Also, remember shot peening is not a rust preventative, so plan on something or they will not hold up cosmetically.
Mike Zamora

[Ron G.]