I have been offered a set of 3.42 gears for my 65 Wildcat 9 3/8 diff, and it has been suggested that it won't work. Is there a way to make this work, as I'm really loving the idea of having those 3.42's in there.
You'd have to know the distance difference between the ring gear flanges of the two different carriers, then have a spacer plate fabricated to space the 3.42:1 ring gear inwards toward the pinion gear. The problem is going to be finding that dimension. As far as I know there are no off-the-shelf ring gear spacers out there for the old 9-3/8" rear like there are for more popular applications. Devon
There was a thread floating around about all the 9 3/8" rear differences, including what size spacer would be needed, I believe. I think it was Tom (Telriv) who had that information.
http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?71740-9-3-8-quot-rear-differences No specific dimensions offered for a ring gear spacer that I saw, just a mentions of "approx 1/4" and "roughly 1/4". Devon
Look up Monzaz on here... I bet he can shed light on your issues.He made my bulletproof 8.5 rear and knows his stuff.Highly recommended by many!!
That is one rear I do not have a ton of info on and or rebuild. I would say using the 9.3 pontiac Olds will be close to correct offset needed. It is more in the 1.8" thickness. I can check the bolt pattern to see how close it is. I do not have many carriers to check the differences in the carrier flange lands that the ring mounts too for the correct difference in them. Jim
Perhaps it would be easier to put an 8.5 in there from a mid seventies full size. I put an Eaton 4.88's where there were 2.73's in my 72 Impala right out of the box.
lol. Well there were no 8.5 rear in 1965 so that would be pretty tough to accomplish AND if you were going to do all that work do a larger rear like 9.5 GM rear. This winter we are going to work on the full size car bolt in 9.5 GM rear for guys that want a BIG HD rear for street and strip.
I don't think I'll ever make enough power to break an 8.5, so I don't think I'll need a 9.5. What are the 9.5's out of and why is putting a 8.5 in so difficult?
I've got another idea; the 65 LeSabre would have a 8.2; Monzaz should be able to build something for you from one of them. Lots of things to worry about, driveshaft next...keep the 2 piece? try to make a single? modifications needed to bolt up to 8.2/8.5? could you use the front section from the Nailhead and back from a 65 LeSabre? Ted " Today, 04:45 PM"
I've thought about that. I have a 65 Lesabre but it came out of a swamp, so most of the undercarriage has been corroded. You can get gears for the 8.2?
I think so, the earlier ones in the skylarks have carriers and gears available. Better crack that LeSabre differential open and educate us! Ted
Can I ask why a 9.5, verses a Ford 9in or GM 12 bolt? I doubt there are many full size guys requiring something that beefy.
