Well guys, now that I got the 350-2 barrel Buick installed in my '76 century, I am trying to gather up some future plans for it. As of now, it seems to have a somewhat promising future, as-is. Needs a ton of body-work though, and could use quite a bit of interior work. The engine bay needs some cleaning and touching up, and the undercarriage could use just a bit of TLC. It runs really nicely now though, as it has a 64-65thousand mile '70 Buick 350 in it. It's not really "fast" by any means, but it's really strong and pulls hard, which is really nice and has already passed my expectations with flying colors. Seems to be reliable and very dependable, and I think I will add a 4 barrel intake and a nice 4 barrel carb./and headers before I think about a rear end change, but I got to thinking, and is there really a physical difference in feeling between the different kinds of rear-end gearing? I mean, like lets take my car right now for example, I think it has 2.56 gears in it now. If I wanted to go from 2.56's to let's say, 3.42's, or 3.73's, would I be able to feel the difference? Would my 0-60 MPH times be much faster w/ 3.73's than the old 2.56's? And by 3.73, I mean a posi, not a one-legger like mine is now. 2.56's are not bad gears, they are perfect for everyday driving and do nicely on the highway, but I am looking for take off. I want to be able to keep up w/ the mustangs and camaros on the streets around here, and maybe even beat them stop-light racing. Help me out guys, anything you can tell me is really appreciated, Thanks -Cody :TU:
My opinion: Some work under the hood will have much more benefits than changing a rearend ratio. And if you put 3.73s into it, your engine will rev so high that you won't want to drive it any more and it won't matter if it can beat a mustang because it will be parked at home and you'll have some 4-cylinder econobox. -Bob C.
You would be amazed how little a difference gearing will make in a fairly stock car. Now my Skylark is a 455 but I changed from 3.42 gears to 2.56s and it only cost me .04 seconds in my ET. The car felt completely different though, seemed much slower out of the hole, but felt just fine from 20 MPH and up. Guess it pulls harder in the mid range. Just trying to make the point that seat of the pants feel is not always a good indicator of what the car is actually doing. Chevys and some others need the gears because they don't have that low end grunt that's built into the Buick v8s.
car options Well I guess the question here is...What do you do with the car most or what to do the most? Show it, Race mustangs or cruise around town..etc. Do what you think is going to accomplish your wants and needs. I think the whole point is to enjoy the process of restoring and tinkering. Right? lol. Have fun with it and if you need any rear diff parts shoot me a email I might be able to help you out. New and Used. Jim
As of right now, power and speed is not my true, main concern. My true focus right now, is just keeping the car maintained, and keeping it reliable and dependable for everyday transportation! I just think it would be nice to have enough speed and power to keep up w/ a lot of the sports cars of today. Is there anyway I can actually keep the rear end I have, and rebuild it and put in like a posi carrier and gears instead of swapping out the whole differential? I think it'd be nice to have the 2.56 gears, but have it be a posi unit so I can leave two tire marks when need be.....If it's at all possible, I may just keep the 2.56's I got, rebuild it and put in a posi unit....... :beer I need to know if it can be done, and where to get the posi unit from first before I truly consider it! I am going to post in the kill section why I want my car to be just a tad bit faster, and I'll post a link to it in this thread once I create the thread in the "kill" section of this board. I am really going to put in some mild performance goodies when I rebuild the engine but I am hoping I won't have to do that for a little while anyways. :bglasses: Thanks -Cody
getting some where... Ok well at least were getting some where now. I have 2 series unit reconditioned and ready to go that will fit your diff. 199.99 and I will get you new bearings and races installed . You will need to remove your old carrier and remove that ring gear clean it up blow out any debris from the ring gear taped holes. Clean both mating surfaces ring gear back and the posi flange(which should be good from me) mount that 2.56 ring gear to the carrier... we all know we should use new ring gear bolts but it you want to save more money wash them in some laquer thinner blow them clean ...Please inspect the threads if any are questionable junk them. I will even throw in a complete set of good used if you want this way we will have no problems. use lock tight on the threads...No need to go nuts with that stuff either couple drops will do the job. Now reinstall the carrier. Try the original shims and check the pattern and backlash. try to keep the backlash between .005 and .010. If the original shims do not provide this reading re shim the carrier. remove shim from the driver side and add to the passenger side to increase backlash. do the oppisite to tighten it up. I have extra shims I can help you out with too. If you have a caliper set (to measure thousands of inch thickness or mics too.) to let me know the thickness of your originals. I can send some close to that for each side. I'll be surprised though if it just does not bolt right back in as is. Bearing cap bolts are 60-65 ft lbs. same as the ring gear bolts REMEMBER TO KEEP THE CAPS ON THIER CORRECT SIDES AND THE CARRIER SHIMS ALSO. MARK THEM WITH PAINT OR WHAT EVER YOU NEED TO DO. I usually peen the cap on the arc before removing and a matching peen on the case...then I know where and how it goes. Hope this has helped, Jim
i was wondering, if you installed lin-loc's (roll control), could you leave 2 strips of rubber unlike powerbraking? curious... now im rethinking my gearing... was thnking in the 3.70's, but didnt like the fact rpm would be around 3500 freeway... if the difference isnt that much, maybei should go lower (3.5 ish) sorry to steal the thread, ill make a new one have fun with your car :TU:
Line Lock Well line lock is used for burn outs at the track. also for stick shift cars that are more difficault to sit and spin. It saves the rear brakes from punishment when braking the tires loose. I do not even have line lock on the race car. Good slicks rarely need that much work to heat them up for proper use. You only need to see the smoke start-up . You see smoke and you are ready. Anything much more is a waste of tire. If you have the money and like to do it THE fans love it....lol. Professionals have heat detection guns so they can be consistant on their stats on each run. LOG BOOKS. etc. Like I said within your price range and what makes you happy... Jim
Thanks Jim, I am keeping you in mind for whenever, and if I ever get the chance. I need some cash first, and then I need some time, if I get those 2 things, then I will probably end up rebuilding the rear end, using one of your posi units. :TU:
