Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

I am just wondering if the 1/2 ton C10s with short beds ever came with two piece driveshafts, or will I be looking for a Unicorn?

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

Yes. I had a 67 step side that had one and my 70 that I have now. So not quite a unicorn.

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

My 67 short bed is a two piece as well. My 70 model years ago was a one piece. If I ever swap to an automatic transmission I may go back with a one piece.

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

My 71 had a 2 piece. Original 250 6cyl with 3 OTT.

Smitty

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

My '71 short Fleet side with the 307 and 3ott had a 2 piece. But when I went 350 with the 700 I went to the one piece.

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

thank you all so much for your feedback I picked up a long bed two piece driveshaft today after learning that they all are the same length from the center bearing support to the rear axle, that will work for me as I am mating it with a Lexus GS450h transmission so I will need to have the front cut and a three bolt flange welded on anyway

got this from a super nice guy named Chris is Westley California for $150 (ish) bucks, the price went down the more things I put in my little to buy pile, ha ha

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

I also learned how there are two types of drive shafts a skinny one (the size of your wrist) with a flimsly center support bracket and a heftier one with a stronger middle bracket like this one (I got this off of a 3/4 ton long bed) also from Chris in Westley California for $80 (ish) bucks (price adjusted the more suffs I bought) Chris is a great guy

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

I don't mean to brag but I am a bit of a third degree rust belt Ninja with the wire wheel

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

and 17 minutes later...

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

let's not forget the doo dad, bird poop and all

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

now it's ready for the media blasting cabinet and later DIY powder coating

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

My 70 SHORT Box had a 2 piece. Original 250 6cyl with 3 on the tree.

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

Wore those bristles down a bit, did ya? Looks great.

I'd like to ask anyone giving 2pc SWB driveshaft info to include the engine and transmission the truck came with. I'm unclear on the rhyme and reason for 1pc vs 2pc driveshafts. It looks like 6cyl/3spd SWBs came with 2pc

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

I hear ya, here's an actual photo of the General's process for determining which truck gets which driveshaft:

hope this helps,

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

I've been expecting this post.

My response:

So - not only could we manipulate one pc vs two pc based on material selection, but the program team might even speed limit a vehicle (via pulling fuel or ignition) to limit top speed to allow a one piece configuration.

K

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

Tim - if you EVER have any questions on any of this engineering stuff I am happy to answer them for you.

K

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

Ha! I am an artiste with a die grinder.

We could make beautiful music together.

K

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

thank you sir,wonderful information that makes perfect sense once you explain it.

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

Folks, Mr. Keith Seymore is a treasure trove of valuable information, he has helped me many a times with my '74 squarebody build, we must cherish him at all costs (and perhaps clone him) thank you sir!

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

I owned a 67 shortbed that came from the factory with a one-piece driveshaft. It had a 250 engine, a 3OTT transmission and an overdrive unit. It also had 4.10 gears. The gears and overdrive were listed on the SPID. There was no center support bracket on the crossmember.

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

My '71 K10 had a one piece even with a 4" lift and 33" tires, 3.73 gears and Limited Slip. I only replaced the U-joints once in 226,000 hard miles.

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

As an example, my employer bought a large number of mid-2000's Silverado 4X2 2500HD's with 6.0L/4L80E powertrains. One year they all had fixed yoke transmissions with 2 piece steel driveshafts and a center support bearing. Next year they had slip-yoke transmission output shaft with a large diameter one piece aluminum driveshaft. I believe the trucks were spec'ed identically, in fact they may have been a continuation of the same order.

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

'67 Chevy C-10; 283/PG/12-bolt Rear: 2 pc w/ small carrier bearing.

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

My 67 SWB 327 with a three speed 2 piece originally..

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

I had a 72 SB GMC Sierra Grande with a 350/350 drivetrain. It had a two piece. The carrier bearing mount broke and I had it welded….. twice. After it broke the third time I replaced it with a single driveshaft out of a early 70’s chevelle, if I recall correctly. It was a exact fit. Never had another issue with it.

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

Keith that's an awesome offer. I wish I had a list made up already :cool:

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

There is at least one more carrier bearing as well, the “Heavy Duty” which is in the triangular shaped clamshell. That’s what is on my ‘69 short step which is 307/TH350 powered and 3.07 gears. Obviously a two piece since it has the carrier bearing.

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

thanks, would you have a pic to share with us please and thank you

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

I dont think the SWB K (4x4) trucks had two piece shafts. Im not sure any of the K/10's or K/20's had two piece shafts. Both my 72 C/10's have the two piece shafts with the tear drop carrier bearings. Something I didn't realize until last Thursday is, those tear drop or light duty carrier bearings are mounted in rubber designed to move forward and backward with the vertical movement of the rear axle. I was going to have the driveshaft shop install a $108 dollar billet aluminum carrier bearing and the tech said that would be fine but a slip joint would have to be installed in the rear half of the shaft. Those billet carrier bearings are molded in polyurethane that is bonded to the aluminum, they wont give or flex at all which leads to premature wear on the carrier bearing and pinion components.
That two piece shaft Gregski showed has the slip joint already in it. The shaft assembly I took in was out of a 3/4 ton C/20 that had a 400TH Trans and a Dana 60 rear axle, yet it too had the tear drop carrier bearing. It did have a 3-1/2" diameter rear half shaft with a 1310 yoke on the front and a 1350 yoke on the rear. I had to have the front shaft shortened 1", 1350 yokes welded on both shafts and a new bone stock carrier bearing installed so he could balance the whole assembly.

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

Mine certainly does have a 2 piece. See my sig for the other particulars.

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

I've never had a 4wd with a 2pc driveshaft, long, short, 1/2t, 3/4t, 3sp, 4spd, auto

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

I also do "abandoned factory" driving tours in Detroit and the surrounding burbs, if you are ever in the area.

K

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

Here is the link to the thread where I R&R’d the bearing.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=656307

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

A driveshaft with a slip joint in the middle is NOT a two piece driveshaft as referred to here. A two piece driveshaft has 3 u-joints and is supported by a carrier bearing in the middle.

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

can someone confirm that indeed the long bed trucks and the short bed trucks that had a two piece drive shaft the longer shaft was the same length, the longer being the one going from the center trailing arm support bracket (where the center bearing mounts to) to the rear axle

I just bought one from supposedly a long bed truck and that section is about a foot too long on my '71 short bed

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

No; they are all different.

Probably a dozen front shaft part numbers, and maybe two dozen rear shaft part numbers.

Have you seen the brake charts that I refer to from time to time?

There are propshaft charts like that, too. I asked the engineer for a copy of the charts and he said he would supply them, but never came through.

K

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

The carrier bearings mount mostly in the same place depending on which of the 3 (more?) styles you get. But rear shafts will be different depending on wheelbase and rear diff. And in the front, it depends on which transmission you have and which engine combination. So as described above, there are lots of combinations of front/rear lengths. And u-joint size for that matter. 1310/1330/1350.

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

Which mine has: 3 u-joints and and a carrier bearing. Please don"t try to tell me what is under my truck. I've had it off and apart for u-joint replacement, all three of them.

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

so you're saying there's a chance, lol

on a serious note I love learning about this stuff even if it costs me a few Benjamins to do so, my mentality is: Education Costs, plus I never had any issues selling used / unwanted drive shafts as our local Pick N Pull gals love to destroy them with their fork lifts as they play junk yard tetris with them cars and trucks

Re: Did the 1/2 ton short beds come with a two piece driveshaft?
 

I keep a collection of driveshafts. You can always make them longer or shorter... if you have one