Any idea on what this is, I have yet to get under the car, but well here...
What uses a 2 pinion design?

I happen to own one, I just want to know if its worth a dime before I go try to rip it out of the car...

http://chevy.tocmp.com/chevyresto/5025.htm

 

All I see is an old typewritten sheet, or maybe a chiseled stone tablet, for the rear end of a 1950 Chevrolet. I don't see 2 pinions anywhere. Now I already know i might be sofakingdom I can't count to 2 because I get stuck at 1 (after all, there's 3 kinds of people in the world: those that can count, and those that can't); but I'm having trouble figuring out what you mean, and what you'd like to know.

What are you trying to do?

 

it says 2 pinion under the differential subsection on the right hand side of the sheet. And it gives a brief descrption of the diff, I was hoping someone might recognize it. Or at least maybe know what diff's they used in the 50's. It got my attention cause it has 4.11's.. But the car is slowly sinking so I would have to pull it out to get the part, I was hoping someone had an idea..

 

Those "2 pinions" they talk about in there are INSIDE the differential. Those are the things we would ordinarily call "spider gears". As far as the design and construction, it's a very conventional and routine system, in fact the 9-bolt is all but identical in terms of design.

4.11s are nothing special. They're just gears. But back in those days, that's what it took for a 150whatever it was 6-cyl that didn't even have a pressurized oil system, instead it had the little "dippers" on the rods and the trough around the block, to actually move one of those cars. And of course it would hardly even go over 45 mph, at least not very many times or for very long. That motor was totally tached out at 3000 RPM.

I don't know how long you've been in this hobby; but I can tell you that that's the setup that was replaced by the "classic" rear starting in 55, in order to handle the high HP of the 194 6-cyl and the 265 V8. And of course we all know the "classic" 's well-deserved reputation for weakness. I've torn up a couple of those myself, and the biggest motor I ever used to do it with, was a 283. That old one is even weenier than the "classic".

I love the axle torque rating.... 629 ft-lbs.... with 37:9 gearing, that's 153 ft-lbs max at the drive shaft yoke. I don't think it's anything much worth rescuing, unless you know somebody with a 50 Chevy that needs one.

 

I guess your right.. I know what a pinion is, just I couldn;t think of very many respectable rear ends with a 2 pinion design.. I just had no idea what was in the cars from back then. Oh, a 9 bolt has 4 pinions..

You think the powerglide or engine is worth the salvage?

 

Powerglide? Motor? I don't think it came with a PG, IIRC it should have an early version of the Chevrolet 3-speed manual.

The motor should be either the old "dipper" type 6-cyl, or at best the 194. But I don't think the 194 was introduced until later, like 52 or 53. I can't remember for sure though. I also dont' think the PG was introduced until the mid 50s.

But regardless, no it's not really worth anything except as resto parts. None of it is anything remotely close to a go-fast or heavy-duty setup. I have no clue what the demand for such a thing might be, but maybe a glance through a Hemmings or some of the web sites for people who have those cars would reveal any value.

Virtually all rear ends have 2 spider gears. That's the one difference between that old rear there and the 9-bolt, is the extra spiders. The thing they have in common is pressed axle bearings as opposed to C-clips. But virtually all other car or light truck rears.... Dana30 44 & 60, GM 10- & 12-bolt, Ford 7.5" & 8.8" & 9", Chrysler 9¼", etc., have 2 spiders.... I don't know about what any "respectable" ones might have though.

 

I thought a 12 bolt had four or 6..

Anyway, the Powerglide came out in 1950.. This was the first year of the transmission. It had a 110hp I6 235cid engine.

 

Well, OK, whatever.... I'm not interested in arguing about a stroll down memory lane....

The bottom line remains the same. All in all, the whole drive train is not exactly the sort of thing that hot-rodders world-wide are drooling over. I'd recommend either putting ads in the Hemmings type zines, or on any of the street-rodder web sites' classifieds if they have any, or letting it continue to sink.