Rear Axle year?

[Johnny_Lamebridge]

Hi guys. I'm a little confused regarding the year of rear axle in my '63. The housing has an "ear" or "lug" cast into the centre section, that accepts a tapered bolt to mount the Panhard Bar. The ear is toward the right (passenger) side of the casting.

The posts I've read here lead me to believe that the rear axle is a '65 to '72. It still has the 6-lug axles, so i think that narrows it down to '65 to '70. Can anyone confirm that please.

I looked for stamping on the axle tube, and I found HA 01 11, which I take to mean 3.73:1, January 11th.

Is there any way to determine the year? Will it even matter... are they identical from thru that range of years?

Thanks in advance.

[OldChevy61]

Look for the casting no on the rear of the differential housing. That will get you close.

[1963c-10]

The code HA dates it for you. 1965 rear end 3.73 non posi and as you mentioned above 01 11 = Jan 11

Only difference with the rear ends is the 63-early 64's were 17 spline axle. Switching to 30 spline in late 64. And the panhard bar mount location changed as you mentioned.

[Johnny_Lamebridge]

OldChevy61,
Checking the casting date was a good tip. I should've thought of that.

1963c-10,
That was then info I needed. For some reason I though "HA" was used in other years as well as 1965. In guess I should be pleased that I don't have a '63 axle, as I would imagine replacement parts would be hard to come by with the odd spline-count... I'd like to put a posi in some day.

Thanks Guys!

[1963c-10]

Originally Posted by Johnny_Lamebridge

OldChevy61,
Checking the casting date was a good tip. I should've thought of that.

1963c-10,
That was then info I needed. For some reason I though "HA" was used in other years as well as 1965. In guess I should be pleased that I don't have a '63 axle, as I would imagine replacement parts would be hard to come by with the odd spline-count... I'd like to put a posi in some day.

Thanks Guys!

Just the axles are hard to find. No one sells new 17 spline axles that I've found, so normally its a donar part. The gears, seals and bearings are all the same. Most guys just swap to 30 spline to convert a 63-64 to a posi.

I got lucky enough after a few years to find a NOS unit for my 63.

Glad you got the info you needed!!