Will a 1961 chevy rearend fit in a 54 belair for a v8 swap? Also I will be installing a gambino notch and 4 link. Please help
breakout the tape measure. 54 rearend =60 inches wide. hope that helps. 60in wheel mount to wheel mount.
If by "fit" you mean a bolt in with no mods, no. If you mean the width, as indicated by the previous poster, probably. As he said, measure wheel mounting surface to wheel mounting surface, anything with in an inch either way should work.......but you need to remove all the mounting brackets from the '61 housing and obtain a set of spring pads to utilize the leaf springs. Also, be aware, the spring center bolt in the '54 springs is NOT on the axle centerline due to the nature of the '54 axle mounting. The axle center line is 1 1/2' behind the center bolt. You can re-drill the spring pad mount accordingly and thereby center the axle properly. Ray
The 58-64 Chevy full size car rear housings were wider than the 55-57 rears by about 2 1/2 inches which is what you would need. That said, they are not strong gears. A better choice would be the 80s GM A body (Monte Carlo, Olds Cutl***, and Buick) rearends which are very close to stock 49-54 Chevys. Late model Ford Explorer 8.8 inch rears are the right width also.
i have a friend with a 54 bel-air and he has a rear end out of a 1972 Camaro it worked our fine didnt need to shorten it
I used a 4x4 s10, comes with 3.42 or 3.73 gears, posi can be had cheap or factory zr2, brake parts are cheaper if needed. 78-88 g body would be a good choice since you plan on a 4 link, you might be able to re-create the factory geometry and use stock arms. Unless you want the back seat. http://www.carnut.com/specs/rear.html
ditto on what 53 sled said did the 4x4 s-10 deal on mine with 3.73 ,now open drive line 327/350 combo
Get your hands on a tri five chevy rearend. I've got a 57 in my 54 and that did the trick. Got new leafs from Jamco and didn't even have to relocate the perches.
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