58 Belair question

[BelairGreaser]

Hello everyone... I am new here. I have a 1958 Belair I bought in California in 1988. It had a 6 cylinder in it. I bought a parts car with a 348 4 speed back in the 1990 and was wondering if the 6 cylinder rear is any different then the v8 back then?... I've done plenty of burnouts over the years and hate that it's not posi. Prices online for used posi units are so high.... thinking about a posi unit ... but not sure if it's good idea if a 6 cylinder rear is weak... Any info is appreciated!...thank you!

 

[La Hot Rods]

Welcome aboard!!!
The rear end itself is the same the only difference may be the gear ratio from a 6 cylinder to a 8 cylinder car.

 

[alexm900]

Welcome. On a limited budget I used the Eaton Posi (GM 55P 8.2 Dropout) with the addition of a 4th arm (1959) and Tom Parsons' "Converting non-posi rearend to posi for ‘55-‘64 Chevrolet passenger car"article. All in all a sub $1k mod if you can do most of it yourself.

 

[BelairGreaser]

Good to know rear is strong as V8.... is it true the rear ends from 1955-64 all are interchange? also.. they only have 17 spline axles? most later cars had 28-31 splines i remember.. (I'm going to check out the Eaton Posi you mentioned...). THank you all!..

 

[our1962]

Welcome nice hot rod, if your not going too drive it hard and only a few burnout's, drive it till you need to fix it 50 years ago that's what I did

 

[skipxt4]

Welcome BelairGreaser. Nice 58.

 

[James jones]

Nice looking car.

 

[409newby]

Just like my first car 58 Belair 2dr ht.

 

[62BillT]

Good to know rear is strong as V8.... is it true the rear ends from 1955-64 all are interchange? also.. they only have 17 spline axles? most later cars had 28-31 splines i remember.. (I'm going to check out the Eaton Posi you mentioned...). THank you all!..

All the Hogsheads are the same '55 to '64 as you have mentioned, but the '55 and '56's aren't as strong. You are fine with your '58.

 

[Jim Sullivan]

Welcome to this great site BelairGreaser. Nice '58.

 

[63 dream'n]

Rear end set up is different with the wishbone on the 5eights instead of the three or four link……. nice ride

Rear Upper A-Arm Kit 1958 Impala, El Camino, Bel Air part # TBC-58

<font size="3"><center><strong>Tutorial and Product Overview Videos</center></strong></font> <center><iframe width="375" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/7f4Cf5CpFAs?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="375" height="315"...

www.globalwest.net

 

[BelairGreaser]

HI 63 dream'n.
good to know.. I see the "wishbone" bolts ... so if I keep my existing rear end housing...and swap out the center chunk with a 59-64 impala... it will be ok right?.. I am looking at a posi unit Eaton Posi (GM 55P 8.2 Dropout). that alexm900 mentioned. You all are a huge help and it's most appreciated!

 

[63 dream'n]

Yes if you keep your same housing you can reuse with just the different center section……Keep in mind, like shown in the video……. The only thing stopping your housing from wanting to wander side to side are those bushings……..If your rear end bushings are from 1958 you should probably upgrade the bushings

 

[BelairGreaser]

good advice 63 dream'n...thx!