John, The axles in 68-72 Buicks plus many other years and other makes had bolt in axles. This is correct. Thats why in my opinion for me, would like to steer clear of Chevy 10 bolts and 12 bolts. Have seen several over the years toss the axles due to C clip problems. And as you are aware,C Clip Eliminators are a pain as well. Pat
That is great, I got to find one of these. As you can tell, I am learning (from guys like you on the board here) about rears slowly. Thanx Pat.
All right, good news. I went to the garage to see if the 8.5 I have is a bolt in axle rear, and it is. So I have a 2.73, open, bolt in axle rear in my garage all ready. I should just get the c-clip eliminated 12 bolt out of my hair, sell it to finance the 10 bolt build up. Thanx again Pat.
I've been asking about this rear on this and other boards.My '79 has this type of rear and it seems that the carriers for any other 10 bolt are just a drop in.I will be upgrading mine this coming year.HF
as i understand it, practically ALL bop production axles were bolt in, the C-clip cludge was chevrolet specific. this is not to say that you won't find a chevy axle in a buick or a pontiac axle in a chevy (for instance, all the big car 8 7/8" axles were Pontiac ) but buick and olds did produce their own version of the 8 1/2" rear so there should be a LOT of bop bolt-in axle rear assemblies out there yet.
I have an 8.5" 10-bolt as well. It came out of an 77 Trans Am and had 3.23 gears. The carrier and gears swap with any other 8.5" rear. I have sold my original carrier and gears and I will be replacing them, most likely, with an Eaton carrier and 3.73 gears. I was surprised when I found that it had bolt-in axles when it was disassembled. I almost sold the whole rear. ou:
Hey Rip Van Winkle, where you been, for most, it's hard to beat the bolt-in axle 8.5 A-body rear as a foundation to build on. Attributes... -Center hsg... very tough pinion area design. A 12 bolt does not have as much support. -Tapered axle bearings for positive axle retention, no c-clip axles to deal with, no junk sealed bearing axle bearings to seize. Want to go 30 spline or 33 spline axles (with a spool) for further safety margain, just have to plan for their use from the get go. - Wide selection of aftermarket support...gears, posi's, spools, lh steel caps. -Cost difference... Last custom bolt-in axle 12 bolt "Chevelle" rear I built went out the door for right under $1800. Same strength 8.5 aftermarket axle A-body rear can be built for $400 less. -Last, one has the "understated" factor. No I don't gotta gotta have a 12 bolt or 9". Have a Great New Year guys. Gotta run. :3gears: Roger
Roger Who sells the billet rear caps? I missed a set on ebay awhile back, but can't find any on the web. o No:
