Driveshaft 65 question!

You can buy just the boot on ebay ~$40. You have to take the "ball & trunnion" apart and work the boot over the pin, unless you press the pin out. I haven't done it, only read the story. Some people report using a 2-piece VW driveshaft boot repair. I would do that if the internals are OK, especially if still on the car.

You didn't ask, but I'll rant. You can get the whole rebuild kit for ~$170 on ebay. I am much too cheap. I bought 2 kits on ebay for ~$100 ea, and later got one for $68, so am set for life on my 2 early-A's. I was tempted to buy another just to flip on you guys, but it was gone a few months later. BTW, I have a whole driveshaft w/ nice joint from a 64 Belvedere (larger than our A's, 4"D I recall). It was sitting in the car at PickNPull, so an easy pick. I could probably make an adapter to bolt it up, plus have a shop shorten it, then have a stronger driveshaft.

These joints are not extremely rare. The same size joint was used in 67-81 Jeeps w/ standard shift, 67-70 Dodge A100 trucks and A108 vans. Jeep guys pioneered the custom swap to a standard U-joint + sliding joint years ago, which 65cudalover and others did. You can read up on Jeep sites. Below are some PN's. I bought the GMB one last on ebay and compared it to the Detroit kits. Looks identical, other than no "Detroit" stamp on the sheet-metal cover, which one can't see installed anyway. Most PN's are no longer in stock, but do pop up occasionally on ebay, so search when you can:

NORS R67 universal joint repair package for most 1963 to 1965 A-body models with 3.625" diameter, 3.750" long ball & trunion (Detroit) style driveshaft. Includes main housing, all internal parts, boot, clamps, etc.

Detroit R-65
UJ AD6500R
Spicer 5-1406X or 5-1407X
Precision 207R or 217R
GMB 210-1407
Neapco 7-4267, 7-4268, D-4267R, or D-4267XR
Borg-Warner 114-67AR
A.E.C. AE-67AR
Alloy JR67A
Lempco U455R
Pilot C6700AR
Republic AD-6700AR
TRW 20122
Wesc D67A
Zeller MR-67A