[JChevell72]

I just had a few questions about putting some new gears in my 72 Chevelle. About a year ago I put a 700-R4, and now I wanna take the next step, put some gears in. Right now it has the stock 10-bolt with 3.08 gears. My plan is to put something in the 3.55-3.73 area and i also wanna put a posi. What is the best way to do this? Who makes some decent parts? It's not a radical engine, a 350 with an edelbrock performer rpm cam/intake/ and 750 carb. It also has trick flow heads. It gets around, but i seriously doubt it would break a rear end unless i spent WAY too much time at the track. If anyone knows how i can tell exactly what i need to perform my next little task, which gears i need, which posi works well, how to tell which rearennd i have, please let me know. Thanks.

Jason

 

[Cooter]

Hey J,
I am in process of swapping 3:08 to 3:55 in my 69'. You probably have the 8.5" gear size rear end if it is a 10 bolt, otherwise 12 bolt gears. Finding the gears is the easy part. I bought my car from the original owner who was 82 years old. Not a hard driven car. That said, axles were still shot and ran $150 each. Bearing and seal kit ran about $100. I thought I could get away with doing it myself but when it came time to set the depth on the pinion gear, and press on some bearings, I decided it was time to get some help. Labor was about $150 with the axle out of the car, $225 if you drive it in. So I guess the moral of the story is to be prepared for some extra costs. I am putting the rear end back in tomorrow night so I will let you know how it changed off the line. Good luck with your project!

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69'Malibu 350

 

[Cooter]

Sorry, I forgot about posi. Auburn makes a carrier for about $350. Having the 8.5" rearend size gives you some freedom. You can get any 10 bolt rear from a GM A body car and it should fit. Even through the 80's if I am not mistaken. This might be a way to save some $.
I plan to have about 375hp from my 350 and the guys at the gear shop said stick with the open gears first and decide when it is finished if I want to spend the $ on posi. Changing to a posi carrier should only take about 2 hours, if all of the other stuff has been done already. Hope that helps!

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69'Malibu 350

 

[Pat Kelley]

oops!

[This message has been edited by Pat Kelley (edited 12-28-1999).]

 

[Scooter]

You may be disappointed to find out the 10-bolt rear in your car is most likely an 8.2, not an 8.5. If you do have an 8.5, you got one of the rare ones. I do not know of any Chevelle that came with the 8.5. For all your parts needs, contact Reider Racing @ 1-800-522-2707, or Randy's Ring & Pinion @ 1-800-292-1031.

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70 & 1/2 RS Camaro
SB406 & M20 4spd
9" Rear
70 Malibu
SB350 & TH400

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