here is my baby..pics 56chevy..
 

i bought this truck for 2500..truck was runniing whith a 305 and a 350tran..i removed everything from it and planning to rebuldit from scratch...:metal:

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truck is naked....

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i got a nice 350....and im in the process of get a clip...my truck will be running this summer...more pics coming soon thanks..:metal:

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Looks like a great starting point.
Kim

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i will go with the camaro clip but want to get a rearend with disk brakes, i dont know wish rearend to get...any particular:uhmk:

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thanks kim

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i used 12" discs for a 98-02 f-body, but i am going to run a big wilwood disc kit (12.19" with 4 piston calipers - not cheap) in the front to balance it out. if you don't go with bigger fronts, then you will have too much rear brake that way.

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need a rear end with disk....to save money:chevy:

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Since you want a rearend with disc brake you can look for a 2nd gen Firebird Trans Am (71-81) that will give you a big 10 bolt (8.5) posi and and a lot of them came with rearend disc .

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i was thinking of a blazer rear end 2000up?but if i found a trans am iwill get it thanks

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my understanding is that if you use an s10 rearend, you want the 4x4 rear, as it is the right width. the 2wd version is a bit narrow and would require spacers.

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my understanding is that if you use an s10 rearend, you want the 4x4 rear, as it is the right width. the 2wd version is a bit narrow and would require spacers.

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so which one should i get....i want to put 18inch by 10 in the back..cant some one tell me what rear end is perfect for me

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need a rear end so i cant put 18s x 10 in the back..thats me with my boys..

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Do you have your wheels and tires? Best way would be to set the tires and bed where they will be. Check for clearance to bed and fenders then measure the distance between the wheels. If you don't have the wheels do some research on what you want and see what the back set and overall width is. Find out what the actual tire width is. Mock up a template that matchs the offset and tire width, check for clearance and measure the distance between (or to CL of frame crossmember). That will tell you what width, mounting surface to mounting surface, you are looking for. Popular ones seem to be S-10 4WD and 80-s Camaros.

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for 10" wide tires you'll need to tub the bed. not much, but dad's 8" wheels rub.

get a rear end out of a latemodel ford explorer or mercury mountianeer. they have rear disk, 8.8 ring gear, posi traction, parking brake, and sway bar. and certin ones have factory traction bars. they fit perfect.

only down side is you'll have the ford bolt pattern, that is unless you get a set of chevy bolt pattern hubs and rotors, or order your rear wheels in a ford bolt pattern

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i will work on the suspension this spring ,i was thinking about a camaro clip but spoke to my friend that owns like 10cars, and he told me that its to much work and cutting by the time you rebuild a camaro clip you and up paying about the same,,if i get a camaro clip i have to buy new,rotor,pads,bushings,spindles cut the frame ,,and its hard to get around here,i call a couple of junk jards and the price its crazy from 400 to 600 not worth it ....i been window shoping 2 ....i seen a nice ifs on ebay for like 1,500 i will probably get it next moth what u guys think........

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Looks like a great looking project, best of luck with it, and be sure to keep us posted.

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i like this site...blckbuty .....:metal:

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now your talkin, This is what we did to dads. We used the crossmember from Industrial chassis inc. It uses the dodge dakota a-arms & rack. But it or the mustang 2 has the 5 on 4 1/2 wheels, that makes the 8.8 ford rearend a good pick. Theres a lot of explorers in the yards with low miles, disc brakes, rear sway bars and 3:23, 3:73 or 4:10 posis and can be had (around here) for $250.

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There is no way someone could tell you what is the best rearend for you. There are too many variables when building a car or truck. You need to know what you are building cruiser, racer, prostreet, streetrod, what kind of lip you like on your wheels deep or not? That would go into the decision making. I personally like the big 10 bolt (71-81) because the ring gear is 8.5 and has many after marker gear choices. I will narrow it to my liking. You also have the earier 8.2 I don’t use that one but I know people that are happy with it. The newer GM rearend have a 7.5 ring gear and come with disc brakes but its weaker than an 8.5, but it’s narrower than the 8.5. Then you have the 12 bolt which is over kill unless you are running mad horse power.

Now as far as Ford rearends, I like the 9 inch, no c-clips, easy to narrow, very strong lots of gears available but again over kill unless you are running mad horse power, you can use the explorer disc brakes on some years. The Lincoln Versailles 9 inch came with rear disc, but the calipers are expensive. The explorer rear the 8.8 strong came with disc brakes, but the pumpkin is offset I don’t like that personally, but that’s just me. You can get your rotors and axles redrilled to a chevy bolt pattern.

If you were closer I have a chevy 7.5 and and Ford 8.8 that I'm not going to use. Both are posi with disc brakes. I was going to give the Ford to a friend for his 49 Ford project. I junked and my explorer and drop the rearend before the junk man came.

Don't be in rush or it will show. Go to shows and look at trucks you like and talk to the guys and see what they had to do to get that look.

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I agree with Kabwe, take your time, go to shows for ideas, look around on this site and think through your build and in the end your going to end up with a sweet ride.

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thanks guys for the ideas ,i like to cruse my car to shows and drive it around ..as far as shows around here there are no shows like the ones you guys go to..its been really hard for me because i got no help,my friend the one who got me into this die like 8moths ago,,but i been reading trucks magazines 24/7.......the only help i got is u guys ,i dont have the money to pay some body to fix my baby girl:lol:...BUT GOING BACK TO THE REAR END I WILL LOVE TO PUT 18/10 IN THE BACK AND DONT KNOW WHAT TO GET FOR THE BACK I LIKE THE IDEA OF A FORD REAR END BUT I SEEN BLAZER WITH REAR DISK :chevy::chevy::chevy:CHEVY LIKE A ROCK BABY...BUT IF A GOT NO OTHER CHOICE THEN I WILL GO WITH THE FORD REAR END......AND YES DEEP IN THE BACK THATS MY DREAM.....:metal:

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HEY KABWE THANKS....:chevy::metal:

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Ok guys this truck its been siting around for two years and wify is on my ass because i got the cab in the back yard and some other parts,,,i need to get this truck moving for the summer and i will...today i spoke to a nice guy who owns a body shop and maybe i will take the cab so he could start working with it....maybe i could get it running (prime) i dont care i just want to drive it...

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No problem man. When you see things you like on here feel free to ask questions, the guys on here are great and want to share knowledge and experience. If you want a Chevy rearend get one. I don't believe in settling life’s too short. Get what you want are you will not be happy.

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I will take your advise a will go 71 to81 ....hope that is the perfect one..

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Remember I told you I'm gonna narrow mine 2 inches on each side to get it the way I want. I want a really deep lip.

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i am using a 8.5" 10-bolt from the same 77 nova i got the front clip from. probably won't narrow it, but plan to run smoothie's anyway for a retro look...

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ok guys i love gm cars but after searching junk jards for couple of weeks and doing my homework on a rear ends on the net and other forums today i bought a 2001 ford explorer rearend 8.8 posi rear with 128.000miles rear disk and the price was 200$ in graiglist.....i was looking for a gu8 but to much money ....

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will i be able to use my 350tranny and cruse at 70mph with no problem.. lot of people use ford rear ends for racing...

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This is where I made my decision. I had heard a rumor that Ford Explorer rear ends were similar in width and were supposedly a good match to swap. This rear has a ring gear of 8.8 inches and is just as strong as a Chevy 12 bolt. They also have massive 1.32" diameter axles with 31 splines. On top of both all that, the limited slip rears only come in 3.55, 3.73, or 4:10 gears. All 3 are pretty awesome gears for street/strip. AND!! Last but not least, if you find one out of a '95+ Explorer it means they will have disc brakes, yes!! You can be upgrading strength, adding a posi, getting better gears, AND making a huge rear brake upgrade to discs all in one swap... can you imagine the money saved from doing that to your 10 bolt?>>>.i been reading alot of forums and this type of information ..200$ cant beat it....

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Thats great you found a rearend you are happy with, now get to building and post pics

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kabwe thanks ..i will cant wet to drive it...but the weather dont help 2fkg cold....

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What gears did you get? 3.55's won't be to bad with the TH350, but the 4.10 would be ruff at 70. Dad's has the 3.73's with a 700r4 and it's a real nice driver. You might want to look into the overdrive tranny.

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blackdiesel i took your advise and bought a ford rear end it is cheper and strong ...igot the posi rear one itis a 8.8 with3.73:sumo: so the 350 its know good i have to get a 700r4

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Well, the 350 is doable, but the 700 would be a better choice if 70 is where your going to be running a lot of the time. We started out with a TH350 but went to the 700, didn't like the 3000 RPM's on the big road.

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70? well not all the time but some times you just want to cruse..:lol:

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how wide is your rearend off of the 2001 ford explore?

I was wondering if you knew the width on all the years of the ford explore that you posted.

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it is smaller then the stock chevy pickup..like 4inchs smaller..