57-64 pontiac rearend
- Thread starter ctcown
- Start date
ctcown,
I raced my '62 from 1971-1980 and blew the stock rear end every way possible, until I put a 1959 Olds/pontiac rear end in it in 1972 and never blew another rear end or broke another axle. So yes they are strong enough.
Tony and Bonnie
I raced my '62 from 1971-1980 and blew the stock rear end every way possible, until I put a 1959 Olds/pontiac rear end in it in 1972 and never blew another rear end or broke another axle. So yes they are strong enough.
Tony and Bonnie
BubbletopMan
Well Known Member
Pontiac/Olds Rearend
I firmly believe it can, provided you can find the appropriate parts. An old friend of mine and my dad's put a built 396 in a 1957 Bel Air back in 1967, immediately started tearing rear ends out. Got a complete 1957 Pontiac rear end under the car, no more rear end problems. I got one out of a 1958 Star Chief with the intent of putting it under my '62, but parts availability made me opt for a 9-inch Ford. Those rear ends have big 33 spline axles factory, big spider gears, big everything! They weigh a ton though, unless you can locate one of the super rare aluminum differentials. I think they were in the race only Super Duty's back in the early '60s. Jeremy
I firmly believe it can, provided you can find the appropriate parts. An old friend of mine and my dad's put a built 396 in a 1957 Bel Air back in 1967, immediately started tearing rear ends out. Got a complete 1957 Pontiac rear end under the car, no more rear end problems. I got one out of a 1958 Star Chief with the intent of putting it under my '62, but parts availability made me opt for a 9-inch Ford. Those rear ends have big 33 spline axles factory, big spider gears, big everything! They weigh a ton though, unless you can locate one of the super rare aluminum differentials. I think they were in the race only Super Duty's back in the early '60s. Jeremy
I ran a Pontiac rear end back in the 60s behind a 409 engine and never broke one. Back then there were a lot if ratios available but I don't know what is available now.
Bill
Bill
57 pontiac rear
Thanks Guys! Just had one given to me and was thinking about using it in my 63 but there is very little info out there about them. I was talking to a gent the other day and he told me you could buy ever thing you needed at a place called Fabcraft they were reproducing all the side gears, posi units, clutches and were in the works with a new aluminum center section for these rear
. plus the car will remain all Gm know sinking F@#D 9in
Thanks Guys! Just had one given to me and was thinking about using it in my 63 but there is very little info out there about them. I was talking to a gent the other day and he told me you could buy ever thing you needed at a place called Fabcraft they were reproducing all the side gears, posi units, clutches and were in the works with a new aluminum center section for these rear
. plus the car will remain all Gm know sinking F@#D 9in
I used to have several early Olds/Pontiac housings and center sections but I sold everything when I sold my '55 ex-Gasser almost two years ago. Wouldn't you know, now I'm in need of one for my '62 Biscayne! I had two 3.42 Posis, 5.57 Spool, 5.14 Locker (rare!), and even a magnesium Mickey Thompson center section with 4.88's. That one sold for $1500 and I was actually afraid of putting it in anything heavier than a dragster and hurting it! Mark Williams, Strange Enginering and Fabcraft all have components readily available. I've never hurt one but did learn a lot about them. Don't you wish GM would have used these across the board in '62 and they cam stock in Chevrolets? That would have been very nice and saved a lot of people a lot of agony, frustation and lost races!
Chevy on the GM ladder
Mark mentions: "Don't you wish GM would have used these across the board in '62 and they came stock in Chevrolets? That would have been very nice and saved a lot of people a lot of agony, frustration and lost races!"
You bet! But I suspect Chevy had different "bean counters" than the more elevated models up the GM line had. Cost had to be the issue.
So now that we know, what years does a guy look for in these older Olds/Pontiac rearend setups? Are all big bodied 1957-1964 rearends the same, or are some preferred over others? And like the open Chevy rear ends, can one alter an Olds/Pontiac open casing to house an aftermarket positraction? Is it less expensive than building a comparable 9 inch Ford?
Thanks for resurrecting this topic, we are just now in the process of making decisions on rearends for our project!
Cheers!
TomK
Mark mentions: "Don't you wish GM would have used these across the board in '62 and they came stock in Chevrolets? That would have been very nice and saved a lot of people a lot of agony, frustration and lost races!"
You bet! But I suspect Chevy had different "bean counters" than the more elevated models up the GM line had. Cost had to be the issue.
So now that we know, what years does a guy look for in these older Olds/Pontiac rearend setups? Are all big bodied 1957-1964 rearends the same, or are some preferred over others? And like the open Chevy rear ends, can one alter an Olds/Pontiac open casing to house an aftermarket positraction? Is it less expensive than building a comparable 9 inch Ford?
Thanks for resurrecting this topic, we are just now in the process of making decisions on rearends for our project!
Cheers!
TomK
The best one to have is the 1957 unit. They are the most narrow housing and only have leaf springs perches welded to the housing which are much easier to remove and then weld on your stock '62 control arm mounts. Now in '58, the housings got wider, hence the Wide-Track Pontiacs, and they have a few more brackets to cut and remove before you weld on your new ones. There was a change somewhere in there from either 28-9 spline axles to the more desireable 31 spline axles. 31 spline axles are readily available from Moser. That what I had in my '55.
1961 Pontiac parts?
I am the less-than-proud owner of a 1961 Catalina 4 door parts car. Would that rear end be an OK one to begin with? I guess it is a bit wider, but will it work, and can I take it from an open rearend to a posi with an aftermarket unit, such as the ones from Eaton, etal?
Thanks!
TomK
I am the less-than-proud owner of a 1961 Catalina 4 door parts car. Would that rear end be an OK one to begin with? I guess it is a bit wider, but will it work, and can I take it from an open rearend to a posi with an aftermarket unit, such as the ones from Eaton, etal?
Thanks!
TomK
That '61 housing would be fine. You may have some difficulty finding the Posi carrier though. Originals are pricey and I really don't think new Posi carriers are available yet. I know there's been talk of them, but I don't think they've actually been released yet. Hey, there is a shop here in St. Louis that can narrow, powder coat and fit Moser 31 Spline axles in it for you. Danny Miller's Rear Gears did mine about three years ago. He'll also install better, large bearing housing ends on the housing that utilize bigger and easier to find drum brake parts. By the way, there's two different Posi carriers out there. A one-piece carrier and a stronger bolt-together carrier. That's the one you want.
Thanks!
Mark (and others):
Thanks for the tips!
One of my buddies here does narrowing and builds drive shafts, etc. We were looking at building a 9 inch, but might just have to change those plans. The build will be a "budget" build for the current 409 truck block build I am messing with right now (more CADD diversions!).
Cheers!
TomK
Mark (and others):
Thanks for the tips!
One of my buddies here does narrowing and builds drive shafts, etc. We were looking at building a 9 inch, but might just have to change those plans. The build will be a "budget" build for the current 409 truck block build I am messing with right now (more CADD diversions!).
Cheers!
TomK
Gravy 62
Active Member
I put a rear out of a '58 Olds 98 which originally had the factory air spring set-up instead of leafs. It fit like a GLOVE. The width was perfect.
I bought 3 control arm brackets from Currie (for the F**D 9" they sell) and I got the 4th arm set-up from Show Cars. I did have to trim the upper brackets to fit the Olds rear which was not hard at all. The Olds 98 air spring rears are a bit hard to find, I stumbled across this one thinking I was going to have to narrow any one I find. The 98 air spring rears are all posi I believe so it is a double bonus to find one. You have to drill for a bolt pattern change or buy aftermarketaxles. I used caliper brackets from Scarebird (has a website and on Ebay) for the Pont/Olds rears, '82 Eldorado E brake calipers, '80 Turbo Trans Am replacement rotors from Summit.
This is MUCH better swap than the power eating 9 inch IMBiasedO (had one in another car and it slowed the car down considerably!) . Heavier pinion bearings, DANA 4 pinion posi unit looks just like the Chevy unit but on steroids. Weighs less than a 9 inch because it has less cast material and does not need the third pinion bearing since it has two way larger pinion bearings and is not offset down like the 9 inch.
Brad at Fabcraft has just about everything, and he is still designing more parts for them. Most if not all his parts are made in the US too.
Gravy 62
I bought 3 control arm brackets from Currie (for the F**D 9" they sell) and I got the 4th arm set-up from Show Cars. I did have to trim the upper brackets to fit the Olds rear which was not hard at all. The Olds 98 air spring rears are a bit hard to find, I stumbled across this one thinking I was going to have to narrow any one I find. The 98 air spring rears are all posi I believe so it is a double bonus to find one. You have to drill for a bolt pattern change or buy aftermarketaxles. I used caliper brackets from Scarebird (has a website and on Ebay) for the Pont/Olds rears, '82 Eldorado E brake calipers, '80 Turbo Trans Am replacement rotors from Summit.
This is MUCH better swap than the power eating 9 inch IMBiasedO (had one in another car and it slowed the car down considerably!) . Heavier pinion bearings, DANA 4 pinion posi unit looks just like the Chevy unit but on steroids. Weighs less than a 9 inch because it has less cast material and does not need the third pinion bearing since it has two way larger pinion bearings and is not offset down like the 9 inch.
Brad at Fabcraft has just about everything, and he is still designing more parts for them. Most if not all his parts are made in the US too.
Gravy 62
Attachments
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Can anyone identify this rearend for me?????
It came out from under the back end of Terry Prince's Z-11 when the car was restored about 10 years ago. I got this in a trade. I don't know if it's an Olds, Pontiac, MoPar or F##d. The axles are still in it and are fine spline. Someone built a huge front traction bar section!!!!
Sorry for the picture...........I have another frame resting on top of the Z-11 frame. Don't have anyway to move it off right now!!
Any help would be appreciated!!
Can anyone identify this rearend for me?????
It came out from under the back end of Terry Prince's Z-11 when the car was restored about 10 years ago. I got this in a trade. I don't know if it's an Olds, Pontiac, MoPar or F##d. The axles are still in it and are fine spline. Someone built a huge front traction bar section!!!!
Sorry for the picture...........I have another frame resting on top of the Z-11 frame. Don't have anyway to move it off right now!!
Any help would be appreciated!!
Attachments
Skip FIx
Well Known Member
http://forums.performanceyears.com/forums/showthread.php?t=602695
Here's a pumpkin for sale on another board.
Here's a pumpkin for sale on another board.
Phil has sent me photos of this housing before and it's hard to tell what the rear actually is without the carrier. The totally smooth round section (without a ring gear bulge) indicates either a 57-59 early Ford 9 inch, Mopar 8 3/4, or one of later 57-64 Olds/Pontiac housings. Most of the early Olds/Pontiacs had a ring gear bulge that I don't see in these pictures. Phil, I'm gonna try and make a trip to KC here pretty soon and if I do, I will bring one of my empty early Olds center sections and we'll see if it fits. I'm pretty sure I can identify this thing in person.
The Altered Wheelbase feature of this particular frame is also interesting. The axle housing has obviously been moved forward the distance of where the axle tube is now directly under the upper coil spring seat instead of the lower control arm. I also like the roll bar mounting pad on the top of the traction bar front "outriggers". Neat stuff!
Gravy 62
Active Member
I am going to say a '59 or '60 Pontiac. They had a round back and that looks like a 9.3" P/O sized housing. Plus the brake hose tee is on the drivers side like all the P/O housings I have seen, I had to weld it up and relocate it on the housing that I put in my car.
Gravy 62
Gravy 62
Mark:
Looking forward to your visit!!!!!!!!
Terry's Z-11 did have the altered wheelbase with the rear axle moved forward. It also had a straight axle under the front when the car was found. Must have been in match race condition!!! The roll bar mount outriggers also locate the front end of the lower control arms. I'll have to get ahold of Terry and see if he knew who did all this work.
Looking forward to your visit!!!!!!!!
Terry's Z-11 did have the altered wheelbase with the rear axle moved forward. It also had a straight axle under the front when the car was found. Must have been in match race condition!!! The roll bar mount outriggers also locate the front end of the lower control arms. I'll have to get ahold of Terry and see if he knew who did all this work.