rear end change

[arkus]

have a non avanti dana 27 in my '63 r-2. looking for a 44. are the parts from the axle housing out, (backing plate and complete brake assembly) interchangeable between 27 and 44? imagine axles are different. thanks

[Dwight FitzSimons]

Everything on the Dana 27 is lighter duty than on the Dana 44 (smaller tubes, smaller axles, smaller brakes, etc).  The brakes on the Dana 27 would be either 9" or 10".  I'm fairly sure that the 27's brakes wouldn't bolt onto the 44 without some modification.  What you need for the Avanti (in addition to the Dana 44 diff.) is the 11" rear brake drums, backing plates, etc that came on Avantis and other disc-brake Studebakers from 1963-up.

--Dwight

[Dwight FitzSimons]

A couple more things that are different: (1) The parking brake connects to the Avanti's backing plates differently on the 11" rear brakes, requiring a rear parking brake cable from an Avanti.  That connection is different from any other Studebaker car 9" or 10" rear brakes.  Those should be available from some of the Studebaker vendors.  (2) The U bolts are narrower on the Dana 27 diff. than on the Dana 44.  Thus, the bottom plate will be different.  Ideally, you might try to find a Dana 44 diff and brakes from a late 65 or 1966 Studebaker.  That would give you flanged axles, a safety issue.

--Dwight

[studegary]

I also believe that you will need a different length drive shaft.

[mfg]

Odd someone would swap a model 27 rear axle into a Stude Avanti,...... but any port in a storm I guess!

Yes, the backing plates and drums are interchangeable between the 27 and 44....however, if you still have the factory Bendix discs up front, they are not compatible with the self-energizing rear drums which probably came on the model 27 axle.

In my humble opinion, you should seek out someone parting a '78-'85 Avanti ll and purchase the complete rear axle assy....it would have rear drums compatible with discs up front (you'd need to add proportioning valve to system) and it would also have flanged rear axle shafts......much superior to the original '63 Avanti tapered 'keyed' axles.

A stock '63-'64 Avanti driveshaft (or 109" wheelbase Lark driveshaft), either 4 speed or auto depending on what trans your Avanti has, would fit perfectly......Good luck!....Ed

 

 

 

[studegary]

10 hours ago, mfg said:

Odd someone would swap a model 27 rear axle into a Stude Avanti,...... but any port in a storm I guess!

Yes, the backing plates and drums are interchangeable between the 27 and 44....however, if you still have the factory Bendix discs up front, they are not compatible with the self-energizing rear drums which probably came on the model 27 axle.

In my humble opinion, you should seek out someone parting a '78-'85 Avanti ll and purchase the complete rear axle assy....it would have rear drums compatible with discs up front (you'd need to add proportioning valve to system) and it would also have flanged rear axle shafts......much superior to the original '63 Avanti tapered 'keyed' axles.

A stock '63-'64 Avanti driveshaft (or 109" wheelbase Lark driveshaft), either 4 speed or auto depending on what trans your Avanti has, would fit perfectly......Good luck!....Ed

 

 

 

I would think that the driveshaft would have to be from an Avanti or a Lark type that originally had a 44 axle, not from most Lark types with a 27 axle. 

[mfg]

6 hours ago, studegary said:

I would think that the driveshaft would have to be from an Avanti or a Lark type that originally had a 44 axle, not from most Lark types with a 27 axle. 

Yes Gary, the driveshaft would naturally have to be from a 109" wheelbase Lark equipped with a 44 rear end...a driveshaft from a 109" wheelbase Lark equipped with a 27 rear end would be approx. 2 1/2" too long!

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