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whitedog76 · 02-04-2014, 01:40 PM

I have a 14B FF that I'm planning on mounting under my 54 3600 truck. I gave up trying to find a 4.11 gearset for the HO52, so I bought a 14B. My 14 is from a SRW truck, which is 67" wide. I knew I needed the DRW hubs to make it work, so I bought a housing that had been gutted, but still had the hubs. My original plans were to keep the factory style drum brakes. I found some 5.2" deep drums that would work from a van.

Well, one day when I was at the junk-yard I spotted an Express 2500 van with rear discs. I figured, "This could work." So, a couple months later I saw a rearend from an 03 van up for sale, anyway I bought it. The rearend was a D60 semi-floater. It had all the necessarry hardware, but to my dismay, the flange was different front the 14b. I wasn't too worried, there's plenty of shops that can fabricate them.

The Hubs and rotors.

The rotors won't slip over the early hubs, meaning they need mounted from the back, just like the drums. See here- http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/wh...97856697396817
http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/wh...97856697396817

I didn't like this arrangement for two reasons, 1- it puts everything really far inboard. 2- the flange isn't in a good spot.

So, I got to thinking. Why not the Eaton hubs? The Eaton spindles shafts are about .060 larger than the 14B, meaning I'll need different bearings. The rotor slides over quite nice and provides plenty of clearance before I get into the old flange. With the rotors installed the rearend will have somewhere around a 65" WMS, which is acceptable for my application. I need to have a flange made and weld it on. I'll have to get larger studs or use the tapered centering bolts from the Eaton hubs.

http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/wh...47396257023324
http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/wh...47396257023324

What I din't know in the beginning is that the brackets are availible from GM and aren't that expensive. Plus it's alot easier than pulling parts from a junk yard rearend. You can get new backing plates, hardware, and shoes from your local parts store also.

http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/wh...47396257023324

http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/wh...47396257023324

Bearings

14B axle- HO52 hubs

Inner- 382 Race (same as oem HO52/72)

Inner 387, 387A, 387AS, or 387S Tapered roller bearing (Same as the 14B)

Outer 362 Race
Outer 368, 368A, 370A Tapererd roller bearing

FYI- you can use he same brackets to convert your early trucks with the Eaton to Discs also.

02-04-2014, 01:40 PM	#70
whitedog76 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Peoria, IL Posts: 1,450	Re: Eaton HO72/HO52 vs. 14 Bolt FF I have a 14B FF that I'm planning on mounting under my 54 3600 truck. I gave up trying to find a 4.11 gearset for the HO52, so I bought a 14B. My 14 is from a SRW truck, which is 67" wide. I knew I needed the DRW hubs to make it work, so I bought a housing that had been gutted, but still had the hubs. My original plans were to keep the factory style drum brakes. I found some 5.2" deep drums that would work from a van. Well, one day when I was at the junk-yard I spotted an Express 2500 van with rear discs. I figured, "This could work." So, a couple months later I saw a rearend from an 03 van up for sale, anyway I bought it. The rearend was a D60 semi-floater. It had all the necessarry hardware, but to my dismay, the flange was different front the 14b. I wasn't too worried, there's plenty of shops that can fabricate them. The Hubs and rotors. The rotors won't slip over the early hubs, meaning they need mounted from the back, just like the drums. See here- http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/wh...97856697396817 http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/wh...97856697396817 I didn't like this arrangement for two reasons, 1- it puts everything really far inboard. 2- the flange isn't in a good spot. So, I got to thinking. Why not the Eaton hubs? The Eaton spindles shafts are about .060 larger than the 14B, meaning I'll need different bearings. The rotor slides over quite nice and provides plenty of clearance before I get into the old flange. With the rotors installed the rearend will have somewhere around a 65" WMS, which is acceptable for my application. I need to have a flange made and weld it on. I'll have to get larger studs or use the tapered centering bolts from the Eaton hubs. http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/wh...47396257023324 http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/wh...47396257023324 What I din't know in the beginning is that the brackets are availible from GM and aren't that expensive. Plus it's alot easier than pulling parts from a junk yard rearend. You can get new backing plates, hardware, and shoes from your local parts store also. http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/wh...47396257023324 http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/wh...47396257023324 Bearings 14B axle- HO52 hubs Inner- 382 Race (same as oem HO52/72) Inner 387, 387A, 387AS, or 387S Tapered roller bearing (Same as the 14B) Outer 362 Race Outer 368, 368A, 370A Tapererd roller bearing FYI- you can use he same brackets to convert your early trucks with the Eaton to Discs also.