Hi! Im about to swap my 8.2 axel in my -70 skylark, to 8.5 axel. i welded everything upp regarding the lower arms and the spring/shock mounts . Now i need some suport regarding the upper control arms since the "ears" on the 8.5 housing are spaced further apart and has a slightly different angle than the ones on the 8.2 axel.Im hoping that someone of you pros here can point me in the right direction or maybe hook me up with a pair of modified upper control arms that will work with my application... Thanks in advance! Johan / Sweden
Johan, We need more information than that. I swapped my original 8.2 for an 8.5 out of a 71 GS350. There was no welding involved, and it was a direct swap so I have no idea what you are talking about, and neither will anyone else. What car did this 8.5 come out of that it won't fit?
I did a direct swap also. I don't think the ears are different if they are both 64-72 GM A-body rears. I will tell you that lifting up and moving the rear end around in its travel will make it easier to get the bolts in. Remove the rear springs and use a jack to lift the rear end up higher and it should make it easier to get the upper control arms and bolts in place.
Hi! Im told that the 8.5 is from 1973... im not shure about its precise origin. what i am shure about is that if i compare the two housings, the upper control arm mounting "ears" are not located in the exact same place on the housings. the ones on the 8.5 housing are further apart aprox and at a slitly different angle as i mentioned in my earlier post. I will try to post some pictures. Thanks for trying to help. Johano No:
That sounds like your problem right there. The 73-77 rear is about one inch wider and has different angles for the control arms compared to the '64-'72 design. I've not heard of anyone making this swap. Devon
The thing is that i got the 8.5 axel for free an its totally rebuildt.outherwise i wouldnt do this swap. anyway, ill make it happen!!
You could always sell it to a '73-'77 person and buy the right part for your car. Besides the control arm angle problem, will the pinion angle be correct? This may be another show-stopping difference between the two designs. Devon
I would think that a posi with a good gear for a 73-77 would be a hot commodity. Not exactly easy to find!
Looking at those pics, I don't think you are going to overcome this easily. If you get it to work, you will have a one-off that will haunt you for the rest of your life. Put it up for sale in the parts section and concentrate on an 8.5 that will bolt in. You will regret going any further with this project if you don't.
Or since you mentioned welding......ou: Where it mounts to the body COULD be cut and re-welded for the correct angle. Follow this with adjustable upper control arms and you would have SOME adjustment of the pinion angles. But as stated this is going to be allot of work and you might be one of the few to have done it. see if you can get hold of MONZAZ (aka Jim) on this forum and chew his ear off regarding the swap. Scott
If it were mine I'd probably look for a `71-`72 8.5" housing and transfer the posi and gears over to it.
If you have some money we can make it work NO PROBLEM. I already have upper control arms to fit 8.8 fords into G-body and 8.5 73-77 rear into g-body...I am sure we can whip up a set of uppers for this too. I just need to get some time to get it done...Jim:3gears:
Hi Jim! First of all i would like to thank you for trying to help me out here!!! How much do you think it would cost to fab a pair of upper control arms for my 1973 8.5 axel i my 1970 skylark? And how long do you need to get it done? Anouther thing is that i live in Sweden... Is it possible for you to ship them over here? Of course ill pay for the shippment.....ray:
one more thing... is there anyway to do a propper id on my 8.5 axle. As i mentioned before i was told that its from 1973 but im not 100% shure. Im thinking about castnr or any other way...
