Posted by Tom on April 21, 1999 at 15:42:10:
My '53 B3 Power Wagon (27k miles on it) has some interesting modifications to let it go faster. Rear differential and transmission changes are claimed by the original owner. I don't know exactly what they are. The one I thought was worth mentioning is the drive shaft. It is connected to the emergency brake drum next to the original shaft coming out of the transfer case. The guy said he noticed it turns faster than the drive shaft and has the same beefy gears and bearings. So he welded a u-joint half to the drum and moved the shaft over about a foot. I don't know if the shaft is the same length as it started out. It can go 55 without too high of revs. The speedometer indicates 35 when it is going 50. This mod. is rough on u-joints since there is a greater angle from the shaft to the rear differential, but it works. I mentioned that the rear wheels will now turn faster than the front when in 4WD, instead of the other way around, and he said he didn't think of that. It still works all right in 4WD, but it seems the steering authority must be less than normal, where the front wheels turn slightly faster than the rears. I don't know how long my first set of u-joints was in service, but I think it must have been over 10 thousand miles. They did disintegrate and I replaced them in an evening. What do you guys think about this modification?