I have the chance to pick up a 57 chevy rear end for free for my A coupe and was wondering if they are any good. Someone has already welded mounts to it for an A spring to mount behind the axle, which is what I wanted to do, so this is an added bonus, but was wondering about strength, availiability of parts, etc.
they are a little wide if you want to run fenders on your A and keep the tires under them , otherwise they are fine...a lot of them have been put under rods
They are not very strong, if you make any decent power. In the '60s & '70s I broke about 2 dozen of them before I switched. Some I broke with a 283 4-speed and 8" street tires.
Thats what i always thought.I have heard people say they are strong ,but the axles look like tooth picks and are only 18 spline .Looks weaker internally than an 8 inch Ford to me.I have one in my 56 (with a 4spd and 60's on the rear).I havent had any problems with it yet ,but i havent raced it yet either ...
My old 32 that Von Franco has now, has that type of rear. I drove that car for 8 years and have had no problems...I never had slicks on it but I had a healthy 327 in it and I beat it to death.
if your going to use it for a cruiser it will be fine. if your going to beat the hell out of it, there are stronger rears to use.
They can be both strong and weak..depends on what they are in and what will be done with them. In a lightweight car without slicks, they will probably last better than you would think. In something heavy, it's strength start's to lessen, toss on some slicks and you are looking to twist axles eventually. I have the stock rear in my 57 and have had 3 different motors under the hood over 20 years and all have had 4 speeds behind them. I have blown the rear twice over that time, and have a 9" set aside for the next time it happens....... But, the car's not light and although i never had slicks on it, i've given it it's share of abuse. My question's would be, what will be powering your A, what transmission (manual will be more abuse) and what are your true intentions for it? Gonna run slicks and race it etc.... That in itself will give a good idea if it will last or you will need something a bit stronger. A buddy of mine has one in his 34 coupe with a mild sbc and 4 speed. He beats the hell out of it and has for years..THIS year, it bit the dust.. But, it was rebuilt with quality stuff so it should be good to go for another number of years with his abuse.........lightweight car with skinny bias plies..
It depends on how you drive it. I have seen these rears under some halfway healthy setups without failure. I have also seen three break at the track in one day. (The third was actually an axle failure as opposed to a carrier bearing cap failure) The biggest weak spot is that they break the left side carrier bearing cap if you get too much bite with them. In an A coupe, I wouldn't have any fears unless you are looking to set up for real bite and run good tires. Even then, all I would do is buy or make a support strap for the caps, similar to the old engine main bearings straps that Offy and others used to offer. Hell, I have had more than a few FEDs come through with 55-64 Chevy rears in them, running 8" slicks and all.
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