I bought a 1988 Camaro z28 and it has a bad rear end, I know the rear end in it went bad because the guy I bought it from didn't know what he had! This motor in the camaro is pushing out about 450 hp, I need to know if a 9 inch ford rear end will be a good investment?
sure you don't mean it's badass?
Dana 44 fits too. Open your wallet for fab work either way.
Almost anything is better then the 10 bolt they put in them stock. Just be prepared to fork out 2k to replace it.
i'd be tempted to get an 8.8 out of an explorer. cheap, plentiful, come with discs and lsd.
I always liked the rear in my 4th gen F-body. Had 3.42 gears which seemed perfect. Never had any problem with just the CAI LT-1. Nowhere near 450 HP but still fairly torquey
belteshazzar wrote: i'd be tempted to get an 8.8 out of an explorer. cheap, plentiful, come with discs and lsd.
The torque arm mount is the hard part, only the F-body rear ends had the mount (and Vegas and Monza too). Moser and Currie have 9" rear ends with the mount and Moser also has a 12-bolt version. Not cheap though. Unfortunately, the stock rear ends don't last long above 300 hp, even with upgrades.
Try the 87 only Aussie Borg Warner 9 bolt, it is from a 3rd gen, is stronger, lsd and disc brake.
Bolt in because it came out of the same car.
I have one in my LeMons car and my CMC car
Nowhere near your power in either of these though. I used a Ford 8.8 in my 500+ hp S10, made my own custom 4 link.
Will a Ford 9" bolt right up to it though? Reason I am asking is because I am only allotted 15 days when I get back off of this deployment. I get back February and I need to get this done so I can go ahead and move it.
Strong, easy, cheap. Pick two.
If you want something that'll bolt in quickly and easily, its probably gonna cost you...
I am willing to spend the money not the time. I have 15 days to get this done.
Just to get it moving go get a junk yard direct replacement and bolt it in and then take care of it properly when you have more time?
Thats the way it's lookin.
Is it possible/easy to weld a torque arm mount to an axle that didn't come with it? I'm guessing not, or someone would have suggested it.
psteav wrote: Is it possible/easy to weld a torque arm mount to an axle that didn't come with it? I'm guessing not, or someone would have suggested it.
Or you could fab a new torque arm and mount like Moser or Midwest Chassis does on their respective 9" rears.
I have been running a 8.5" 10 bolt from a 2nd gen Camaro for years in my 82. I made my own torque arm, mounted to a piece of 1/2 inch plate cut to bolt in under the rear cover. and built a fixture to use the trailing arm brackets from the 7.5. I've had it in the car for over 15 years, with 4:11 gears and a B&M 144 blower on a 350, works flawlessly.
Not gonna happen in 15 days, though.
Streetwiseguy wrote: I have been running a 8.5" 10 bolt from a 2nd gen Camaro for years in my 82. I made my own torque arm, mounted to a piece of 1/2 inch plate cut to bolt in under the rear cover. and built a fixture to use the trailing arm brackets from the 7.5. I've had it in the car for over 15 years, with 4:11 gears and a B&M 144 blower on a 350, works flawlessly. Not gonna happen in 15 days, though.
this is pretty much the direction i'm thinking about going wiht mine, except i'll be using an 8.5 out of a late 80's/early 90's Caprice. it's pretty close to the same overall width and the lower control arm mounts are in about the same place, and i'd make a torque arm mount that uses the rear cover bolts with maybe a bracket that wraps around the housing where the pinion goes in to allow the use of the stock or any of the aftermarket beefed up torque arms. a 94-96 Caprice 8.5 would give me 12" disc brakes and the bigger 5X5 bolt pattern, which i'd match on the front with some 12" Caprice rotors with custom brackets to run the 98-02 LS1 F body front brake calipers.
You could run a factory 7.5 10bolt with that much power, LS1 cars make that HP with bolt ons, and they run the same diff as your 88. I would find a disc brake rear from a 3rd or 4thgen, put in new bearings, limited slip/gears. you would want a diff from a car from 1989 and up, those got the stronger 28 spline axles. you could buy a new set of those 28s pline axles if you want to stick with the rear end housing that came with the car, and then just order a LSD, and gear set to match ur axles it will bolt right into your 88 10bolt housing, with no mods. Unless your planning on running slicks and drag racing all the time, a rebuilt 10 bolt with brand new bearings/gears/LSD will hold up to a lot of abuse for quite a while.
I plan on using this car to pretty much show off in. I also have an 82 with the same damn issue. I bought both cars from a guy that never changed out the rearends. I thought it was going to be an easy fix. I just want the easiest but most correct way to fix this issue. Especially on my 88. 
Hmm?
http://www.lt1howto.com/articles/diy9inch.htm
Specifically this part: "Moser sells a complete 9 inch housing package, with the spring perches, control arm brackets, and torque arm mount for $985, which includes Moser axles with your choice of spline count."
Not a cheap option, but if you have limited time it does sound like the quickest one.
maybe look on racingjunk.com for someone that's selling a used bolt in 9" housing with a center section and axles and hope that it's not bent or something..
Nah I will go with all new. I want to do this right and no short cuts. I plan on making this street/strip.
Ian F wrote: Hmm? http://www.lt1howto.com/articles/diy9inch.htm Specifically this part: "Moser sells a complete 9 inch housing package, with the spring perches, control arm brackets, and torque arm mount for $985, which includes Moser axles with your choice of spline count." Not a cheap option, but if you have limited time it does sound like the quickest one.
This was the most help I could get. this is what i am going to invest in. Thanks man. I sure appreciate it.
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