[Bob Bidonde]

For those of you who believe that the tapers transmit torque, try driving your Model "A" with both shear keys removed. The only way a taper transmits torque is via friction. Talk to someone who was driving a Model "A" when a shear key failed. I will bet that you will hear the axle spun in the drum. When a shear key fails, no torque is transmitted while accelerating or braking. By the way, if the tapers on your axles have groves in them, that's evidence that the drum did spin on the axle.