Hi All, Doing a big car project(71 electra), have an awesome 455 already installed and going 4l80e shortly. Knowing what I know about the 9 3/8 rear end I have a few options. Am I right? Can you help direct me in the right directions? 1) Find a 71-72 Riviera GS posi rear with 3.42 gears. Any line on one if I'm right? 2) Fab a 9 inch Ford or 12inch Chevy rear to fit. I'd like to keep my stock bolt pattern wheels, but also fit some small discs. Any vendors that are a good fit for something like this for a big car? 3) Hopefully more ideas! Thanks in advance. Luke 70 GS Stage 1 71 Electra
Find a 71+ big Buick with a factory 350. It has an 8.5” rear and is a direct bolt in. Gears are available for that.
Ther are lots of people on here running a lot more power than that with 8.5’s. I would think you would want to get new gears and an Eaton or similar posi to put in the 8.5 housing. Maybe Monzaz will chime in. He is one of the rear end specialists on this site and is where I purchased mine. Cliff
The 8.5” 10-bolt is one of the best rears ever made. They can take plenty of abuse,and there are plenty of aftermarket parts available.
I have a few 10 bolt 8.5 rears for FULL size car on the shelf. All depends on what you expect. If your talking tack time and a 12 sec or faster BIG CAR 4000+ weight slicks higher stall you had better spend so money on a good rear. But if your talking street mostly and some fun runs on the weekend during the year the 8.5 will do the job. on the street we really do not worry much as the torque never really hooks, you can have 1000 hp and will never grab the ground so it does not matter. Jim JD
Thanks all. Found a 3.42 9 3/8 posi here on the forum. Pretty excited about it. The car isn't a drag car, but it's making good power and it will be driven plenty. Have a ton of parts coming together now. The motor is already in and runs great, mostly all TA Parts (Stage 1 heads, roller drivetrain, modest cam, etc) and a 6L80E being built to put behind it. This should be a really fun trip car when done!
That is impressive find. Make sure you get a good set-up as finding more of those gears are getting rare to find. MAKE sure you get them right on so they last.
