The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop 85 Camero Rearend

I’ve got a line on a 10 bolt rear end out of an 85 Camaro. It’s in Michigan, I’m in Alaska. My immediate question is: will it fit a 53’ 3100?
I’ve attempted to research on line but all I’m getting are 60-70 Camaro rear end data with indications they’ll work. If it’s wide enough it’ll give me disc brakes in the rear end.

Are you going to 5 bolt wheels on the front too?

Ed

I have a 78 Camaro rear end in the truck (there's no E in Camaro, BTW). It's pretty close to the stock track with with the wheels I'm using (7" wide, 4" backspace). The question is did the track width increase between the 2nd generation and 3rd generation Camaros? It's hard to find a reliable source for that info.

The 3rd gen Camaro used coil springs instead of leaf springs.

https://www.camaroz28.com/forums/3rd-gen-l98-engine-tech-20/anyone-know-rearend-width-81012/

All third gens are the same width. Roughly from the end of the axle to the end of the axle is 63" +/- 1/2". That's the surface that the drum/wheel will mount on. Changing that width will require different offset wheels.

Most factory 9" housing are too wide but there are a few models that work well. I used one from a 1970 F100. The only bad thing about it is that both axles were the same length. That put the pinion over to the passenger side 2". A proper car diff will have the pinion in the center and the driver side axle will be shorter than the passenger side.

This site had numerous posts regarding camaro rearend width. All gens.

Tony, I know your 53 rear is wider than the 46. I went with a F#@d 8.8. They come in many widths, are common and cheap. If you have access to a rear out of a 4x4 explorer, you can gain rear discs, trac lok ect. A Chevy Trailblazer rear may give you some of the same benefit in a similar width.

Is shipping from Michigan to AK expensive?

First I’d like to thank you for your valued info you shared. I’ve been trying to locate a rear that’ll fit with minimal effort. Shopping from Alaska ain’t easy and I’m reliant on internet research to assist in this. There’s a lot of data out there on what will fit but it seems to stop in the 70’s era. My truck now resides in Michigan at our new to us 1910 Farm house located in the middle of Amish Farm country. I’ll be leaving AK in February to return to Michigan and begin working on my truck. Parts availability seem limited there and when they pop up, I’m scrambling to figure out if they’ll work or not. Much like everyone else, I’m on a budget looking to get the best bang for my dollars. I need to get it right the first time! I’m upgrading to a 250 with T5 tranny to a rear end of which I’ve yet to locate.

Thank you for your input.

I planned on that.

Yeah, it'll work. Its a little lighter than the 70-81 Camaro 10-bolt, but it gives you rear discs, if that is what you want. I've got a 70-81 in my '53, works great.

Don't the later Camaro rear ends include a long torque reaction arm that runs beside the driveshaft and pivots like a torque tube near the front Universal joint? I had a GM surplus 80-something Camaro as a training vehicle at the high school auto shop where I taught, and it was set up that way.
Jerry

My '88 IROC did.

I have one from a 92 Camaro laying on the shop floor. It has a place for a torque arm from front of dif that went forward towards engine. It was given to me and I am not sure how it connected. I used a Camaro rear end from a 70’s on my 39 pickup and it fits fine no problems. I did change spring brackets from the top mount to bottom mount to fit though.