5 lug axles

[terrellautosports]

can anyone tell where to look for replacement axles? to change to 5 lug. i had found a site before but cant find it now.

thanks in advance.

[Chevy Fleetside]

It would probably be cheaper to take your old axles down to a machine shop and have them redrill them for you.. ECE sells them.. http://www.earlyclassic.com/catalog.aspx $319...

[Baresteel10]

My father bought an entire 75' year model 5 lug axle assembly from the wrecking yard and replaced his 6 lug axles with the later model ones. They were an around 1" long so they will need to shortened but the axles fit with now problem. Hope that helps.

[Chevy Fleetside]

Originally Posted by Baresteel10

My father bought an entire 75' year model 5 lug axle assembly from the wrecking yard and replaced his 6 lug axles with the later model ones. They were an around 1" long so they will need to shortened but the axles fit with now problem. Hope that helps.

I got a whole rear end out of a 71-72 and just bolted it into my 65. The whole rear end..

[salazar44]

the 71-72 is a little wider right, but you can just get rims with different backspacing.

I was told that their is really no reason for switching to 5 lug unless you REALLY want to get some wheels that only come in 5 lug. Otherwise, most truck rims offered today are made for 6 lug as most newer trucks/suvs are 6 lug.

If anyone else has different reasons please let me know. It seems like a popular swap, just not sure why.

[terrellautosports]

i am wanting to swap, because i am putting on the 73-87 front disk brake setup and it is 5 lug.

thanks for your help, fellas

[billydonn]

Originally Posted by salazar44

the 71-72 is a little wider right, but you can just get rims with different backspacing.

I was told that their is really no reason for switching to 5 lug unless you REALLY want to get some wheels that only come in 5 lug. Otherwise, most truck rims offered today are made for 6 lug as most newer trucks/suvs are 6 lug.

If anyone else has different reasons please let me know. It seems like a popular swap, just not sure why.

FWIW: I know there are people who will argue the point but IMO you have a far better choice of wheels with the five bolt (5 x 5) option. And 71-87 replacement parts (ball joints etc.) are common as dirt in event of a breakdown in Bugtussle. The 71-87 five bolt also uses heavier duty ball joints and tie rod ends than the 60s trucks.

The 71-87 five bolt swap is so popular because: 1. it is easy and inexpensive with common GM salvage yard parts, and 2. it used to be the only way to do it. Now the manufacturers are offering the six bolt option with original smaller balljoints and tie rods... good in some ways but makes it more confusing too. I think there is now also a five bolt option that uses the old smaller ball joints and tie rods.

[Chevy Fleetside]

Just get 6 lug rotors... They fit on stock chevy spindles. Ask the vendor of course.

[shortbed70]

Edited by mod. For sale must be in the classifieds.

[GKsport67]

Yeah i wanna upgrade my self. i saw some wheels on www.newstalgiawheel.com


I think purchasing the 4x6 drop(5lugconversion) kit plus the 5lug axle conversion & the 20's in which i'm after is a bit much so i'll go these 17's n chill for awhile until i decide how i want my truck to ULTIMATELY look!

[SIR]

...I would go with a 67-72 rear end ,if you have a fleetside bed just trim off 1-1/2" off the lip of the wheel well ...and I like your choise of wheels,close to what I put on ours.....

[billydonn]

Originally Posted by SIR

...I would go with a 67-72 rear end ,if you have a fleetside bed just trim off 1-1/2" off the lip of the wheel well ...and I like your choise of wheels,close to what I put on ours.....

I agree- those are fine looking wheels! Reminder: only 71-72 gets you to five-bolts.

[salazar44]

So pretty much the reason for the lug change would be to get rims that only come in 5 lug. I was just hoping someone had a reason or explanation if there is some other benefit, but there seems to be no other real benefit. Which is fine to me if you REALLY need the rims.

[billydonn]

Originally Posted by salazar44

So pretty much the reason for the lug change would be to get rims that only come in 5 lug. I was just hoping someone had a reason or explanation if there is some other benefit, but there seems to be no other real benefit. Which is fine to me if you REALLY need the rims.

I would say the only reason to stay six bolt is if you really want wheels that come only in six-bolt. (Or some folks obviously want to avoid the expense of changing the rear axles to five bolt.) There are tons of five-bolt choices plus the advantage of very common and affordable replacement parts. I have never heard of a guy being sorry he went five bolt and needing to change back to six, but I have heard of guys who stayed "original" and later had to finally give in and change to five-bolt in order to get the wheels they wanted.

[salazar44]

or order the wheels with different backspacing

[Rogue 64]

I got axles drilled 5 lug for under $100.

Why all the hooplah, I'd pay $100 not to have to change rearends.

I certainly wouldn't put an wider axle in my truck.

[kevindtimm]

Originally Posted by Rogue 64

I got axles drilled 5 lug for under $100.

Why all the hooplah, I'd pay $100 not to have to change rearends.

I certainly wouldn't put an wider axle in my truck.

Rogue, I'll be looking at doing this in the very near future. Where did you get yours drilled?

[jchav62]

I have a '72 rearend on my truck. I never knew it was wider than the stock one. With the wheels I've used, it's never been an issue...

[billydonn]

Originally Posted by jchav62

I have a '72 rearend on my truck. I never knew it was wider than the stock one. With the wheels I've used, it's never been an issue...

Believe me, with some wheel and fender combinations, that 1 1/2 inches matters. I took the 71-2 axle out of my truck and reinstalled the original and had the axles redrilled... though some shops don't want to do that kind of work anymore. It is true that in some cases you can get custom offset wheels to fix the problem created by fixing the previous problem.

[salazar44]

I also heard that redrilling can be somewhat unsafe. The pattern conflicts with one of the existing holes. Is this true?

[billydonn]

Originally Posted by salazar44

I also heard that redrilling can be somewhat unsafe. The pattern conflicts with one of the existing holes. Is this true?

IMO it is not a significant issue. Shop that did my work ten years ago didn't say anything about that. They did comment on how hard he steel was though. FYI you also must turn the register or hub down to a smaller size when this machining is done.

[ChiefRocka]

I heard once, somewhere, that 71-72 axle shafts will slide into my housing ('63)...evendently, this is not true.

[billydonn]

Originally Posted by ChiefRocka

I heard once, somewhere, that 71-72 axle shafts will slide into my housing ('63)...evendently, this is not true.

They are too long for the bearings to ride in the right places... also the number of splines changed somewhere in the 60s, but I'm not completely sure when... I think the 65-66 have same splines as later models. I notice that axle conversion kits for up through 64(?) also contain new spider gears.

[Chevy Fleetside]

if you have a stepside the wider rear end from a 71-72 will cause a small problem with fender clearance. If you have a fleetside it won't be as much as a problem.
They used those stepside beds from 1955 to 1966 as you know. And the 50's trucks were not as wide as the 60's trucks and they never did widen the bed fenders for the 60's trucks. So the 3/4 of an inch on each side for a fleetside bed is not as bad as it is with a stepside bed.
The tires on my truck now are 245/60/15" only because I could not go any bigger with the stepside bed. Since I dropped the fleetside bed on I have plenty of room. I can snap some photos if you need a visual..

[gnhuntin]

I bought a 79 C10 for the front end parts (ps, disc brakes, etc) to use in my 66 C10. Question, can I use the axles out of the 79 and just cut 3/4" off the end and cut a new groove for the c-clip or is the spline different or not long enough to engage the spider gears properly?