'65 A Body rear options/interchange

Please excuse my ignorance in advance.

I am looking at options to upgrade the rear in my 65 Skylark in anticipation of a BBB. I have found a vendor here in NZ that imports a lot of parts from America including ear ends.

I am looking for an A body rear that keeps the width the same as any wider will cause interference issues with my rim/tyre combo. If I can avoid having to narrow it that frees up funds towards stronger axles/posi. gears etc.

How limited am I with year choice? Am i correct in assuming an Olds Cutlass/F85/442 or Pontiac Tempest/LeMans/GTO rear will go straight in? I'd rather stay away from Chevy c-clips.

What compatible options should I be looking for?
10 bolt 8.2
10 bolt 8.5
12 bolt

Is there a compatibility chart I have yet to locate? If there is one on this forum maybe it should be stickied.

Cheers from NZ
Lloyd

 

Thanks LARRY70GS, so when ordering parts are the early 8.2's different to the later 'bastard' 8.2 internals and what/who is a good reliable source for parts for them - posi units, gears, bearing/seal kits??

Lloyd

 

Yes NZ is New Zealand, I got my rims from Summit and yes the shipping hurt - and then NZ Customs decided to have a bite too and slap 15% GST (Goods & Service Tax) plus a fee for having a looksee before they released them GRRRRR!

Thanks for the link LARRY70GS I had a look and it would appear to me that the Pontiac carrier might be a stronger starting point with the extra ribbing. Monzaz definitely seems to be the man for rears and I always prefer to deal with a real pro than some huge corporation. I've kinda been hoping he would chime in with some words of wisdom. ;-)

I like the idea of being able to upgrade what I have, however I would like to do up another rear to swap out so I have the option of returning the car to stock if I ever decide to sell it (unlikely) or break it (I drive this car almost daily), if I can get another housing to do up (good bearings, gears, axles, posi ) and slip in i'll be less worried about leaning on it if I have a spare on my diff rack on the back wall of my shed.

Cheers
Lloyd

 

I've run a 65 Gran Sport with an 8.2 rear HARD for a number of years with no issues. It's a 3.23 gear with an Eaton posi, and I've got probably 500 passes on it and countless rolling burnouts on the street. it's behind a mostly stock 401 nailhead, street tires and generally runs 2.10 60 fts as an example of how stressed it is. Having street tires is likely the "fusable link" that keeps it together, but I am careful about how I allow it to hook up after wheelspin. Pay attention and a good rebuild will probably be fine for as long as you own the car.

 

Years ago I threw together(and I mean threw together a bunch of junk yard parts) a 65 Buick special with a 455/TH350. The car was a v-6 car with a 3.08 gear. I had a 67 2.93 posi rear from a GS400 that I parted out. I stuck the posi unit in the special with the 3.08's.
Bracket raced the car heavily for 3 years on slicks running 13-teens.

Your not going to break an 8.2 BOP rear unless you do something really stupid repeatedly, like foot to the floor neutral drops,burnouts over train tracks,etc.
It's a tough rear, heck think of how many 4spd GTO's,442's, not to mention 70 Stage 1's came with that rear.
The most over rated rear is the Ford 9 inch, seen more of those leave stuff on the starting line than ANY other rear.
Next is the 12 bolt Chevy. I'd take a 71 up 8.5 inch 10 bolt over a 12 bolt anyday.

 

Back in high school I went through 4 rear ends in my 66 GS. It was a 401 with a 3 speed and I used to rev it then pop the clutch. The rears did not hold up and seemed to be the weak link, at least on my car. My driving habits certainly were a contributing factor though and the car was jacked up a little in the rear. This was in the mid to late 70's. Still have the car and use it for parts. I did also break one of the 3 speed transmissions. If I remember right they were FoMoCo trannys.