Topic: GT350 4 speed driveline

[Bossbill]

I guess I'm working from the differential housing forward...

Are there examples of the driveline colors for GT350 4 speed cars?

I've seen a lot of weird colors and applications of colors to the front and rear yokes.
The high dollar GT350 on eBay really has a weird color at the diff. Then again that car is not really a good guide for a lot of details.

[J_Speegle]

Not allot of original examples out there but here is what I've collected from unrestored examples. Restored ones are all over the place


Example one: 

A very early car - About midway Pink- Med Blue - White. Since the driveline was out of the car I can't be certain of which color (pink or white) was at the front but the owner shared the colors as I wrote them. There are examples where the guy/kid assigned to the task reversed the colors from time to time. About 8" from the edge of the rear yoke there is a Green stripe

A very late car with three stripes at about mid way. Only one of the three colors was visible and it was Med Blue like above suggesting IMHO that the stripe colors likely didn't change during the production year

For the trans yoke (early example) I've got a strong lighter blue similar to engine blue applied to some of the surface

Hope this helps

[Bossbill]

Thanks Jeff. I'll go inspect mine real close. Easier said than done.

Many years ago the Boss was giving me fits. Bad vibration. After many fits and spurts it was narrowed to the driveline. I had the Boss driveline re-tubed and balanced. And it did the same thing at the same speed!
Since it couldn't be the driveline I put in a new extension housing bushing, tried another set of tires (again) and searched and searched for anything loose or woobly.
Finally, I stole the driveshaft from the Shelby, shifted around the rear U-Joint end caps -- and that fixed it!
I need a new driveline vendor not called Drivelines NW.

But, the  Shelby driveline is still in there! Time to remove it and have yet another dead car.

[Bob Gaines]

Be careful applying paint to the yokes. The yokes were painted with a somewhat thin paint so it wasn't typically thick. The ends were painted prior to welding together with the tube so if you are going to paint take that into consideration . I saw several cars this past weekend at the MCA National while judging that disregarded the fact of the high heat while welding and had thick painted yokes freshly and flawlessly right up to the weld. The paint pattern should be a soft line back from the weld to take into consideration the heat that would burn the paint. You could also take a torch to it. You also want to remember the blueish look of the weld bead around the tube. Gun bluing works excellent for that but you have to be careful to stay within the line of the bead for it to look correct.

[Bossbill]

The industry calls the welded on yokes on the driveline 'fixed yokes'. I'll use that term below.

Jeff said, "For the trans yoke (early example) I've got a strong lighter blue similar to engine blue applied to some of the surface."  Am I to conclude the fixed yoke is also painted that color to match the trans yoke? I gather this was an assembly method 'match' using like colors. It didn't have to look pretty or color all surfaces -- it just needed to be visible, right? Think like an assembly dude.
[edit]
Here is 67 GT350 concours restored driveline at the rear axle.  This isn't mine, of course.

Yes, I'll take your details into account, Bob.

[J_Speegle]

Jeff said, "For the trans yoke (early example) I've got a strong lighter blue similar to engine blue applied to some of the surface."  Am I to conclude the fixed yoke is also painted that color to match the trans yoke?

No the color on the yoke of the transmission yoke rarely if ever matches the driveline yoke at either end. Purpose was not to help the worker (at a sub assembly location off the assembly line) match up the correct end or driveline but to identify quickly the specific yoke that was needed. Agree with Bob that most often the color (example 67 GT500 4 speed) /paint used is translucent In this case the paint for this specific application was not on the unrestored example. Did stand out when I first got the picture

[Bossbill]

Finally got a chance to put my unbalanced drive shaft in the Boss and get my Shelby drive shaft back.
I cleaned it with a de-greaser to see what I could find.
The rear fixed yolk is orange/red and this one has a slight white paint splash over the top.
The front transmission yolk is indeed a light Ford blue and the fixed yolk is the same color as the rear.
There are stripes in the middle but I'll have to de-rust this thing to see the colors.

[J_Speegle]

Transmission and driveline yokes match what I've seen do you have confirmation there

[Bossbill]

I'll add to this thread as I get data.
Here are the pertinent shots of how the paint was applied to the front yoke.
It appears they started just over the centerline of the u-joint cup cutout and brushed towards the splines. Two brush strokes.

I'll take it to the box store and have them match up the paint in a pint of enamel.
Please note that these pics were done outside so the color is lighter than in the shop.

I tried to save the front original u-joint and got it out nicely, but found damage on surface of the cross.

I also tried to use a gutter segment with plastic in it (no workie) so instead used a 6"x6"x36" box and put a black contractor bag in it. I used about 2 1/2 gallons of Rust911 with the drive shaft standing straight up. I'll flip it tomorrow.

[Bossbill]

Ok, that worked well on the back half so I flipped it over this morning.

I have the pink, blue and white as shown in the following pics. I also have a white strip that's real thin not far from the end.
Interestingly, the blue was applied so thick it ran to the other side of the tube and left a "puddle" where it settled.

I'll share dimensions later. I doling things out a little at a time as I do it. Otherwise I wouldn't take the time.

[Bob Gaines]

I thought this would be a good example to remind you that although refreshing the original drive shaft is to be admired if entering the car in concours there may be a problem. In the Shelby concours (as well as Mustang)venues the first and foremost is that the correct appearing item looks like new. If the refreshed drive shaft has small pits in the metal tube surface expect some type of deduction . It is up to you to decide if the original metal is good enough going forward or go ahead and use it knowing that something may be said. Another option is build one out of fresh tube and ends sourced from something else and hang the one the car was born with on the wall until after judging is over . That is if the closest to factory during the judging process is the goal. This same issue comes up frequently with interior. A original interior may look excellent for its age but it does not look fresh new like it would if you turned the flux capacitor on in your DeLorean and went back to inspected it on the showroom floor back in the day. If you understand this then you can make a decision with eyes wide open and be prepared in case something is said.   

[J_Speegle]

Thanks for sharing the stripe colors. Confirmed the two I was missing in my pictures

The front transmission yolk is indeed a light Ford blue and the fixed yolk is the same color as the rear.

Another example that was supplied to me of the same york and mark

[Bossbill]

Jeff -- I see it also has the 'B' on the inside like mine.

Bob -- After all the surface rust is gone by soaking I'll make a decision. I've seen pics of the Deadnutson drive shaft that a friend purchased and I understand why dropping $500 (approx) on one of theirs might be better than spending a serious amount of time redoing mine.
Or, like you said, building one at a nearby shop.

[Coralsnake]

Im guessing there are only four different Shelby driveshafts in 1967?

[J_Speegle]

Im guessing there are only four different Shelby driveshafts in 1967?

Would that be four different identification marks/patterns for markings or dimensions for only four different drivelines?