Following is a letter I recieved in 1971 from Danas Corp. I shortened it a little but left in the pertinent stuff. After that is a portion of an article I wrote at the time about same. Some things are not clear to me after all this time. If anyone sees any mistakes, chime in. POWER EQUIPMENT DIVISION DANA CORPORATION P.O. BOX 321 · TOLEDO, OHIO 43601 Mr. Alex Magdaleno April 8, 1971 Your letter, dated March 24, 1971, asks for information concerning Spicer axles used in Studebaker passenger cars. The axle you purchased, Spicer #SKA 167176-4, was a prototype and was never built in production. It is very similar to the 1964 production axle used in the Avanti (I assume he means R-3). The main difference is that the tube diameter is larger giving the axle a greater beam strength. The axle shaft diameter is the same as the 1964 Avanti(R-3?). Another difference is that the axle you bought uses the same axle end ball bearing as the 1963 Avanti.(?) The 1964 axle uses a tapered roller wheel end bearing. (?) I will attempt to answer your questions in the order you asked them. 1. The 1963 Avanti axle shafts will fit into the SKA 167176-4 axle that you have. 2. We are no longer able to service the axle shafts for either the 1963 Avanti or the SKA axle you bought. We are currently producing the axle for the limited production Avanti. This axle is a "will-fit" for the Studebaker Avantis. It has the increased tube diameter, the same as the SKA part you bought. However, it is a tapered roller wheel end bearing similar to the 1964 Avanti. I don't know if the brake backing plates from the earlier Avantis will bolt to it. These are furnished by Bendix. If I can come up with further information on flanged style axle shaft assemblies that are "will-fit" for tapered style axle shaft assemblies, I will let you know. ( I never heard any more on it) Sincerely yours, DANA CORPORATION Gene E. Zavrel, Product Manager - ----------------------------- Axles IDENTIFYING THE R3 AND 65-1/2 & 66 TYPE REAR ENDS AND AXLE SHAFTS The R3 axle shaft has the same spline as the tapered type 44 axle. It is 1-15/64" in diameter with 19 teeth. It tapers down to its minimum diameter of 1-13/64" right behind the spline and then tapers up to 1-1/2" near the bearing. The bearing is much larger in diameter than the other axle's bearings. It is 3-5/32"in diameter. It is permanently lubed and sealed. Between the bearing and the flange the axle is very massive, although I have seen a few that were a straight 1 -1/2" in that area. The axle is 28-1/8" long measured from the outer flange face. The axle tubes step up to a larger diameter at the bearing. This bell is noticably larger than on the other type axles. The axle tubes will also have the Avanti type traction bar brackets. I am assuming that the R3 Larks and Hawks had all the handling options and disc brakes.. The backing plates will be modified Avanti units. The hole is bored larger so the larger Bearing can pass through and the bearing retainer bolt holes are relocated farther out. The 44-1 was a prototype built for the Bonneville runs. The main difference between the 44-1 and the production R3 is the axle tubes. The 44-1 axle tubes are 2-3/4" in diameter, the same as 1/4 ton truck. The production R3 axle tubes are 2-1/2", the same as other 44 type rear ends. I do not know how many of the Bonneville units were 44-1's. ( Or how many units were taken to Bonneville. I think he had about 10 for sale when I bought mine) The 65-1/2 & 66 flanged axle shaft is easily recognizable because it has a fine spline and it changes diameter in steps rather than in a smooth taper. The spline is 1-3/8" in diameter and has 27 teeth. Right behind the spline the axle steps down to l-7/64" in diameter for a distance of 1/2" then the axle steps back up to 1-1/8" for 17± inches and then it steps up to l- 1/4" all the way to the bearing. The bearing is about the same size as the bearing on the tapered axle. It is lubricated by the rear end oil. On this rear end the 27 & 44 axle shafts are identical. The axle is the same length as the R3 axle. Most of the other parts in the flanged axle rear ends are identical to those in the standard 44 rear end. The following gear ratios are available from. Studebaker: 3.07, 3.31, 3.54, 3.73, 4.09, 4.27, 4.55. Two different casings were used. The small casing was used for the high geared rear ends (3.07 - 3.73). The large casing was used for the low geared rear ends (4.09 - 4.55). You cannot put the high gears in the large casing or vice versa.