Technical 56 Olds rear axle question

Well heres the story. After deciding to collect
parts for a comp coupe project, I bought the 57-64 Pontiac Olds rear axle book from Fabcraft. That got me all fired up and I bought a rear axle. Problem was (I always do this ****) I bought a 56 rear axle. Still a drop in center type rear, and still strong by all accounts. It seems these 16 spline axles are not nearly as well supported by the aftermarket as the 57-64 axle. And the later stuff wont work. And if ive read correctly I can't make the Chevy stuff work.
Ive searched and searched and read old threads and figured id just start a new thread. Does anyone know of anyone who makes a posi unit, locker, or preferably a spool for these axles? Im not interested in welding it to lock it nor am I interested in running an open diff. Thanks

 

Adam I don't think there is anything available for the 16 spline. The 28 (I think) spline is hard enough to find parts for and the 31 more common. I have a lot of this stuff but no 16 spline stuff. Sorry I can't be of more help I'm selling my whole collection of Olkds/Pont rear stuff.

Pat

 

Thanks Pat. I figured the answer was buy a later axle I just figured id ask. After I drum up a little more cash maybe I can work a deal on some of that stuff your cutting loose

 

Change the spider gears?

 

I was curious what the ring gear bolt count and spacing is on the 56 8.875" gear vs the 9.3" maybe a spool could be used or re drilled to match the 56 gears and jump to a 35 spline axle ?

 

After going through my 56 Olds rear last year, I have no idea who sells any performance parts for these. You can get stock rebuild parts through Fusick and Rock Auto like bearings, gaskets and seals. There are also a variety of ring and pinion ratios available, but they are all stock units. The 56 Olds rear is substantially larger than the housing in the Chevrolet, which is much lighter duty. It's very strong, but I don't know of any aftermarket performance parts available for one. Not to mention even basic rebuild parts are still expensive. The 57-64 9.3 is even more burly, and has aftermarket support in limited fashion, but it is a damn fortune for parts. Fabcraft is basically the only game in town.

To be completely honest with you, it would be cheaper to just have a custom 9" housing built, where you can choose whatever you want in terms of axles, posi units, yokes, carriers, etc...

 

I run a '56 Olds in my Willys. Did the same thing you did, ***umed a '56 was the same as the '57+. I narrowed it 8" and had new axles made by Moser 20 years ago. Since the axles are custom I had them made lengthened to fit aluminum Buick break drum/backing plates. Found a 3.75 gear pumpkin on ebaY a few years ago to replace the common 3.23.