axle type (blumo)

[sigmfsk]

Here are some pics of the blumo axle:




from
bluesmobiles.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=information&action=display&thread=291


above two from
bluesmobiles.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=police&action=display&thread=255



That last pic of Steve Beshake's bluesmobile reference model "flip car". I'm still looking for info on that if anyone knows it's whereabouts:
bluesmobiles.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=information&action=display&thread=439
The model seems to provide sufficient reason to think that an 8 3/4 could be screen accurate.

But the actual cars on the screen likely had an axle that Monacos came with.

I don't think we've had any counterexamples, so as far as I know, this is the rule:

> > For a 74-77 c-body
> > 318,360,400 = 8.25
> > 440 = 9.25
> is entirely true, regardless of options. No matter what you special
> ordered, one needs only look at engine that was ultimately installed in
> the car as a result of all the options. 440 = 9.25. Any other engine
> means 8.25.

Read more: bluesmobiles.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=details&thread=678&page=1#4028#ixzz1sT1eSgvl

This Jim Post article
www.bluesmobile.net/JimPost.htm
says this about the screen blumos:
> Most were 360 small blocks, and only the jump cars had the 440s.

which sounds reasonable, but there's so much other stuff known wrong on that page it seems an unreliable source. Do we have another source for the jump cars being 440, or that the non-jump cars weren't 440s?

Spanks points out here:
bluesmobiles.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=gotopost&board=owners&thread=45&post=4201
that the Maxwell Street silhouette looks 8 1/4-ish.

And the axle cover does seem rounded vs. straight line octagonal like a 9 1/4. Compare to my Marin County 9 1/4 here:



against my 8 1/4 here:



but it seems that a 9 1/4 can look rounded if you look at it more closely / at a different angle. Here's my 9 1/4 at original resolution:




Here's Dave Weaver's blumo axle:


from
bluesmobiles.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=gotopost&board=police&thread=255&post=550

and close up


You can see a hint of a curve on the left side. But here's a better example:

Dave's Fire Chief Monaco:

from that same "rear sway bar" thread.

and close up



What's going on with that axle cover (it doesn't have a lip all the way around the perimeter). That seems non-stock, just like the sway-bar.

Here's a good reference pic:

from
bluesmobiles.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=gotopost&board=details&thread=678&post=4028

Dana 60's are out, but 8 1/4, 8 3/4 (due to reference model), 9 1/4 all seem reasonable screen accurate representations.

your friend in collating pics for comparison,
arthur

[spanks79]

I agree with your observations on this.

I think the argument can be made that some of those cars have a 9.25 in them. I stand by my observation that the Maxwell St shot looks 8.25 ish, but in some of those shots, like the jump car and slide shot the horizontal length of the bottom of the axle housing indicates a likely 9.25. We know there were different cars with different engines so having a mix of rear axles is likely based on what came in the car, and you and I both know (now, lol) that you had to have a 440 to get a 9.25.

I find it hard to believe that the prop house that built the cars took the time to make sure the jump cars had 440's and everything else had a 360. My guess is that the worked with what they had available to them in a given amount of time. I was thinking weight may be a reason for this but then I remembered a General Lee info site that said they filled the trunk with concrete on jump cars of it didn't nose down in the air.

I think we, as enthusiasts, like to think that lots of time and effort were put into these cars but in reality it was just someones job to fill an order.

[sigmfsk]

Apr 19, 2012 11:40:50 GMT -5 spanks79 said:

I stand by my observation that the Maxwell St shot looks 8.25 ish...

Hi Spanks:
Is it that it looks too curved on the left side, or something else?

I saw this shot of a 9 1/4

here
www.rodsnsods.co.uk/forum/tech-discussion/dodge-9-1-4-axle-question-37846

and I thought it did a good job of showing both the flat edged axle cover, as well as the rounded silhouette.

I placed it on top of the Maxwell Street pic, and it seems a good match. I used photoshop and adjusted the "blending" slider back and forth. I attach some pics:

1: maxwell
2: this 9 1/4
3: blended together


The left side of the cover, where it flattens out and would ruin the curved silhouette, is up above the bumper. I'm just experimenting and know that the pics aren't likely at the same angle or distance and that flat spot may not actually be hidden by the bumper in the movie, but it seems a close fit.

your friend in sliders,
arthur

[spanks79]

Your overlay picture makes a good point that it could be a 9.25. I guess my opinion is based on the curvature of the corners. The Maxwell St shot just looks more curved to me than the sharper geometric shape of the 9.25.

It does seem, however that the 8.25 has a continual curve to the bottom of the cover with little to no flat section.