Which rear end is best for 51 Chevy Truck? Camaro or S-10 4X4, thx

[jeep_vette]

Guys,

I need some help. I have a GM 10-bolt under my 51 truck. It is too wide for me to bag it, and hitting the outisde fenders. I was told to try and find a S-10 4X4 and I should be pretty close to factory width at 59 inches. Are there any Camaro years that may have the same width that I could use? These S-10 4X4 rear ends are hard to find in the part yards. Thanks

[dwcsr]

I used a S10 4x4 with the ZR2 option. its 63 inches hub to hub which is wider than stock but still fits nicely. The wheels on it are stock S10

[NorCalGal]

I used a ford 8.8 out of a 98 explorer, it gave me 373 posi and you can find them with disc brakes, it bolted right in. Perches are About 1/2 narrower but still bolted in with no mods.

[jweb]

I used a '72 nova rearend, it's 60" wide. I did have a problem with my tires rubbing on the inside, but I have 20x9 wheels. Also had to cut off the nova spring perches and weld on new ones.
These are usually cheaper and easier to find than a 67-69 Camaro that's the same width.

[NEWFISHER]

If you want to keep 6 lug or have axles redrilled to 5 lug, a 67 68 and 69 1/2 ton c10 is only 1/2 wider WMS than stock. Easy to adapt ebrake cables and a 1310 u joint. I have put them in several 47-54 trucks and burbs.

[scottybaccus]

+1 on late '90s explorer 8.8".
They fit nicely. I build custom suspensions for the AD series trucks, and that is my first choice.

[BigFrz]

Originally Posted by NorCalGal

I used a ford 8.8 out of a 98 explorer, it gave me 373 posi and you can find them with disc brakes, it bolted right in. Perches are About 1/2 narrower but still bolted in with no mods.

can u post pics of the rearend I have a 51 gmc and want to go with 22x12.5 in the rear with a mini tub, thanks
big frz

[Jemezcrusher]

I used an 8.8 in my 55 sedan. Got it for 125 at Upullit Going to use the sam in my 50 AD as it worked so well in the car. is 59.5 or 60"

[dsraven]

google ford 8.8 or go to "the ranger station" for info. the 8.8 is a pretty tough rear and the flanges and drums/discs can be drilled for chevy pattern or whatever. they are easily beefed up if you think you need big power, check online there are lots of performance parts available. a friend of mine used one in a turbo ls powered mustang with a 6 speed. he bagged on that thing all the time and blew engines left and right because he ran it HARD, all he did to the rear was install a different diff cover that helps re-inforce the carrier bearing caps. cheap. that is the biggest reason I went with an explorer 8.8 in my 57 gmc. it came with 3.73 gears and a posi. disc brakes. I took one of the old rotors and ground off the brake area so all that was left is the mounting flange, then marked and drilled a chevy pattern on it between the ford studs (actually a friend of mine did that on his lathe for me so it would be concentric) then I mounted that up to the axle with the original ford studs and a new set of rotors (like I was installing a wheel) and drilled through the chevy pattern holes. removed the ford studs and installed the chev studs. bingo, chevy pattern axles and rotors. just keep the machined flange around in case you need to do brakes again at some point. you can cut off all the ford hangers and install whatever you desire. if it is just spring pads you need just go to a spring or axle shop that sells trailer axles and pick up a set of spring pads that will fit the axle tube size for the diff. weld them on and you are ready to go. just cut/weld a small piece at a time though so the axle tube doesn't distort. the ranger station also has a blurb on narrowing using stock axles. the 8.8 is an offset pumkin,

[chopit]

good stuff on the 8.8 dsraven

everything you want to know about the ford 8.8...which ones have offset pinions and which ones don't, different widths etc.

http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/transmi...ord-rear-axle/

[dsraven]

that's good info there chopit. these 8.8 axles are fairly cheap at the wrecker and the 31 spline limited slip versions are pretty easy to find. if a guy were to be walking through pick n pull it would just be a matter of checking the door vin plate to see what axle is under the car or truck. no matter what diff a guy uses it will probably get some freshening anyway so the c clip eliminators could be done at the same time if a guy thought it was warranted. bearing kits are available for a pretty reasonable price even here in Canada.

[BigFrz]

Originally Posted by BigFrz

can u post pics of the rearend I have a 51 gmc and want to go with 24 x 12.5 in the rear with a mini tub, thanks
big frz

I meant 24 x 12.5