Quote:
Originally Posted by peterpjb
did SAI change the racing T10-L from long tail shaft to short tail shaft due to problems with the power train or was it the other way round?
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Never heard a question like this before. The tail shaft length (or any external dimensions) for all production Cobras was the same as 1962-64 Ford Galaxie sedan with a 260/289 engine and Borg Warner T-10 transmission. Ford used a variety of “lengths” of transmissions/tail shafts and locations of shifting mechanisms. Only the Galaxie version of geometry was used.
The strength problem suffered in Cobras was that the aluminum tail shaft case was somewhat fragile for some drivers. One can find interviews with Shelby American mechanics dating back to 1964 talking about the problem. It has been published that some drivers didn’t have habitual transmission problems and others had frequent failures.
Some Shelby works team cars, not all, got the tail shaft housings replaced with a cast iron one. From the May 31, 1965 Shelby American parts book, “C2AZ 7039 C Transmission-Housing For Tail Shaft BWT-10-B7 Strong Competition Warner Gear Ea 36.63 35.64”. In later years the Shelby American parts department offered complete replacement transmissions with aluminum main cases and iron tail cases for Cobras.