coupe driveshaft setup

finally got an opportunity to check the driveline angles on my '55 coupe; I'm using pretty much all the driveline parts from a '63 C-K. I believe that I have all the correct mounts, spacers, etc. for the car. Here's my angles:

tailshaft of transmission, 9 degrees down

driveshaft, 4 degrees down (towards rear of car)

rear axle pinion, 4 degrees down

this means that I have an angle of 5 degrees through the front U-joint and *8* degrees through the rear one! Can this possibly be right? I thought that a good rule of thumb was to aim for an equal angle between 0 and 3 degrees at both ends.

I could try a thicker spacer between the trans. mount and bellhousing, and it's clear that I will have to rotate the pinion up significantly... I'm just curious if, say, a stock '63 Hawk would have similar angles, as I have not heard of an unusual problem with them vibrating badly or spitting U-joints on the ground.

nate

PS- I am guessing I'd get the best response posting to racingstudebakers, but I still am unable to post - just tried it again from Marsha's computer (I'm over at JP's working) and still get a 404 when I try to post there. can someone that can post please fwd. this message?

Ignore the driveshaft angle measurement. Couple questions...

1) Is the car setting on all fours? It should be. You can do this with jackstands if you set all four jackstands and set the rear end on two and the a-arms on two. The floor should be flat, but doesn't have to be perfectly level. What you want is the car setting at ride height with all the weight on the suspension.

If your trans is indeed nine degree's down, then the pinion should be nine degree's up. (A lot of guys take two degree's out (down) for spring wrap up, but that's drag racer stuff)...

The front angle should be zero'd out by the back angle. (and technically the side angle of the trans to the side angle of the pinion).

If your numbers are accurate, then the diff needs to be rotated up. Ignore the driveshaft angle. Hope the info helps. Jeff