drivetrain swap from 88 firebird

[Bama_C10]

My son wrecked his 88 Firebird Formula but the drivetrain is ok.We have a 1962 c10.
I know the engine and tranny can be used(305 with a 700r4 tranny),but my question is what else?
rear end?
disc brakes?
steering column?
any advice is appreciated,can the bird live on inside th truck?

[gulfcoast66]

yeah the rear end with some fab work and i think the column may fit with a little fab work, Fab till it fit lol..

[kevindtimm]

rear end : probably no reason to do so
disc brakes: bad idea, they're not big enough
steering column: not sure, but probably not worth the hassle (visually it's not going to match, wiring won't mate up, etc)

[TimE]

I will have to agree with kevindtimm on the brakes and the rearend. As far as the column, you can make any type of column work it just depends on what you want to accomplish with the truck and what your personal skills are.

Check out this link.

http://www.persh.org/pickup/IdeaPage.htm

He has pictures of how he installed a tilt column out of a later model pickup(modern power steering w/tilt wheel in the Under the Hood Section). Might help you decide if you can make the firebird column work plus there are alot of other nice ideas on there.

[Bama_C10]

on the rears swap,is the no answer because the rear would be to much of hassle or?
I was looking for something with better highway driving than what is in the truck now.

[TimE]

Originally Posted by Bama_C10

on the rears swap,is the no answer because the rear would be to much of hassle or?
I was looking for something with better highway driving than what is in the truck now.

If you are going to put the 305/700r4 combo in the truck, it will be more highway friendly with the overdrive. If you still want higher gears, then look into the gear swap or either a rearend from a later model truck with a more suitable ratio for what you want. A 71-72 rear is a direct bolt in replacement, and the 73-87 rears will work and are easier to find but they are set up for leaves. You would have to change out the mounting brackets and then bolt it in. (Btw, the 71-87 rears are 5 lug and are 1 1/2" wider overall or 3/4" wider per side.)

[greg64]

The mounting of the 88 rear is considerably different. It uses a torque arm up to the back of the tranny. What about the hub-to-hub distance too? I'm sure the axle could be modified to work on the 62, but would it be worth it? Trouble is the gears wouldn't even swap over to your 62 rear. Why don't you sell off the firebird's rear end, and use the $ to buy new gears for your 62? Good luck.

[Bama_C10]

Originally Posted by greg64

The mounting of the 88 rear is considerably different. It uses a torque arm up to the back of the tranny. What about the hub-to-hub distance too? I'm sure the axle could be modified to work on the 62, but would it be worth it? Trouble is the gears wouldn't even swap over to your 62 rear. Why don't you sell off the firebird's rear end, and use the $ to buy new gears for your 62? Good luck.

where to buy new gears?

[greg64]

There are lots of place (the 60-66 shops, for example), but I found this link at Randy's:
http://www.ringpinion.com/PartsList....b-Differential

My 64 GMC uses the Dana 44 rear. I would think your 62 is the same, but I don't know that for sure.