I found a 72 Sport Wagon in a junkyard with the original rearend in it. Its a 3.08 rear. The junkyard wants $100 for the complete rear. My question is will this rear bolt straight into a 72GS? Anybody ever done this swap or tried it?
As far as I know any 68-72 GM Abody rear will bew a direct bolt in so you shold have NO troubles at all. In fact I use a 71 Lemans Wagon 3.08 rear in my 69 Sportwagon 400 Ken
ALL A body cars have coil spring suspension front and rear any 64-72 A body will interchange with veruy little work Ken
Gary, Get back to that yard. There are some good parts on the wagon. The 3.08 will swap right in. Also, check for rear reinforcement brkts that go from front lower trailing arm bolt to upper trailing arm bolt. Also, wagons have boxed frames. Get the trans x-mbr if it is in good condition. It is the same as the convertible. Also, the rear window switch(up/down) is also the same as the conv. Get the switch cover, switch and wiring. Check the rest of the car for easily saleable items such as instrument cluster, grill, frt bmpr, headlight bezels, hood lip trim, core support, radio, dash pad, tilt column if equipped, seat belts in good condition, ac firewall box if equipped, ps brkts, 7 blade fan, kick panels, etc. The more you buy the better price you can get from the yard owner. Also, if the fenders and fenderwells are good, get those.
Iceman...it's def worth grabbing. Might ck the cowl tag build date, then pull the drums & axles & let us know if it has A10 axle bearings. I've not been able to figure why '71-72 Sportwagons came with both A9 & A10 version housings & axles. If it has A-10 axle bearings, def hang onto the backing plates, even if the brake shoes are falling off & even if it is easier to leave the emergency brake cables attached & leave the backing plates in the wgn. :3gears: Roger
Yeah, I think that 3.08's were the standard ratios for the 72 Sport Wagons. I haven't looked in the books in awhile. It may have been the 71 Sport Wagons that 3.08's were standard for. Will have to look again to make sure.
Well, this one has been in the yard for at least 20 years according to the yard owner and it certainly looks like it. The front windshield was removed a long time ago so most of the interior is shot. The only thing there really worth saving is the rear. It still has the rear tires on it so thats kept it out of the mud.
I will have to check it out for the A10 bearings. If its got the A10 bearings I will definitely pull it. The A10s are substantially beefier that the A9s. He sells his rear ends complete drum to drum for a $100.
Have always sought out the A10 bearing A-body housings. Complete, at just $100, you're getting a good deal! The A10 hsgs are a lot tougher to find. For some reason I've mainly run across A9 end housings in Sportwagons, while same body Olds had the A10's o No: FWIW, to help further build more A10 end housings, for the last couple years, have been cutting the last 4 inchs off so equipped B series GM rears. Whether I buy the rough cut ends, or a complete bare hsg, local yard is charging me the same price. After little work on the bandsaw & lathe, am in a weld on end rel cheap, & it takes a much more affordable tapered bearing & seal, than pieces from Mark Williams. :3gears: Roger
Interesting info about the Olds rears. Do all the Vista Cruisers rears have A10 bearings? That same yard actually has 3 Vista Cruisers. Ones a 69 and the other two are 71's. They all have the rear ends in them. The 69 would probaly have the 12 bolt Olds rear that is difficult and pricy to get parts for. The 71's would probaly have the better bolt in axle 8.5's. I will have to look at those too.
If I was there I would grab all 3 rear ends ( I hoard them ) the 12 bolt ( cover only ) is the best and all 3 might have either size brgs in them I have 3 olds rear ends and most wagons have a 3.08 or 3.42 ratio. These are getting very hard to find ANY where period so snap them up and keep them ( do I sound obsessed .... hmmm 9 Buicks .... maybe i am uzzled: ) Just my .02 Ken
Gary, The Olds wagons I have found in our local yards here in FL had had shortshaft TH400s so make sure you get the gas pedal and retaining plate. They are the same for all A-body equipped TH400 cars. Also, get the rear window up/down switch from them since they are the same switch as the Cutlass convertible. Don't forget to get/check the trans x-mbrs for conv owners.
