rear axle assembly

[ref]

How do I identify the rear differential on my 1957 Silverhawk? #18378 and #23 the tag has 41 over 9. Will a Lark rear axle assembly fit on a Silverhawk?

[StudeRich]

With a Dana Spicer model 23 or 27 axle, you must have a Six cylinder Silver Hawk?

Yes a 23 from a Lark uses the same size "U" bolts and lower spring plates and has the same length and width as your old one, for correct driveshaft length.

A stronger Model 44 from a V-8, will also work with the above issues which CAN be corrected. [^]

You do have a 4.55 axle ratio, which with todays' fuel cost you may want to improve to a 3.73 for a 6 with Overdrive, it depends on your engine, Trans. and driving habits & frequency.

StudeRich

[ref]

My Silverhawk is in the process of being modified with a Mopar 318 with torqueflite automatic. If I use a dana 44 what ratio would be best for highway cruising?

[Bud]

For freeway use, a 44 diff. with a 3.31 ratio should work well. You can use a 3.07 for lower revs, but the off the line performance suffers. Bud

[StudeRich]

OK, considering you have a 318, if it is a Dual Exhaust, 4 Barrel engine with over 225 HP and Torqueflights start in Low gear and are fairly low geared, the 3.07 might be really a good ratio for that combo and get slightly better MPG. [^]

It is true though, that the 3.31 works really good with a 259, 2 brl. single exhaust Stude. V-8 powered Lark Automatic with 2nd. gear start. [^]

Also many Studebakers especially in snow country, did have limited slip Twin Traction Diffs. [^]
If you see another tin tag like the ratio tag, on the opposite side of the rear cover under a bolt that says: 45C, D or E, it will be a TT unit.

StudeRich

[Mike Van Veghten]

Any gear in the 3.0's is too high.

You have to tell us what will the car be doing for most of it's driving..?
Around town, a few miles on the freeway, long treks on the freeway...etc.

3.31 is as high as I'd go, 3.55's are good too for general driving. If you are just going to be driving around town and the occasional freeway trip, even 3.70's are nice.

With the very high (3.07) gears, the low speed power is terrible...every Moped in town will want to race you...yes even with the 318.
I've driven everything from 2.55 ratio to 5.13 gears on the street (no overdrive..!), so I've got a wide based background.

As noted...3.31 or 3.55's are very good all around gears.

Mike

[PackardV8]

FWIW, the '56 Golden Hawk successfully used a 3.07 rear gear with the TwinUltramatic and the same size tires.

For my money, I'd never build another automatic car without overdrive. The four-speed overdrive transform the car. My Avanti with 3.73 gears was torture on the highway. With a 700R4, it feels like a real car.

thnx, jack vines


PackardV8

[63t-cab]

We had a 65 Cruiser with V8 with 3:07s and it was a nice combo.even had a 62 Lark six and put a 3:07 model 27 TT in and had a blast with it for about 4 years,and I'll tell ya that car could go through any amount of snow(of course we had to get out and look underneath to see if the torque convertor was spinning !

Joseph R. Zeiger

[studebakerkid]

I put Pinkie together using a 9 inch Ford differential with 3.00 gears and a T350 behind the built smallblock that I have in her and she worked fine for general driving until the T350 fried. She works even better now using the same engine and differential but a 726 toploader. Even when pulling two tons on my trailer I rarely use compound low and by keeping the 3.00 gears in my differential I have a top end speed around 150 at 5000 RPM.


If you car is ugly then it better be fast.....

65 2dr sedan
64 2dr sedan (Pinkie)
61 V8 Tcab
61 Tcab 20R powered
55 Commander Wagon
54 Champion Wagon
46 Gibson Model A
50 JD MC

[buddymander]

Yes kid, but don't you find that mileage suffers greatly at speeds over 135? I have the perfect combination in my GT with a SBCr 360 and an A833 OD with 354 rear ratio. I put a 2.50 rear in my old 71 ford half ton with a 302 and C4 trans and it would still peel out and it was a dream on the freeway. We have this type of discussion on ratios pretty often, and I'm still stumped by the responses sometimes when studebaker had that second gear start trans (I had one in my GT)that was a total dog off the line unless you had a three something gear close to a four, but then you still had a problem on the freeway.