stupid for not taking a picture.
what i saw was at an estate sale.
it was a 9 inch ford rear axle, very narrow. like 3" long axle tubes between center section and housing ends narrow. tiny maybe 5" diameter disc brakes mounted inboard of the wheel hubs. here's the huge kicker. it had a large electric motor mounted above and slightly offset to the right(automotive right, not staring at the pinion right). it was connected to the differential via some sort of covered up mechanism that i could not see into, and had no traditional pinion shaft yoke. the motor was probably 16" long and about 10" diameter. It also had half leaf springs - cut behind the axle to act more as locators than suspension. everything looked like a factory job.
the son of the deceased said he believed it came from a cushman something or other, and his father intended to put it into something tiny like a crosley.
does anyone have any knowledge on what i saw? the fact that it was coupled to a 9" ford leads me to believe i could go back when they have their sale again to snag it, and then the center section with electric motor could be mounted to any 9" housing to create an electric drive for any vehicle, and that it might be excellent to power something of a hybrid with an electric rear axle and FWD gas engine, kinda the opposite of bryce's fiero. or it might be too wimpy to move anything with any weight?
either way they closed at 4 and i'll have to keep an eye on craigslist for their next sale. they are asking $100 but seemed receptive to offers on everything. I brought home a complete lincoln versailles 9" disc brake rear axle for $35
