So, my '60 Biscayne is on it's third set of spiders now. I have been reading a lot about utilizing Dana 44/Chrysler 8.75 side gears and axles in these rears, but one thing I don't ever see talked about is what bearings need to be used with this swap. As far as I can tell looking through the books at the parts store, the Chevrolet bearings have both a larger ID and OD than the Dana units. Is there an off-t******lf bearings that guys are using, or is the standard course of action machining a bushing to take up the space in the axle tube? My other question is about mini spools. Maybe I just need to get one in my hand to see, but has anyone used a spool for the Dana in the Chevy carrier? It would seem that if side gears themselves are a direct replacement, then a mini spool should be, too. But I don't know if the overall width is the same, or if maybe a new center piece would need to be machined (I don't know the terminology here, but that part of the mini spool that would be the equivalent of the spiders). Any advice, pointers, or tips here are greatly appreciated! I'm already breaking enough parts with my little old 331, so I'd like to get it sorted out before I finish my 454 LOL!! And don't say to go 9", I'm pretty dead set and building up the stock rear for whatever reason....
Have you updated to a Positraction? That alone doubles the spider gear count from two to four. There used to be "kits" to do this swap years ago, but since the 55-64 rear ends have pretty much fallen to the wayside, they just are't out there anymore. Maybe some of the axle/rear end vendors can point you in the right direction of what they used to do/use. The Bruneau site is good, but he no longer offers the spool that, the last time I looked, was still advertised. What gearing are you using? Some of the factory gears have really narrow ring gears (deflect easily), such as the 3.70 and 4.11 sets. As far as making one live behind a 454, I'd say that's just not probable, especially with any kind of a tire under the car. Maybe if your car is an automatic transmission and smaller tires it would live, for awhile anyways. My setup in the Sedan Delivery, with a worked over 327/Muncie M-21, has a 4.88 geared Positraction and Yukon axles. Also, the rear end caps are billet; something I found left over from years bygone. I've sold off all my aftermarket caps, straps, etc; my "backup" is now another 4.88 Positraction third member, and another one with 5.13's. Used to be a 59 Biscayne with a BBC, and an Olds/Pont 9.3" rear end that was raced locally years ago in Modified Production, but I don't know what it took to get it mounted in the car. I think a heavier duty rear end is in your future. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Get a Olds, Pont rear,and be time,and money ahead in the long run.It will look period correct.In high school one of the guys was "lucky" enough to have a 396 in his 55.It was hell on stock center sections.He was always swapping in another.Imagine what a 454 will do.
I'd pretty well say that you are peeing into the wind and not expecting to get wet if you run the stock rear with anything with any real power. I knew guys who shelled them on a regular basis with mild 283 and 327 engines back in the 70's. I even helped change a few of them out after I towed a buddy home with a broken rear a couple of times.
Lost me at Dana.....not sure what your trying to do swapping out bearings but you'll need to swap rear ends if your running a big block - ask me how I know....
You have to "finish" them for starters; drill and tap a hole for the spanner adjustment lock. My nephew owns a CNC Aerospace Machine Shop; he made 3 copies of the caps I bought from Bruneau. Gave a pair to DZAUTO, sold another, and the last was sold with some other parts I had. He's the only one making them (or has them made). I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Hey Butch, I was kinda hoping you would reply to this! Im not running posi, but rather filled spiders and side gears (welded up all teeth except where they mesh). It's actually been holding up quite well since I installed them. I've already got more hard launches on the welded set then either of the open sets I was running. With that said, I ran into a new problem, which is having sheared the lug studs of one axle already... they were still the OE 7/16" ones, which I'm upgrading to 1/2" this weekend. I suspect they were already weak from the last rear end failure, and now that I'm actually catching a bit of traction they were called home.... Since making this post I have read a few threads that mention an Olds center section will bolt into the Chevy axle housing. I didn't think this was possible, but I do have a complete '57 Olds rear in the yard and multiple Chevy housings that I could play around with. Do you know any details on this swap? I think the whole rears around about the same width, so if bearings fit I imaging axles are the right length. The only issue I can forsee with the Olds, beyond fitment and the same problem of wheel bearing OD, is that gears might be hard/expensive to find. But I've never messed with them, so I could be wrong there! I'd love to find some 4.11s or maybe 4.56s (did they make 4.30s for those too?) I'm currently running 3.70s in the car, and the chunk I'm building with have 4.11s. I think the Olds unit I have is only 3.55 or thereabouts, so that's a no-go. I do know, though, that the 3.70 and 4.11 ring gears are definitely thicker than the higher sets (I've got a few 3.55s laying around). Enough so that I had to notch a tooth to get the bolt in/out of the cross pin when I installed them.
57-64 Olds/Pont WON'T swap in; not even the 37-56 years, and those axles are't any bigger than the Chevrolet's, and are only 10 spline. I'm not sure how this Olds/Pont into a 55-64 Chevrolet rearend housing began, but it was probably because they used to shorten and repline the Olds/Pont axles and use Olds/Pont ends on the Chevrolet rear end housings. The Chevrolet third members are somewhat oval shaped, 57-64 Olds/Pont are round, and the 37-56 Olds/Pont are somewhat oval, but still don't fit. If you have thick 3.70 or 4.11 gears, then they are not factory Chevrolet gears. Used to be able to get thin or thick aftermarket gears for them however. So, you basically have a "spool" with the welded up spider/side gears. I'd look for a pair of the old Ansen spider gear blocks; I know some guys on here have said they have some; maybe do a wanted ad? If you have a complete 57 Olds rear end, then I'd use that; the only draw back would be the 29 spline axles, and although there were Positractions available for 29 splines, it was for only one year, 58'. So, they are hard to find. But, you can update to 31 spline Positractions/open carriers/spools/Ansen spider blocks also, and axles (may have to shorten the axles 1" per side). With the torque of a BBC, you will break these 55-64 Chevrolet rear ends pretty easily with any real traction. I did have a 360 HP 396 in a 56 with a Muncie 4 speed at one time, and after breaking the rearend, swapped in a 5.38 Positraction; it was a street car at that time, and I was only using 78 series tires. When it became a track only car, I went with an aluminum Powerglide and a 68 Camaro 12 bolt/Moroso Brute Strength differential/5.38 gears (required a notched cross-pin for the spiders due to the ring gear thickness). Sounds like you have a supply of third members; you'll be needing them. I had a 57 Olds, complete rear end set to go into the delivery, but got offered more than I could p*** up; it had two Eaton style Positractions, one with 4.88's, the other with 5.38's, and an old pair of Summer's Brother's axles I shortened 1 inch each. Probably should have kept it for as long as I had it, especially considering what I paid for it. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Thanks for confirming it isn't possible! Lots of bad info out there about what will and won't work haha! Honestly, if I were to go through the trouble of using an entire Olds ***embly, I would just ***ume go 9" or truck 12 bolt or something and have access to cheaper parts. I was really hoping that addressing the weak points of the Chevy would do the job (axles, spiders, and bearing caps). BUT, if it won't work it won't work. The plus side is I have another axle housing for my car that I could build a jig from and make quick work of swapping brackets to another housing. But then are stock Ford parts really that much stronger unto themselves, or is it just that there is more aftermarket HD parts available? At any rate, thanks for helping me work this one out before I waste a bunch of effort on it hahaha!
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