Projects 50 Deluxe rear end swap

According to the guy selling the rear end, it came from a 56 V8 truck that got an Art Morrison chassis.

 

is it a car or truck rear? 5 or 6 lug? you probably don't want a 6 lug truck rear...it's about the right width, but not really suited to a car that new. But a decent swap into a 48 or older Chevy car, that wants open driveline and original wheels.

 

The 8.8 is far from traditional but a good choice.
You can still find Exploders at the local wrecking yard.
They come with disc brakes & a person can usually find a posi unit, some with 3:73.
Just as strong as a 12 bolt.
How about a Maverick or Comet 8"(still not traditional)?
If you aren't throwing gobs of torque at it or street racing, it's a pretty stout diff that is probably close to the width you are looking for.

 

Well, it's a 6 lug truck rear. :-( I thought from the pics in the ad it was a 5 lug, oops. Wasn't expensive but still...
Can a 6 lug axle housing be retrofitted with 5 lug axles? I was going to swap in a posi anyway. Anyone with any experience here, please jump in, thanks.

 

that rear is not what you want for that car...sorry. it's all bigger than the 55-57 car stuff.

 

Everything I've found in my research has pointed me to using a 4x4 S10 Blazer rear end for these cars; they're the correct width, readily available, cheap, and lots of different ratio choices.

 

Gear ratios for the 55-59 truck rearend are limited.Your going to find its in the 3:90-4:11 range.Unlike the car which uses a press on bearing the truck uses the axle as the inner race so the axles are wear items.65 year old axles in a truck will have wear so its worth checking.

 

Any of these have the 5x4.5 bolt pattern, not the 5x4.75 that will match the front of the car.
Also not like Maverick and Comet rearends are common in the junkyards anymore. Those are a great choice for 49-51 Shoebox Fords, but that doesn't help the OP's question. I also think the narrow Maverick/Comet is too narrow for the 49-54 Chevy chassis, they need something around 59-60 inches. Maverick/Comet are like 56.5 range.

 

Why do you insist on GM parts? Drill a new wheel bolt pattern and be done with it.

Sent from my SM-T350 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Since early Camaro rears are getting harder to find , maybe I should stay a hoarder?

 

I stand corrected.

 

Ahh crap. I know you're all correct and this was a bad purchase. Anyone in the PNW need a 56 truck rear?

The S-10 rears are more plentiful around here than the explorer rears for some reason and they're not expensive. Are all 4x4 S10 rears posi (lsd)? If not, how do you tell which are? The truck yards here were surprisingly unhelpful with that question.

 

don't get too hung up on getting a posi, eh? Unless there's some strange thing you have planned to do with the car, that we don't know about?

 

I suppose, and no, nothing radical planned, just a lot of poor weather that this car will likely see some of and I prefer to have the added traction. Plus, throttle steering can be fun. You're right though, shouldn't get hung up. Unless I'm sliding around, will probably never notice the difference.

 

Russ much has been said on the 8.8. They are under more than just Fords. Drums and discs gears up to 2.74 are in them and post’s too. Mine had all the useless parts cut off including a part of the main housing and a yoke is available instead of the plate that’s on some of them. Mine has F-150 11” drum brakes and I changed the wheel cylinders to a smaller size since I don’t have power but 4piston discs up front.

 

Almost none that you will find around my neck of the woods are posi or 8.5". Posi was not super necessary (to GM) in that truck. There are three widths of S-10 rears, so take a tape and some straight edges and verify. The 2wd is roughly 56", regular 4x4 roughly 60", ZR-2 4x4 roughly 64".

Bottom line is if you are salvage yard scrounging, you'll find mostly S-10 and Explorer from the list above, and you'll have to do your own research and hunting, as the yard guys don't want to leave the AC. The rest of the suggestions are pushing 50+ years old at this point, and harder to source from a yard by a lot.

If you really, really want posi/disk, buy the Explorer and get a drill guide and drill the lug pattern. Best bang for the buck. By the time you get a GM rear that ticks all the boxes you want, you'll be into it for much more cash.

https://www.hellsgatehotrods.com/product-category/drill-guides/

These guys bought out Rotten Leonard's business, and are making the same guides. I have participated in drilling axles with one, and they work well. Not super fast, but reasonable for what they do. A machine shop might drill for the same bucks... depends on the locale.

With all of this said... my 51 has a 3:42 S-10 7.5" one wheel peel in it. I've played with a few S-10 V8 trucks, and the 7.5 will work fine if you don't throw a ton of torque at it, and/or don't drive it like you stole it all the time. Drag racing and side steppin a pedal.. nope. Banging around town or just cruising.... sure.

I have $100 in mine. I can break a few.