rear end nightmare! NEED HELP

Discussion in 'V-8 Buick Powered Regals' started by regalman4925, May 4, 2006.

  1. regalman4925

    regalman4925 Active Member

    ok i have done only a small amount of rear end work in the past but i know the basics. heres my delema, i have the stock pile o crap rear end in my 84 regal right now, i also have a rear out of a 82 regal with a posi carrier and crappy gears, and then i have a locker out of a bravada with 3.42 gears which is what i want. the problem is that the locker is for 28 spline axles and is a series 3 carrier and the regal rears both have 26 spline series 2 carriers. i have been told that i can use a spacer to put the 3.42 gears into the series 2 carrier but i can not find the spacer for a reasonable price. any ideas or help would be a great help, I NEED A GOOD REAR END!!! i know that alot of people are gonna tell me to upgrade the whole rear end but that is not an option right now and i keep being told that a 7.5 is just fine up to 500 horses. dont know if thats true but i dont plan to replace it untill it gives me a good reason to plus my engine is only around 300 horses. thanks for any help!
    :beer
     
  2. RATROASTER

    RATROASTER BPG#1291, GS-CA#2265

    ...........the horsepower factor is not the problem with the rearend, its the torque from the 455. 510 ft-lbs of torque will definitely kill it if you want power from the line. I've seen 7.5's last behind 455's, but those guys aren't running slicks and powering from the line. Then again if you have a 350 in the car then you have nothing to worry about. I really can't help you with the carrier deal. I always thought that a 2.78 and lower needed a 3 series carrier, no exceptions. :Do No:
     
  3. D BERRY

    D BERRY 72 Skylark 2 DR POST

    Ratroaster is right, torque is what will kill your rearend. If your running a 455 in a Regal I don't know why you are worried about gears anyway. I'm running a 72 Skylark with 2.56 posi gears and running 1.90s in the sixty foot times. My car weighs 4100 with me in it, 3800 without, I'm sure your car is lighter than that. Used to have 3.42s in my car but changed and lost 4 hundrents of a second in the quarter mile. I get a couple of miles to the gallon more than I used to and she'll run 100 MPH in second gear. Put the posi in and leave the crappy gears, don't put any slicks on it, and save your money for the rearend you really want and still get to drive your car. :TU:

    Dave B
     
  4. Ray

    Ray Well-Known Member

    dave i was reading your post on what gears you have,amazing that the 342 are only a little better gear than what you have.i have 342s in my century and those rpms are sure zinging on the freeway,right around 60 miles per hour im turning about 2800 rpms.have 275 -60-15s on back.does yours come out of the hole good.was thinking possible going with 308s.let me know what yah think. Ray
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    Anal Webcams
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2011
  5. diver

    diver Well-Known Member

    regalman4925

    Put the posi from the 82 in the 84, check the backlass before taking it apart. Set it up with the same measurement. To use the Bravada you will need to buy a need gear set with wide ring gear, do not use spacer unless you want to break things. I have one. You will also need to buy new Moser axles with 28 spline, that fit a 7 1/2, $225+.
    I have a 82 with a 7 1/2, 3.42 wide ring gear 7 5/8. Alburn posi, Moser axles behind a strong 350. I am plan to go back to 3.08 instead of putting in a 200r4 because the engine is spinning too fast at the end of 1/4 and on road.
    Diver
     
  6. D BERRY

    D BERRY 72 Skylark 2 DR POST


    In my case it's definatly true. My cam was a GS116 from Poston just a mild buildup. On back to back weekends I went from 13.60 with 3.42s to a 13.64 with the 2.56s, my 60 foot times were off .04 which is where I lost it. Doesn't feel as good out of the hole but pulls harder on the other end. I actually expected to lost about three tenths. Now at 55 MPH I'm pulling 1825 RPMs, I can drive to the track, about 75 miles and back home without having to put gas in it, which is what I used to have to do. Course now I have a different cam so I'd like to try 3.08s myself. Oh yes, forgot to mention that I can pull the quarter in second. My point is with the torque of a 455 you don't need a lot of gear to get her going. :bglasses:

    Dave B
     
  7. Ray

    Ray Well-Known Member

    dave my combo is a 10.1 compression motor,ta212 cam,750 speed demon carb,2 1/4 exhaust off manifolds,i think those 308s would feel probably same out of hole,but i bet it would knock those rmps down a bit.i cant pass up a gas station.any ideas on who would have good gears,i dont want any noise back there.thanks Ray
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    STOCKS TO BUY NOW
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2011
  8. D BERRY

    D BERRY 72 Skylark 2 DR POST

    Ray

    Well if you want to buy used gears, which may be or not a good idea, you can do what I did. Went to a guy that sets up gears for all the local guys and bought a 3.08 ring and pinion from him. Actually he gave them to me, said that is what he normally takes out when he puts gears in and usually has to throw them away. I think you'd be better off getting a complete rearend, shouldn't cost to much, especially if you go to one of those U-Pull-It type places. Then if you don't like the higher gears you can swap back easily, if you do like them then you have a complete rear to sell, plus no setup involved. In my case I had to get my posi carrier from a junkyard and installed it myself with no problems so far. Just as good, from a milage point of view, as a 200r4, and a lot cheaper. :bglasses:

    Dave B
     
  9. RATROASTER

    RATROASTER BPG#1291, GS-CA#2265

    With a stock to mild cam 3.08's are gravy. Don (Fastest 430) ran a 13.08 with a stock cam, turbo 350, and a 3.08 gear set. The milder the cam the higher gear. I know Don ran the TA212 exclusively for a period of time. Maybe he can give you some info on gearsets.
     
  10. fastest430

    fastest430 Well-Known Member

    If you want 300 horse to feel strong,3.42-1 is a great choice!
    As far as a "good rearend" the 8.5 is excellent' but costly.
    I see a catch 22 here in the fact that money is big factor in your quest for a good G-Body rear.
    I can't go without saying Ford 9'',because Gear selection is second to none!If you want the quick fix use the 7.75-1 rear with the 3.08 that fits your carrier. 3.08 is OK! This is assuming you are looking for a street, strip combo. :TU: If you want the best of both worlds go SWITCH PITCH

    Keep me posted :)
     
  11. Floydsbuick

    Floydsbuick Well-Known Member

    I wonder..................

    I paid $152 for my big car (Caprice) 8.5, 3.42 posi thats in my LeSabre. What if you could score a big car rear and have it narrowed to G body specs? I mean, wouldn't it be a simple case of have the tubes shortned and maybe buying a set of GN axles? Wouldn't that work out cheaper than buying a costly GN rear????? Or am I a big dummy and this won't work??????
     
  12. Floydsbuick

    Floydsbuick Well-Known Member

    :blast: :blast: you snooty big block guys :blast: :blast: :laugh:
     
  13. alec296

    alec296 i need another buick

    find out if 2 wheel drive s-10 axles are same length and swap in the 3.42s
    if not call moser. but i think s-10 2 wheel drive axles will work(not sure)
    get the ta girdle and preload caps.
     
  14. regalman4925

    regalman4925 Active Member

    im more confused then ever! now im thinking 3.08s but i normally just drive around town and short distances on the hyway. im not into the strip....yet, plus the nearest quarter mile track is a good ways from omaha, we do have a 1/8 mile track near by. the 3.42s i have came on the locker carrier i have and thats what i intended to use untill i found out that the axles had different splines. i think if i could find some axles out on a grand national or monte ss they are suppose to have 28 spline axles wich im assuming will slide right into my rear end. the thing is, everytime i find a monte ss in the salvage yard, the rear is always gone along with every part i want! if i find a complete ss rear i will just buy the whole thing. i found one only once and i didnt have the right tools to pull the rear so i came back the next day and the car was nowhere to be found, really odd salvage yard, they have been said to be takeing stolen cars and makeing them disappear. so is this ring spacer a ok way to go untill i can afford to drop a large load of cash on a better rear? if i use the spacer i can use the posi rear out of the 82 and the 342s from the bravada and only spend around a hundred bucks total and use it untill it gives me a reason to switch it. untill my next engine is built im not really planning on abuseing it besides maybe showing the honda boys that their ricers are not that fast. we have been useing 7.5s out of camaros on our rods several times and never had a prob and those things weigh alot more then my car! sorry for all the typing, i just wanna figure this out! thanks guys for all the help so far!!
     
  15. alec296

    alec296 i need another buick

    i thought monte ss has a 7.5 rear too.maybe its a newer year axle change
    as the 7.5 axles are suppose to be the same as gn 8.5 rears
     
  16. wildcat4

    wildcat4 Well-Known Member

    Hey Regalman,... wish I knew your name.
    You mentioned Omaha, and I suddenly feel like you may be around here somewhere.
    I had an 84 Regal with a 455 in it and went from a 2:41 posi to a 7.5 3:42 rearend and absolutely loved it. My gas mileage dropped a bit but I don't go driving to Bowling Green every week either.
    I liked the rear so much that when I sold the car I kept the 3:42 rearend.
    I don't think i will be using it in the near future so if your interested I would sell it to ya.

    I'm not just trying to sell mine, I'm trying to say, I loved the gear change!
     
  17. regalman4925

    regalman4925 Active Member

    what are you asking for the rear end? is it all stock parts or are they aftermarket? im thinking at this point i might try the spacer and see how that works, seems like the most affordable option right now. i have the posi rear end just siting here right now waiting to built! im also debating the rear disc brake swap, i have the brackets, calipers, and valve to switch it but i need the rotors, pads and new brake lines. im debating the discs because i have a set of 14" cragars that i use to have on it and i might like to put them back on once and a while just to change it up some, if i put the discs on the wheels wont fit.
     
  18. 84350lab

    84350lab Member

    rearend ?

    would it be a crime to put a 8" or 9" ford rear in my regal cause the 8.5 are not really arould were i live ?
     
  19. regalman4925

    regalman4925 Active Member

    theres a guy on ebay that sells the ford 9" rears set up for a g body for cheap. he sells them complete or just the housing. he also sells just the weld on brackets to do it yourself. he has very reasonable prices too.
     
  20. diver

    diver Well-Known Member

    Regalman

    Just a note here. The S-10 2 W axles are shortern than regal and the clip groove is in a different location on the 8.5 axles, do not just slip in. Need Moser's axles. BTDT If you really want a spacer, I have one with bolts, shipping plus a little for boxing, say $20.
    Diver
     

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