Hey, anyone out there use a chevy S-10 rearend in a shoebox? I know it's been done before, but not sure of what year S-10. Anyone know? Does the drive shaft need shortening or lengthening? Thanks...
Try to find yourself (any year rears are the same) 2WD S-10 and get the rear outta that. I have one under my '50 Stude and slid in perfectly. The four 4WD rears are a bit narrower if I remember right. The shaft will no doubt have to be shortened. (Get one out of a ext cab and/or long box, cheaper to shorten then to lenghten a driveshaft.) For $100 I had mine cut to length, new joints and balanced. Make sure the splines are the same going into the tail shaft.
I think a 2 wheel drive will be too narrow, they are about 54" flange to flange. They will work good with reversed wheels though. The 4x4 is about 58" flange to flange, and will fit better
Yeah, the 4WD is probably what I need. I believe the stock rearend is 57" flange to flange...thanks for the heads up.
I've got a 2wd S-10 rear under my shoebox with 7" wheels. The wheelwells had to be moved in a little bit and the rear frame section had to be narrowed the width of the rails to get it to fit. The S-10 4x4 rear would probably fit a stock shoebox better. And I'll also say that these rearends are tougher than people give them credit for, but they will eventually break if you are really hard on them. I'm on my second S-10 rear (broke the housing on the last one) and have a narrowed 9" ready to go in before I take it to the drags this year.
B***, Your right about how tough the little S-10 rears are. I've got a tuned port 350 in a 4wd Blazer that's had the **** beat out of it. At 60,000 miles it's still going strong. The last time I had the rear cover off I could see some evidence of small cracks forming in the ring gear but no failure so far. Frank
Unfortunately not all were created equal! The newer the version the better. Go for one from a 4.3 powered vehicle IMHO. I've seen an older "Locker" version S10 unit(in a 57 Chevy...the "other" shoebox!) self destruct in just 2 days. Differential went bye-bye and p***ed thru the cover! But they must fit really nice in the Chevys too though...the same guy traded me the early Bronco width SMALL bolt circle(HUH?) Traction-loc (slipping) 3.50 geared 9" that he had in the 57 for a couple of years, for another S10 locker style axle ***embly with 4.11's!!! Hey...he asked ME to trade!!! I wasn't gonna say no! LoL
What were the 4.11 posies found in, the 2 wheel or 4 wheel drives? I am looking for a unit for the rear im puting in my Hudson jet.
Most, if not all 4.11 positracs came in 4x4 pickups/ Blazers. Another thing to consider is that all the early rears were 26 spline, and 92-up (I think that's the right year break) had 28 spline axles.
I would say B*** is on the money although I've never really checked into those rearends too deep. In my opinion the S10 diff locker unit itself is WAY too weak to be reliable as a performance addition. On slippery roads or dirt it isn't too bad in the stock 2.8 vehicle but still has problems...add dry pavement and a V8 to the mix...KABOOM! The newer ones for the 4.3 engine might not even have those locker setups and MAY have a clutch posi instead. I don't know. Could be worth checking into though... My friend with the 57 has a mild 350, a low first gear 700R4 and 60 series tires. He says he's just gonna cruise around but I KNOW he's gonna nail it off coming a stop sign or something... I actually tried to talk him out of it but he was gonna get one anyway. Might as well be mine! (Width was a bit better for his tire clearance and believe it or not he already had full S10 drums and backing plates adapted to the 9" but didn't like the brake cylinder attachment modification he made. (I can see why too!) He figures he will save money by going back to an S10 unit. Yeah RIGHT. Oh...I THINK I changed the spring pad location for him too...but I do so much of this **** I honestly can't even remember for sure! LoL Wait a sec..... Yeah Ok...Yes I did relocate them. He picked up some pads at a local trailer supply...I remember now.
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