I was wondering what were the good Olds rear ends back in the day? I've seen those rear ends mentioned a ton of times in old hot rods and drag cars. I ***ume that they were just one of the strongest units available back then. Any info is appreciated,thanks!
I like to think of them as Pontiac rear ends but thats just me. They were used by Pontiac and Oldmobile. M***ive 9.3" ring gear. 57-58 were the narrower versions and 29 spline, 59-64 were 31 spline at least for Pontiac anyway. Yous suppoosed to be able to use 60? Olds 31 spline axles to make the 57-58 Pontiac 31 spline I believe. Very tough rear end, just harder to get good parts, Fabcraft has ring and pinions and other parts for them. Here's some real good tech http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=129676&highlight=olds+pontiac+rear+end+tech
1957-1964 Type 1 Oldsmobile / Pontiac rears they have a 9 1/4" ring gear and were available with limited slip. If your looking for one Gl***thamesdoug here on the HAMB has a small collection of them in various widths. Tad
i've got a few as well, and a bunch of pigs, and a bunch of axles. Not looking to sell any, but might be convinced to help a HAMBer for the right project.
57 to 64 Olds Pontiac rears are the stronger ones. Ratech has installation kits for them. Gears available from Richmond. I had a set of 31 spline axles made Moser about 5 years ago, no problems with them. Swapped them out for a set of Sommers Brothers 35 spline axles and spool a few years ago. If your building one for racing I would recommend getting a set of Mark Williams billet bearing caps as the stock caps are the weak link in those rears(I broke one on a 2-3 shift, it was UGLY and scary). MW also make a billet pinion yoke. The current setup in my G***er is a 64 3 rib case (a little stronger than the earlier 2 rib cases), Sommers Brothers 35 spline spool & axles, Richmond ring & pinion and the MW billet caps & pinion yoke. I have about 150 mid 10 second p***es on this set up with no problems.
Thanks for the info, I wasn't necessarily looking for one I just wanted to know which ones were worth holding onto. I have some Buick/Olds/Pontiac parts that I sell, others I keep. I try to never throw out rear ends unless they are totally junk
Be prepared to pay more for gear sets, spools and brake parts than a 9" Ford. I am rebuilding one which is cost effective because it was pretty much free, already narrowed, and came with MW axles. If have been told correctly 57-64 were all pretty much the same. Not to hijack this post but if anyone has a used 31 spline spool they want to part with let me know. I'm talking about the drag spool that locks both axles, not a posi unit.
ahh,,see I would have thought less would be better as more would tend to be finer,,hence more chance of stripping
57 pigs are the strongest IMO because of the extra large rib that goes down and supports the pinion nose and also they have a larger front pinion bearing than some of the later units. A cost effective cure for the weak spot ( bearing cap on drivers side as CGas alluded too) is to add a short backbrace and a through bolt to preload the cap. A local friend ran a Camaro for eons like that and was running in the 7.90's with it.(1/4 mi.) One of the reasons these rears are so tuff is that the pinion drives from closer to the center of the ring gear than say a 9" Ford. This point and also the large diameter ring gear,also makes for less rolling resistance so that evn though the Poncho stuff weighs more it effectively frees up horsepower. 31 spline axles(58 & up) can be installed in the 57 units with a side gear change and shortening the axles 7/8". IMHO this is not a good way to go though because you also have to neck down the axle to get it all the way into the 57 housing/side gears and this creates a weak spot that makes 'em easier to break. I have personaly punished a set of 29 splines for quite a lot of years on street and strip with real slicks as quick as mid 10's,with no problems and decided to "upgrade",LMAO now, to 31 spline axles in a 57 housing and broke the left axle on the street banging 2nd on a set of wide whites and it was downright scary.Glad there was no oncoming traffic or it would have been a real bad picnic.
So, how does an 57 -64 Olds/Pontiac compare, (strengthwise). to a 9 inch Ford? It's been awhile since I've looked at a 9 inch, but It seems like the Ford center section looked like a real wimp compared to the Olds/Pontiac. Heck even a 55-64 Chevy rear looked bigger than the Ford, if I remember correctly. I know that the Chevy has always been considered weak, but it just looked bigger than the Ford.
contact Ross Racing in Niles Ohio phone 3305444466 his specialty is oldsmobiles Last I heard he had a stack of rear ends ( used stockers ) for sale
The strength of the '57-'64 Olds and Pontiac rear ends was the reason they were the rear end of choice for Top Fuel cars, Funny Cars, and Fuel Altereds. Dave http://www.roadsters.com/
Brad at Fabcraft in Texas sells ring and pinions in a variety of ratios, along with rebuild kits. http://www.fabcraftmetalworks.com/
Do you think it will hold up to mid 9s 755 hp with 755 lbs of torque if I get the caps done with a spool & axels from MWs
i don't have mine here yet, but can some one shead some lite as to what this bracket is on the rear?? and if i'm reading this thread proper. this should be the stronger 3 ribbed model??
The bracket on the back is a Watts link, it locates the rearend. It keeps the rearend centered throughout full travel, unlike a Panhard bar. Larry T
man talk about a pic worth a thousand words, that saved me lots of searching.......so is considerred a good street-able setup?? gonna have to check this after work...thanks for the info...mark
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