orvettes were designed
for optimal performance,
and certain components
changed over time in order
to offer additional strength
or longevity. A great example of this is the
differential carrier mounting bracket, one
of many pieces in the 1963-’67 independent
rear suspension system that can fail and
cause a catastrophic chain of events. In
the case of this 1964 Corvette coupe, it’s
experienced 55 years of hard shifting and
the differential carrier mounting bracket
showed no signs of fatigue when we rebuilt
the rearend a few months ago. While the
car is no stranger to spirited driving, a par-
ticularly aggressive 1-2 shift resulted in a
“bang” and a few other bad noises.
What we found was a broken differential
carrier mounting bracket. The bolts pulled
through the bolt holes, allowing the entire
centersection to rotate upward under
power. This sent the pinion yoke into the
driveshaft tunnel, which could’ve been
disastrous had the throttle stayed down
a moment longer. Upon our findings, our
first instinct was to look for an aftermar-
ket bracket that is built with a bit more
support. That search came up empty, but
we did find a suitable factory part that isa direct bolt on. As it turns out, Chevrolet
upgraded the design of the differential car-
rier mounting bracket in 1968, first making
an appearance in Corvettes with automatic
transmissions. All 1969-’79 Corvettes had
the stronger bracket.
When we realized an original-style part
could solve our problem and get us back
on the road for less than $50, we called up
Corvette Central and ordered the 1969-
’79–style bracket and a new differential
mount cushion. We also had to get some
longer bolts to pass through the new,
thicker bracket. And while this bracket is
held in place with only four bolts (or threeBY TOMMY LEE BYRD (^) I PHOTOGRAPHY BY THE AUTHOR
Pinion Control
Replacing a broken differential carrier mounting bracket in a modified C2
[ TECH]
46 VETTE 19.11