Hey are you going to chop up a GN rear??? Oh man I will trade you a 10 bolt 8.5 direct fit for the GN ... lol. That rear is worth more untouched.
A 4x4 8.5 s-10 rear will also be about the same width as a GN rear too and it is leaf spring perch and 5 lug on 4 3/4" bolt pattern too.
You really should think hard before modifying that GN housing. Just 2 cents more...lol. Jim
71-74 Nova, Omega, Ventura, and Apollo came with an 8.5 rear that bolts right into a first gen Camaro. the only tricky part comes if you've still got the mono leaf springs in your Camaro- if so, then either swap to multi leafs or cut the multi leaf mounts off the axle housing and weld on some "Mopar" spring mounts or your stock mono leaf mounts in their place.
you should be able to buy, modify, and build a Nova 8.5 for what you can sell a GN rear axle housing for.
yeah, look at the bottom of a Nova on a lift and then look at a 67 Camaro on a lift, and you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference. except for the driveshaft, e brake cable, brake and fuel lines, and exhaust, all the parts that bolt under the bottom of the cars interchange.Yep... I forgot all about those cars... You can steal the front discs, power brake booster, mast cyl and spindles off them too. I grabbed a set off a 74 Omega for my '67 Camaro and they were a simple bolt-on swap.
Since when did S10's have 8.5 rears in them ? All I ever saw under one of those trucks were 7.5 & 7.625 rears.
The fullsize 1500's had 8.5 10-bolt rears under them... but not the little S10 trucks.
would you happn to know th years?Later S-10's with the ZR-2 suspension package had 8.5's with rear disc.
Later S-10's with the ZR-2 suspension package had 8.5's with rear disc.
would you happn to know th years?
The RPO ZR2 was a special off-road/suspension package offered by General Motors primarily on their 4x4 2nd Generation S-Series line. It made its debut in 1994 when it was introduced in both the Chevrolet S-10 and the GMC Sonoma (Highrider) pickup trucks. In 1996, it was expanded to the 2-Door Chevrolet Blazer (dubbed blaZeR2 by fanatics) and later offered with the Chevrolet Tracker.
While RPO stands for Regular Production Option, ZR2 doesn't stand for anything as it's just the code that GM assigned to it. It's also the name generally given to these vehicles by their owners. Like the S-10 itself, the RPO ZR2 was eventually replaced by the Chevrolet Colorado Z71 in 2004.
The following factory-installed features are what made the ZR2 standout from other 4x4 trucks offered in the S-Series class.
Ladder Type Frame with Modified Mounting Points
100mm wider track (3.9 inches wider than regular S-10)
Increased Ground Clearance (Approx 3" over Regular S-Series 4x4)
Enhanced front (7.25" ring gear) and rear (8.5" ring gear) axles w/ 3.73:1 rear-axle ratio
Larger wheel and axle bearings
31 x 10.50" BFG A/T Tires (Pickup), 31 x 10.50" BFG Longtrails (Blazer)
Fender Flares
Spectra Gray on the Chevrolet Models, despite body color. Body color on all GMC Models.
46mm gas pressurized Bilstein Monotube shocks
Rear Track Bar (Pickup), Front Anti-Sway Bar (Blazer)
Skid Plates [1]
Front/Rear Disc brakes (1998-2005) , Disc/Drum brakes (1994-1997)
Full Size Spare Tire
In 95 they released a 8.5 in diff in the L35 (I think) 4.3 vortec trucks.
4x4 diffs are 4 in wider than 2wd, and ZR2 diffs are another 3.9 wider than the 4x4
S10 2x4 rears are 48" backing plate to backing plate
s10 4X4 rears are 52" backing plate to backing plate
The weakness is in the spider gears or posi Unit. If you plan on smokin the tires a lot, buy a aftermarket posi (alburn) or leave it open..A lot of guy's are now using Ford Explorer 8.8 rears. You can get one even with a posi and disc brakes pretty cheap. I believe they measure about 54 to 56" backing to backing plate. The spring perches are viturally the same as an S10
Hey gottype,
How about trading me for that rear end? I have a 1973 Olds Omega 8.5 rear end with 35,000 miles.
It came out of my Omega. I took it out when I swapped in a 1969 Camaro 12 bolt.http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/img/icons/icon10.gif
I can bring it down with me. I see you're near the Big Thicket. I lived down there.