Been hunting a cheap tri five year end for my 53 to get rid of the current S10 rear end and most were either too high or too far away. Came across a super cheap 58 Impala rear end this morning and am curious if I have it correct that it's the same width as a 57 rear. I already know I'd have to remove the control arm brackets and weld on spring perches
7.5". Never quite been happy with the fit. Mainly just ran it because I needed a rear end to convert my car to open drive shaft. And while I V8 swapped it it'll never be hotter than anything sold in 55-58
Also I still have to mount brakes on the S10 rear. From what I gathered on the 55-58 rear ends they used the same basic brakes as my car used stock all around. Which means Ill already have a new set of 1969 era asbestos shoes and new wheel cylinders and a nice set of drums for it when I go front disc lol
@Moriarity beat me to the same source. I was busy modifying pic to post up. Copy and paste is faster.
I'd forgotten about the wealth of information that this site has. Thanks for the reminder! http://www.carnut.com/ This should be added to everyone's bookmarks.
It's the axle bearings/seals where the difference is. '58-'64 are the best years, '57 is a 1 off bearing and '55-'56 can use the same bearing ('55 being updated to the '56 bearing). Hopefully you can use aftermarket bearings with no problems (I didn't research the '58-'64 rears).
It doesn't take long to cut the brackets off a 58/64 Front end, I had a 61 axle under my 48 pickup that in the end run I wished I had never swapped. Remember that you have to have have the hole for the spring bolt about 1-1/2 and maybe a tad more in front of the centerline of the axle so that the wheels center in the wheel well openings. If you still have the old rear axle flip it over and measure from the center of the mount pad hole to the center of the axle to be exact. Cl***ic parts sells these for 34/54 trucks to swap to change to open drive.. Note the offset hole for the spring bolt and that the distance from the spring to the axle tube is more than on most spring pads to maintain the original ride height and not raise the rear of the rig.
I have a '53 p***. car, I acquired a S-10 rear end, for open drive shaft. hoping it is narrower than the stock "53 car rear end? so I can run Cragar wheels. Why weren't you happy with s-10 rear end? Am I making a mistake?
your stock rear is 60 inches wide, wheel mounting surface to wheel mounting surface. according to the above chart a 2wd S10 is 5 3/4 inches narrower. I wonder if it will even fit between the leaf springs or will they need to be moved inboard?
The last 58 i worked on turned into a problem getting wheel cylinders, i don't remember if it was with the fronts or rears. i think i ended up modifying the backing plates to use 55-57 cylinders.
Measure it wheel mount face to wheel mount face. If 58" you can weld perches on it and use it. If less it's too narrow. And if 58" it WILL need different perches despite what some people say. S10 perches are too close together
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