I am looking for a pair of axles for my 1968 Sportwagon. The press-fit bearings lost their press-fit and ruined my axles. You can email me pictures to glangenfeld@generac.com if you have a pair. I would prefer to see the axles with the bearings removed. Thanks, Gregg
Greg, I think the 68 SportWagon and GS400 axles are a one year only deal, large dia. RW507G bearings if I remember right. You may do better having your shafts spray-welded and returned. I never had any luck when I was looking, part of the reason I bought a parts car that had the same rear end.
Here's a link for when I was looking for bearings, looks like maybe I was wrong and that the 66-68 is the same. http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5465&highlight=olcar
Thanks for the response lcac_man. I'm not familiar with "spray-welding". Wouldn't any sort of weld affect the temper of the axles? -Gregg
Not necessarily, infact some process' can increase the strength. Lots of crankshafts and camshafts are repaired or modified with spray-weld techniques (I don't profess to be knowledgable in these process'). Until I found my parts car I was going to send one of mine down to a shop here in San Diego to have it done, I think it was going to run about $100. Sure be nice if we could get some nice high strength aftermarket axles but I doubt anyone will ever reproduce this configuration.
I don't understand why you want to stick with the 8.2" rear. Get an 8.5" from a 71-2 Skylark/Cutlass and you will solve your problem! Also, I just listed a 68 Sportwagon in WI on the Ebay Parts and Cars section.
Other than the parts availability issue there's nothing wrong with an 8.2, they don't have a history of breaking (unless your at the strip every other weekend), just wear and tear issues of a 30+ year old rear end, any other rearend you get is going to need the same work too, you pay the price to buy it, then the rebuild cost, you won't be spending any less money going that way until you get to the next repair cycle. Besides my rear end is already cleaned, painted, new brakes and all. It's gonna give me many years of service before it needs work again.
Len, the reason I stated the 8.5 is not only the parts availablility issue. The major factor is cost. Since the 8.5 is most common, they are cheaper to build and you have more parts to choose from when doing a rear axle build-up. You can find the 8.5" posi rears in many GM cars/trucks/vans. You will never find an 8.2" posi carrier. As you are experiencing now with the 68 axle, bearings are a major pain in the ass to find. They will also cost 2-3 times as much as ones for the 8.5". Also, I don't think anyone makes an 8.2" rear girdled cover. I had a friend who had a 68 GS400 4 spd conv who went through this same issue. End result----cheaper and faster to swap to an 8.5" and have it rebuilt.
8.5" Axle housings for A-Bodies aren't all that cheap anymore, nearly as pricey as a 12-bolt housing. I've yet to find an 8.5" A-body housing in my local yards, they're gone before I get there, I think the secret is out on them. No doubt that after you have one the price and availability of aftermarket parts is great.
