i heard rumor that a 69- 72 camaro and nova rearend will bolt right up in a 49-53 chevy is that tru i just got car and found rearend and was wondering before i bought it. thanks
Before you do, look into the rear in some of the earlier blazers- I seem to remember an article that stated that they were a bolt in for the camaro/nova, and were better/stronger. If anyone can validate this info, it would be MUCH apprecitated (I'm scrounging for my '70 Nova- I know it's off topic, but thought I'd sneak it in since the can of worms was opened)!
I put a 76 Nova (same as 69-72) 10 bolt in my 54 210. Had to cut off the old spring pads on the nova axle, Weld on new generic spring pads in the right location and angle. This does away with that swing-pin thing on the torque tube rear mounting. New 3 inch u-bolts, hook up the brakes, hook up the park brake cables to the cross lever. put the driveshaft from the Nova in, right lenght! And this allows you to center the rear wheel to the wheel opening by moving the axle on the spring. It's like an inch or 1-1/2 on the 54. Might have also bought lower spring mount plates with shock eyes. used 2 inch lowering blocks, too, without them it was too 60's I did it to get rid of the torque tube cause the pglide died and I wanted to put a 4 speed in it anyway. Frank
Most people just drill a new hole in the pad for the locator pin on the spring if they're keeping the original springs. Or you can make/use lowering blocks that offset the hole in the bottom and center it on the top. 75-79 Nova/Ventura/Skylark/Omega, 70-81 Camaro/Firebird, 55-57 Chevy and 82-up S10/S15/Sonoma 4x4 (not 2-wheel drive) all will fit 49-54 Chevy, and fit back to '46 if not older. 67-69 Camaro fit too, but they don't exactly grow on trees. I've never been able to find out what the width is on the 68-74 Nova and clones, if they fit as well, but they have to be close. Fatman sells a kit that includes lowering blocks with the offset, U-bolts, bottom plates with shock mounts, a swaybar and I think shocks too for around $300; Walton sells a kit that includes new springs and perches for around $500. If you're going to drive hard, new springs or traction bars are a must, the original springs are designed around the torque tube setup and you'll get wheel hop with hard acceleration.
I'm still using the stock springs. I have added a sway bar back there to help cornering. I have no problems with wheel hop with this. And this year was drag racing with no problems. Maybe with a v-8 there might be a problem. Just dump the clutch at 5000 and shift at 6. Frank
67-69 camaro is 1" narrower than 70-81 camaro. both can be used but i dont see them bolting in without triming off the brackets and welding on new perches. the rear need to be slid back around 1 1/2 " or so to line up in the wheel well, these are plenty strong for most uses.the 68-74 nova is same width as 67-69 camaro and 75-78 nova same a late camaro. internet info is no substitue for a tape measure.
I have a '79 camaro rear in my '53 wagon. I had to cut off the brackets and weld on new spring perches.
I used a 79 camaro rear end in one of my cars and it was a little tight for fender skirts. If you run fender skirts you want the nova or 67-69 camaro rear end. I have also heard that S10 rear ends are the same width but I havent checked that out yet. Just remember to measure the rear end from backing plate to backing plate and check it against what you have before you buy.
I have a late model camero rear end under the 54. Don't know what year as it was in the car when I bought it. My car still had the leaf springs when I bought it and the rear end has the stock spring pads. I could get the numbers off it if anyone can determine the year from it.
The aftermarket spring pad/perch you need is a Moroso 85090 Most places that carry speed goodies can get them. They are around 20.00 a pair. A google search will show a long list of vendors. You do have to drill the offset holes that matches the offset between the centerline of the original axle and the hole in the swivel pad that attaches to it. from experience it's easier to measure and drill them before you weld the pads to the axle. Remember to get the pinion angle correct when you set it up. The Omega, Ventura and Buick clone should be the same as the Nova.
That's why guys drill a new locating hole in the perch about 1 1/2" from the existing one, and over some, so it fits right on there. Presto, bolt-in. I'll list these out again: 55-57 Chevy 67-69 Camaro, Firebird 70-81 Camaro, Firebird 75-79 Nova, Ventura, Skylark, Apollo 82-99 S10, S15, Sonoma 4x4 only. May work: 68-74 Nova, Ventura, Apollo, Skylark (I think the latter three models didn't exist until 1971-72). All fit or are close, widths vary, some make wide tires and skirts a tight fit, others don't. Perches may not line up 100% to the spring but guys have run them offset without issue. Lowering blocks can also be made up/adjusted to compensate for the locating pin difference. S10 2WD is too narrow for the fenderwells, it's 4" narrower than the 4x4 rearend. Any other questions you can't find in search here., www.chevytalk.org has a 49-54 forum with a sticky tech post on late rearend swaps.
58-64 car can be used also. They are the same width as the 55-57. You just need to cut off a couple brackets and buy a set of those perches that have been talked about.
I believe all of the mentioned cars for donor rear have 5X4.5 bolt patern? Has anyone used a caddy rear from the seventies to get a 5X5? I would like to keep my factory 5X5 poncho wheels. Thanks! Chris
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