MGB Disk Wheel, Banjo Diff Axles

So a guy calls me a few weeks back and needs a set of MGB axles for a banjo-type diff. I've got 30 of them so I pull a set and away they go. He called me today to tell me that one is 24.75" long and the other is almost 25.5" long. I want to get the guy what he needs so I called Kent Prather and he tells me that all MGB axles for disk wheels cars with banjo rear ends should be the same and he measured one that he had there and it was about 25.25" long. I went down to my shop and started measuring. I've got some that are under 25" and one that's just short of 26". The 3 brand new ones I have all measure about 25.4". Now I know none of these are late MGA because even though both the late MGA and the MGB have 25 spline axles, the axle flange on an MGA is drilled for 7/16" wheel studs and the MGB is drilled for 1/2" wheel studs. So, does anyone know if there was that much variability? Thanks. Basil

well, there must have been. no?

you know Butch Gilbert? give him a call. or Joe Huffaker.

Basil,

When you get stumped on an MG question... well, it scares me!

I went down and measured the two sets of B axel's I have and they were all within a 1/16 at 24 & 13/16 from the inside of the drive flange to the end on the axel.

Eyeballing the OD measurement put it at about 25.25 overall length.

Steve

Seems like a lot of variation, but if the inner splines don't bottom in the axle gear and the shaft doesn't hit the cross pin for the spider gears then I don't think it would make too much difference as long as with the shorter axles there was sufficient spline engagement in the axle gears. With the number of different rear axle widths BMC was building in thoses years for all the different chassis this axle type was used in there was probably a lot of varients that could have been mixed over the years.