If you’ve been following the progress of Project Payback, our Pro Touring 1968 Pontiac GTO, then you know it was not meant to be left behind in any capacity. We’re leaving nothing to chance, including the driveline where we had installed a Chevrolet Performance T-56 Magnum on one end of our Schwartz chassis, which has a Moser 9-inch on the other end. It seemed the only logical way to connect the two on this high-revving, stick-shift beast was with a carbon fiber driveshaft. QA1’s REV Series Custom Driveshafts immediately came to mind.
If you haven’t been following the build thread, the car (and its owner – that’s me) have relocated to North Carolina. Before it left California, Best of Show completed the install of the fiberglass hood and decklid along with the billet hinges and hood pins to mount them. Then it was hauled off on a transport for the east coast, headed directly to Innovation Performance Technologies in Aberdeen, NC. IPT has taken stock of the condition of the car, and with new leadership and direction behind it – there will be changes. Stay tuned to the build thread and to @ProjectPaybackGTO on Instagram, so you don’t miss anything!
Carbon Fiber is a Gearhead’s Gold
Years ago, I was fortunate enough to attend QA1’s open house ahead of the Street Machine Nationals in Minnesota, and I was immediately impressed with the manufacturing process on its carbon fiber driveshafts. QA1 winds the carbon fiber in-house using 3M Matrix Resin, which is a key part of creating a driveshaft which is both lighter and stronger than steel or aluminum. CNC-machined forged chromoly yokes and U-joints made of high-strength alloy (1350 in our case) can be found at either end, which are glued with a proprietary 11-step bonding procedure. A great deal of time in development was spent on this step, working hand-in-hand with 3M’s Aerospace and Technology division to develop a procedure similar to what’s used in passenger jet manufacturing.
Each QA1 carbon fiber driveshaft is harmonic and torsion tested as well as dynamically precision balanced. Rather than adding weights, QA1 mills the flange and has a few other small adjustments (like shims) to bring it into balance. For peace of mind, it is also serialized and for $35 extra it is SFI certified.
“QA1 is one of the few driveshaft manufacturers that wind their own tubes, setting us apart from the competition,” stated Marketing Manager Dave Kass. “Instead of sourcing from a commercial…
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