Keeping the office Chevelle in check.

If you haven't raced yet, what size tires are you running? If you can get some shorter diameter tires it'd be similar to a gear swap if the size difference is enough. Two or three inch change should be noticable. I've got 235/60-R15 BFG drag radials (26" dia) from America's Tires in Ontario, California the next day after ordering them, no shipping charge (at their local warehouse, which might be closer to you). And possibly a distributor re-curve with a splash of honest race gas in the tank to take advantage of the extra timing without detonation issues.

 

IMO i would not run the NOS. I would work with the dizzy and see how it runs. If you want more performance then regear it and stuff a posi in it so you can stand on it harder, maybe 3.73 gears so you can still drive it without killing the engine.

 

This is pretty far away, a couple of months is my guess.

They're small in diameter: 255/60/15s (all four), it's the tires from the "C". I remember with 3.42 gears on the "C" the revs were up at around 3,400 while going 70mph, so I changed for a set of 255/70/15s at the back, which jacked the rear up and brought the revs down (those rear tires were lost in the fire). I'd like to stuff the same gear setup in the Cat, and run those taller tires, or 275/60/15s, but I just can't find the housing to fit the carrier.

 

The Wildcat is the sister car for the Chevy Impala I think,alot of those cars had 12 bolt rearends in them,you can do alot to a chevy 12 bolt. Even the 10 bolt that came in my '65 Impala had a 3.36:1 rear gear(non-posi though) with a 283 2bbl and a powerglide.

I'm not sure what parts would interchange between the 2 rears,but the entire rear might fit.

Does the Wildcat have the 10 bolt with the 8.875 ring gear; http://www.jdrace.com/diff_id/10bFullSize.htm

Or is it a 8.2 10 bolt?

Derek

 

It's a 9 3/8 12 bolt, and unfortunately it's a design that was only around for a year or so. I even have a 3.42 carrier and gear setup for that year, but there was a mid-year redesign, and the bearing on the carrier don't fit the housing in the car.

 

Will the sister car Impala rearend bolt in?

If so that may be a good option for you,a 12 bolt chevy from an Impala,with a whole lot of parts availability to upgrade to many gear choices and different posi unit choices to fit your needs. GL

Derek

 

I'd be willing to bet that the Impala rear end will not bolt in, at least without some fab work. I know when I compared a '59-'64 Impala rear end to my '62 there were a number of differences. You might get lucky though.