Anyone tell me where i can find gear sets for a '56 Chevy rearend? I looked in Summit, Jegs, Speedway and the internet. First i'd like to figure out what gears are in it. I haven't tried to figure out the ratio yet (raise car and spin tire and watch driveshaft...would that work?) I'd like to go with more cruiser-friendly gears. I believe the car came originally with a 265 Powerglide combo if that helps determining original gear ratio. The engine/tranny combo i have now is the 350/350 combo with a mild cam. If a real pain, what rearend would one suggest transplanting into it? Something like a simple 10-bolt out of what? I'm thinking something that already is set up for leaf spring suspension. Thank you. Brian
1st generation Camaro or Firebird would fall in place but you'd have to move the perches about 1 in. per side from what I can remember. There are many others that are the same width like early Bronco, some mustangs. I forget the site but if you do a search on rear end specs it might take you to the listing I found a few years ago. Good luck
The tri 5 rears are not strong. Not much hot rod application. The best 10 bolt if you can find it is out of a Buick Grand. The are 2" narrower then the camaro rear and you can put a wider rim in the back. Plus they are 3.44 posi-s.
stock 308 gears would work, if you dont drag race, just for street, i found them on ebay,the whole center carrer,just keep looking
3.08 gears work good with that set up but are getting a little scarce. In my location there is a drive line shop that can get the gears so I am sure there is the same set up available with a shop in your area. Not cheap though. Set up is critical. Later, Dick
Richmond can get you the rear end gears if you want them. Id suggest swapping in a Ford 9 in with that set up. Oh eay- I have a 56 Chevy if that helps- since 1981....
If the stock tag is still on the rear end, and assuming the gears haven't been changed, you can go here to determine the gear ratio http://www.lategreatchevy.com/dept.asp?dept_id=248&level=1 I've got a stock rear end in my '56 Nomad with original 3.70 gears, behind a mild 350 and an M-20 Muncie. I can smoke the tires in first, get rubber in all four gears, and beat it pretty hard, and it has yet to break anything. Unless you're drag racing with some serious horsepower with a chassis that really hooks up, you're not gonna have a problem. Trust me, 18 years and 250,000 miles on it. A '56 Powerglide car should have a 3.55 rear. The ID tag should be round with no notches cut out of it.
I have to disagree here. While I admit there are certainly stronger rears to be found, I don't think there is anything wrong with the stock rear for many applications. The stock rear is still in my '56 and that car has certainly had its durability tested. My father originally bought the car in the early 70's with 1 intent... to race. It started simply enough with a hopped up 265, there were then several 327s and 350s including 3 .060 over 12.5:1 327s, and I believe a 402 at one point as well. The rearend in this car has never had need to be repaired.
55Chevr, I'm in total agreement here. IF you're not beating it, it will be plenty strong for anything the street throws at it. Go to BruneausPerformance.Ca, find the section on rear ends. He has done some amazing work on these rears to make them live. Sure, anything can be broken. I ran a 325 hp 396 cid, Muncie 4-speed, 5.38 Posi rear, on the street, and never had any problem, but the previous 3.36 rear howled like a wolf. But, it did'nt have slicks, and I was'nt sidestepping the clutch. The only real drawback to these rears, is the availability of parts, and that you just have to look for. There are a lot of different rear ends that can be swapped in, my delivery has a 57 Olds, but it's not just a street car. The stock rear, set up well, treated reasonably, will last; we just put a 56 rear in my 52 Bus Coupe for that rfeason. Butch/56sedandelivery.
One of the problems that I see with the early Chev (55-57, and up to 64) is the availability of replacement parts and cost of parts. I had to replace an axle bearing in my 47 Chev (has a 55 Chev rear end) and the bearing cost me over $50, the same bearing for a Ford 9" was $17; this was about 10 years ago and I'm sure the part prices have gone up. If you scatter the rear end a pumpkin is going to be difficult to find; as would an axle.
The Jalopy Journal
