I've been closely following all the threads about rear end swaps since I've reached that point in my project as well. I finally got the bed off of my '52 1/2 ton to do some work and I'm ready to pull out the old torque tube rear end. I carefully measured the width of the rear and found it to be 62" from wheel mounting surface (WMS) to wheel mounting surface.
You can see more about the project
here .
I've got two possible donor rears sitting on the side of the house. So here's the question: Which of the following two rear ends would you put in?
Option 1 is a **** 9", 3.25 ratio out of an early 70's car. It's 65" wide, complete, and has huge drum brakes on it but was originally set up for coil springs and needs some repair.
Option 2 is a 3.08 10 bolt out of a '69 camaro. Overall it's 60" wide WMS to WMS. The spring perches on it look like they may straddle the factory leaf springs well but I would have to round up all the brake parts.
My main concern is the width: Looking at the current setup it seems like if I go with the 60" (camaro) rear I could use spacers or run some wide offet rims to make up the difference but I think I might have to relocate the shock mounts. On the other hand, would the **** 9" need negative offset rims to fit in the fenders?
The right answer, of course, is to find a rear the right width but the budget of this project is pretty low right now. I'm keeping my eye out for another axle but both of the ones I have now were given to me for free.
I'm planning on using this truck as a daily driver for home projects, work transportation, and hauling motorcycles. It'll have a 235 and SM 420 for now; maybe a 350/350 in the future. Oh, and I still have the original front suspension so I know that the bolt pattern of both of these choices won't match the front, but that's OK by me.
So what else should I be thinking about? I'd love to hear everyone's input.
Thanks!
