9C1 axle swap for 5 lug swap

[jmcmahon]

Has anyone ever used a 10 bolt axle out of a 9C1 Caprice on their truck before? I am planning on converting my '69 to five lug and was thinking of options on how to change the rear axle to 5 lug. I have seen axles for old cop cars pretty cheap, they have posi diff, they already have the 5 on 5 lug pattern, and rear disc brakes. I believe that they are a little narrower then my current axle but the saving of already having rear disc brakes and a posi diff I think is worth the work to install it in my rear coil spring truck. I have also heard that these axles are pretty strong so that shouldn't be anything to worry about in my half ton. Any one have an opinion on this?

[Blue Beard]

Haven't heard of that swap....but keep us posted on the change...

[Putter]

Plus, if it is a little narrower, then that leaves a little room for wider wheels/tires....or just a different offset.

[miket]

Originally posted by jmcmahon
Has anyone ever used a 10 bolt axle out of a 9C1 Caprice on their truck before? I am planning on converting my '69 to five lug and was thinking of options on how to change the rear axle to 5 lug. I have seen axles for old cop cars pretty cheap, they have posi diff, they already have the 5 on 5 lug pattern, and rear disc brakes. I believe that they are a little narrower then my current axle but the saving of already having rear disc brakes and a posi diff I think is worth the work to install it in my rear coil spring truck. I have also heard that these axles are pretty strong so that shouldn't be anything to worry about in my half ton. Any one have an opinion on this?

I thought of it a while back and since I have a 94 9C1 it made sense. However I did not get to the point of measuring things out...some other issues deflated my interest in doing this. The first is these axles routinely do not come with POSI, its an option...I won't say it's rare but they are not as common as you think. Second they have disk brakes so there will be some extra attention needed to address this. but this is a good thing as well. Third, I believe the axle hardware is different.

Nothing major but for me, a $350 eaton posi unit is much less of a challenge than a whole axle from a 9C1. I can point you to some websites and forums if you want to look further for a rear end. BTW the 9C1 rears are narrower than the civilian caprice and Impala SS units....Impala SS units are posi.

In addition if you do find a 9C1 rear with posi...odds are it is probably worn and needs replacement.

[mcmlxix]

The Impala SS came with a Posi 3.08 rear for the 94-96 production run. I have a 96 and if it ever stops raining I will measure it. I would love to have discs in the rear and this may work. ECE sells the saddles to convert for our trailing arms.
The only thing with the Impala/9C1 rear, I was told that the Posi units are not rebuildable. You would end up buying an aftermarket Posi when the OE fails so that you can rebuild as needed...