Technical 51 chevy coupe rear

i am looking to update the rear in my 51 chevy styleline coupe. i want to know what everyone else is using. what should i be looking for. i want to use a big tire and i want posi. any ideas will help me out.

 

I have a 55 Chevy car rear end in my 51 Fleetline. It's about 60" wide WMS to WMS. There are many options. Take a look at www.50chevy.com or do search here and, you should be able come up with what you are looking for.


Dustin

 

I have used a 78> 84 Malibu with good success. they are fairly plentiful and you just have to grind off all the coil spriing stuff and then use either the stock spring pads or a piece of U channel to lower it a bit more .

 

I am running a 76 nova rear end in my 52. I know of a few people putting S10 rear ends in 49 to 54 Chevys . But I am not sure if they are using 4X4 or two wheel drive rear ends . I do know that the 4X4 rear is wider then two wheel drive rear


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Put a 68 chevy nova 8.2 10 bolt , added 3.55 posi and stronger Yukon axles , fit like a glove with lots of room to use common wheel offerings. Also got a CE spring kit, their stuff fits perfectly . Good luck . 53 150 4 dr sedan . 60 inches wide

 

Just remember, no matter what rear end you use, you'll have to re-drill the spring pin locator hole forward 1 1/2 inches to center the wheels/tires in the wheelhouse/fender opening. I'm sure many guys have not done this, and it's probably not completely necessary. We used a 56 Chevrolet rear end in the nephews 51 Bus Coupe when we did the V-8 swap. Re-drilled the spring pin locating hole 1 1/2 inches forward, and 1/2 inch inward on each side. We have P295 R50 15's on the rear, and skinnies up front, mounted on Cragar S/S wheels, for a street gasser look; mild 350, built aluminum Powerglide with a 2500 RPM stall converter. The rear end is a Positraction with 4.88 gears, so it scoots The 68-79 Nova 8.2/8.5, and Camaro 67-81 8.2/8.5 rear ends are the only rear end I would use; the 7.5 rears are't strong enough for my needs, and I tend to stay away from the Ford/MOPAR stuff (just brand loyalty). I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

What Butch said about perch redrilling, both forward and inward. Stock rear is 60" wide. If S10 is used, it has to be a 4 x 4 rear.

 

Which CE kit did you buy? The 4" lowered springs or stock? Looks like the lowering springs but, I want to make sure the lowering springs aren't too low before I make my decision. Your help is greatly appreciated!


Dustin

 

If you are looking for a lowering spring, check POSIE'S.
They can make you a lowering spring, based on the open driveline rear end that you will use. Nice products from Posie.
P.S. Their springs use the stock Chevy spring hangers. No cutting out rivets to change hangers.

 

I used a G-body ['83 Olds Gutlass] axle under my 50. It worked with my American 8.5" wheels because they came with an 1.5" positive offset. I used 285/70R15s but needed to do some "massaging" of the inner wheelhoouses and had to flatten the lip of the wheelwells. It would still lightly rub with a full tank of gas, going around sharp corners or dips in the road.

 

Rocky, do you remember the rear end width? Those are monster tires and wheels! It looks killer!


Dustin

 

Never mind.... G body rear is 58" wide. Were the wheels special order?


Dustin

 

I went with the stock CE springs & using blocks to get it lower . CE gave me good advice said once weight is back on car their stock springs will sit 1 to 1-1/2 lower than Oem stock so minimal block height necessary to drop it like I want & it's slightly stronger being 2-1/2 inch Oem camaro nova spring widths to help with spring wrap. The CE kit centers the axle housing perfectly in the wheel opening. Iwas looking to go n between stock and in the weeds overall going to be about 3 plus inch lower than original. 56sedandelivery brings up a good point about centering the housing. An old gm alignment man told me GM offset the right rear spring perch plate tie bolt location up to 1/8 of an inch to rearward on a lot of vehicles so it would track to the right instead of toward oncoming traffic. I usually put all new perch plates and center it up square with the world anyway. Carry on!

 

Excellent! Thank you for giving me the info I needed! To everyone else.... Sorry for high jacking the thread.


Dustin

 

thanks everyone. thanks for all the great info. i will let you guys know what i use.

 

I'm running a 1988 s-10 Blazer 4x4 rear in my '53. It's 59 1/2 inches wide and came with a 3:42 posi.