Differential

The differential was wheeled outside and sandblasted to remove 50 years of dirt and rust. One of the side yoke seals failed at some point, so there was a lot of gunk to blast away.

These units were not painted by the factory, so they rusted before they ever made it to the dealerships, but this will be painted to look as though it is raw iron.

The three yokes will be removed after this is protected by that layer of paint. They will be restored with new shields while the housing will be given new oil seals along with a new LSD tag and fill plug.

The unit feels very tight, quiet and smooth with no play in the gears, simplifying the process of restoring this and making it ready to install back onto the car's frame.

The housing bears the casting date of Aug. 5, 1971, making this undoubtedly the original differential that came with this car.

Other markings indicate that this was cast at 9 p.m. by the second shift on that particular Thursday.