Re: [AMC-List] 62 classic rear axle id

[farna@xxxxxxx]

Dave, you've hit upon some "Rambler lore" that I've heard of but never actually seen. Could just be a mistake in the parts book, but I've heard a couple stories about early 60s Ramblers (61-62 specifically) where people had a hard time finding axles and/or bearings that would swap. Your best bet is going to be to remove the bearings, get the number off them, then order the parts if necessary. That's the only way to know 100% sure that you'll get the right part. They should be standard bearings that are readily available in any case. Since your gear tag matches the TSM for an AMC gear, it should be safe to assume you have an AMC axle, but it's possible for a different size ring gear to have the same number of teeth.

In general, AMC had two different axles -- the AMC 15 (7-9/16" ring gear) and the AMC 20 (8-7/8" ring gear). The AMC 15 was used behind all six cylinder cars with 196 and 199 engines, and all small cars with the six. This evolved into the Dana 35, which is a slightly stronger clone of the AMC 15 design (grears and diff parts will interchange, but the D35 axles are slightly larger and have a one-piece hub/axle assembly). The AMC 20 was used behind all V-8 cars and in six cylinder big cars w/232 or 258. The 199 was only used in a few fleet service big cars in 65 and maybe 66 (it's not mentioned in sales literature, but is in the 65 production reports -- 66 isn't broke down by engine). 

Now for the "lore". I've had a couple people insist that they had early 61-62 Ramblers that they couldn't swap axles from their rear end assembly from a parts car assembly due to different splines. They had to swap the entire assembly instead. It is known that AMC bought axles from Dana, but they were license produced copies of the AMC design. AMC may have purchased other axle designs (the Spicer 53 and 27A) as substitutes rather than slow production down if stocks of their own design weren't available. My theory is that since AMC experienced a big growth spurt about this time, they started using Dana as a second source since they couldn't build enough axle assemblies themselves to keep up. I can't say for sure, but that is reasonable. It's also possible that the slightly heavier Spicer axles were fleet options, but they aren't mentioned in the TSM as such. 

Note that "Dana" and "Spicer" are one and the same -- always have been. The company started out as "Spicer Universal Joint Manufacturing Company" and changed the name to "Dana Corporation" in 1946. It was started by Clarence Spicer. Charles Dana joined the company in 1914 and became president and treasurer in 1916. Clarence died in 1939.Charles retired in 66 and died in 74. I always thought they were two different companies that merged! Some products have the Dana name, and to this day some still use the Spicer name (or Dana-Spicer). 

--
Frank Swygert
Publisher, "American Motors Cars" 
Magazine (AMC)
For all AMC enthusiasts
http://farna.home.att.net/AIM.html
(free download available!)

 -------------- Original message ----------------------
> Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2006 10:04:59 -0800 (PST)
> From: d stohler <das24rules@xxxxxxxxx>
> 
> i am trying to get new bearings for my rear end in my 62 classic. there is a 
> parts store in town that has some in stock and can get the rest. problem is, 
> they say there are 2 different rearends for that car. none i have heard of. 
> people on here say it is an amc model 15. the book at carquest says there is a 
> spicer 53, and a spicer 27A. one has a 7.25" ring gear, and the other has a 
> 9.something ring gear. i havent yet had a chance to measure my ring gear to see. 
> but it has bearings and seals that seem to make it look like there are actually 
> 4 different axles. i have the 196, and 3 speed manual. the tab on the diff cover 
> says 9/34. in my tsm that shows a gear ratio so im pretty sure that means it is 
> the 3.77 rear. but what the axle tells me, and what the book at carquest tells 
> me is coming up different. they show one rearend from like 58-62, and the other 
> is like 61-63 or somethin i think. anyway, some help would be great. i need to 
> pull the axle shafts out to have the
>  bearings pressed off, but would be great if i knew what i have before hand so i 
> can have the parts ordered if needed so i can get it all done in one afternoon. 
> they have a machineshop in the back of the carquest so they can do it all for me 
> real quick and easy there. 
>    
>   hope everyone is havin a great thanksgiving weekend.
>    
>   dave stohler
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