Had a bad surprise:I found lots of(goldish???) metalflakes in the oil when I disassembled my 56 stock 10 bolt rearend yesterday. The original gear ratio was 3.55 which means it should have been a Powerglide equipped car?I´d like to replace it with a 62 chevy 10-bolt differential with 3.36 gears I already have. Now I wonder if it really was a no brainer and if it bolted right into the 56 axle housing? To me both of them seem to be quite identical besides the ratio. Would be very nice if someone could clue me in. Thanks!
57 to 64 has a larger wheel bearing ,but I beleive you use the later axles + bearing outer and inner bearing races to make the swap work,other than that it is a no brainer, i t is a posi you will need to grind the ends of the axles shoter a bit to make em fit ,posi axles a just a little shorter or some thing , been awhile I can get more definate answers if you need , or go to wwww.chevytalk.com , hit the 55-7 section and do a search it has been covered there.
The pumpkins are interchangable. Bolt it in and install the axles and you're ready to go. 55-64 pumpkins are the same. Mutt
Thanks guys! You´re a great help to me!I´m keeping the stock 56 axles and bearings,the only thing I´d like to change is the pumpkin itself. Thanks a lot!!!