Cheapest Drop Spindles/rearend

[mcmullinauctions]

What is the cheapest drop spindle setup. I am going to swap out my crossmember and everything for a 1978 chevy 5 lug but I still want to lower the front about 2 1/2 inches and the rear around 4. I want a slightly lower stance but I want to still be able to drive it anywhere without worry. I am an insurance agent and do ALOT of driving (around 25,000 miles per year) and intend to make this a daily driver. I have found a 3.08 posi rear end out of a 95 camaro that I am going to look at this weekend. It is supposed to have disc brakes as well. Has anyone used this type of set up? i also can get the 5 speed stick trans out of the camaro as well. Any thoughts on this tranny for good gas mileage. My goal is to get around 20 MPG when all is said and done.

[padresag]

why the cheapest?
ron

[Joemomma1]

I thought those rear ends where too small for a truck to use. Are they?

[64swb]

the camaro rear end is pretty much garbage. it is a 7.5'' 10 bolt, also the camaro rear will have a 5x4.75'' bolt pattern and your 5 lug truck setup is 5x5''.
-chris

[mcmullinauctions]

I am looking for the cheapest because I am poor! I am not sure if that rear end will work at all. That is what I am askin you guys. Help me out please!?

[Chevy Fleetside]

Here is one for $220 http://www.airbagit.com/product_p/spi-gm7387a.htm

[Captainfab]

I would just get the rear end from the '78 if it is available. It is 1 1/2" wider though, so you could have tire to fender issues depanding on the size of your tires and wheels. The '71 &'72 rears are an easier swap, but they are 1 1/2" wider as well. The '95 Camaro 5 speed should be a T56 if I'm not mistaken, which would be a great upgrade IMO.....not simple but a great upgrade for mpg's.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

I would just get the rear end from the '78 if it is available. It is 1 1/2" wider though, so you could have tire to fender issues depanding on the size of your tires and wheels. The '71 &'72 rears are an easier swap, but they are 1 1/2" wider as well. The '95 Camaro 5 speed should be a T56 if I'm not mistaken, which would be a great upgrade IMO.....not simple but a great upgrade for mpg's.

5spd = T5
6spd = T56

The Camaro rear housing will work for the 20mpg goal but will be on the brink of reliability behind any drivetrain w/over the stock rating as the donor vehicle. By the time you get the housing, cut off the brackets, procure new correct brackets, weld them on..... it's a bunch of work vs. getting new aftermarket axles or a different truck housing w/a mpg friendly ratio.

Also keep in mind the Camaro rear end has a smaller car bolt-pattern for wheels (5x4.75" vs. 78 truck 5x5.00").

[Chuck78]

For the cost of getting another used rear and welding on the correct trailing arm and coil brackets (or leaf perches?), it's still a used rear end. For slightly more money, you could get 5 lug conversion axles for yours (or have your axles redrilled to 5 lug for about $100), and also have a different gear put in the rear end (I recommend having it professionally set up if pulling the gears out), and maybe putting a posi in it. Then no worries about the durability/condition of used parts.

What's your rear end ratio now? On my 1962 GMC Dana 44, 3.07 was standard, 3.23-ish and 3.42 were optional. First I would be looking at your current ratio and pricing out axles or calling around machine shops and rear end shops to see if anyone in your area has a jig set up to drill the 5 on 5" axle bolt pattern.Two of the holes will have to be plug welded, and the hub registers on the ends of the axles will have to be turned down. Babbit Bearings here in Columbus, OH does it for $100/pair plus $15 for the brake drums if you don't want to do them yourself. Repro 5 lug conversion axles are around $219 I think?

[Chuck78]

Also, if you're putting in a 5 speed OD trans, a 3.42 wouldn't be so bad on the highway at all then. Another thing to consider is would you mind a slightly taller rear tire? That's a quick way to drop down your highway rpm's and change your gear ratio without changing any gears.

The axle swap is far less work than a rear swap, and you don't need wheels with a lot more backspacing.

If you got real lucky, you might find a 77-79(??) Lincoln Versailles rear end in the junkyard, which is a very sought after Ford 9" rear that frst gen mustang guys go crazy over, but it has rear discs and the Chevy 5 on 5 bolt pattern. Check on the years there, Scotts62 or Scott62 on here I think it is has swapped one of these into his truck. Axles are a custom only deal for those rears though.

[mcmullinauctions]

Thanks for all the help so far guys! I am not sure what gears I am running, I jut assumed they would be low. The chassis is a stock 63' chevy longbed. It had a 427 (obviously not factory) and a 3 speed in it. My next question is can I still have a bench seat if I use a T5 tranny? Will the T5 shifter location be set too far back? If so how would I change the location so I can keep a bench seat?

[TimE]

The '95 Camaro 5 speed would be out of a v6 car and, if I recall correctly, have a different bolt pattern and the bellhousing is not removeable on that particular one.

If you really want a stick, a T5 from a late 80's-92 v8 Camaro would be the one you're looking for. Then, for a bench seat application, you would change the tailhousing out for one from an S10.

Do a search, it's been discussed on here and a few other forums(that I don't remember the links for at the moment). Oh yeah, Good luck!!

Also, the T5's aren't a real strong tranny and won't last very long if you're going to abuse it any (especially if you leave the 427 in there).

[Captainfab]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

5spd = T5
6spd = T56

I knew that....don't know what I was thinking......

[mcmullinauctions]

TimE- I will do some research on the bell housing issue. I don't have the 427 that was in the truck.(Darn the bad luck!) I am just looking to go small block stock. I just want a fun driver. I have another 63 waiting to do all the fun stuff to. Is the fuel mileage much different on a stock 350 compared to a stock 400 small block? I will probably keep a small 4 barrel or maybe a 2 barrel carb.

[Chuck78]

Originally Posted by mcmullinauctions

TimE- I will do some research on the bell housing issue. I don't have the 427 that was in the truck.(Darn the bad luck!) I am just looking to go small block stock. I just want a fun driver. I have another 63 waiting to do all the fun stuff to. Is the fuel mileage much different on a stock 350 compared to a stock 400 small block? I will probably keep a small 4 barrel or maybe a 2 barrel carb.

For a stock 283-350 V8, and no serious hauling or towing, a V8 Camaro T-5 would hold up as long as you don't have big grippy rear tires and do hard launches all the time on them. Like it was said above, not the strongest, but with the right parts - V8 T5 and swapping the S10 pickup's tailshaft housing, you get the truck shifter location to retain the bench seat. It's a great budget combo popular with a lot of the stovebolt guys. If you got lucky enough to find a World Class T-5, you'd have a bit stronger of a unit again, but they are mostly found in the ford mustang versions. Most of the upgraded parts are bearings and wearable parts anyway. They are slightly stronger and will wear longer. You can find online spotters guides for the world class vs standard.

As far as gas mileage, if you had a real heavy big truck, the mileage would be about the same, but in a 3900 lb pickup, a 350 is going to get a little better mileage.
I'd recommend a stock GM 350's TBI setup and some vortec heads for fuel mileage. My 89 suburban that weighs 5200 lbs has a 350 tbi with the good mileage/torque "swirl port heads" and it gets 22 mpg highway. That's EXCELLENT for such a heavy vehicle. The swirl port heads have great throttle response and efficiency, but for hot rodding, they fall on their face at higher rpm's. They do very well with what they were designed for.

If my 305 GMC V6 ever went out, I would consider using one of my spare Camaro build engines, 400 small blocks, with a mild RV cam, vortec heads, a well tuned quadrajet or GM TBI. With the good heads and the TBI, you could probably get close to 20 mpg on the highway if you went easy on it, and you;d have massive torque.
400 parts are more $ though, take special balancers and flywheels, require the heads to have steam holes drilled in them, and should also be torque plate honed when they are bored. They will cost a few bucks more to obtain. On that note, if money is an issue, I would recommend a stock 350 or a 307 with some vortec heads. There's a 307 thread on here where I posted a link to a magazine buildup of an impressive budget 307. A 305 has too small of bores to be able to efficiently run a set of vortec heads, and if going with the smaller cubes of a 307, you'll want a better set of heads to get a little more power and also will help your mileage. a 327 will probably cost you more than a 350 or 307 for sure. And there's always the 283. Best bet would be a 350 TBI just like I have in my stock 89 suburban, as you could find one dirt cheap I'm sure, and get the computer and wiring harness off the donor, or else buy the painless wiring kit for a GM TBI setup. Takes a minor amount of research to get the wiring all down, and eliminate a few unnecessary things, but WELL WORTH IT for both performance and mileage. Then you just need an electric fuel pump. REbuild the TBI with some new gaskets, injectors, and a new pressure regulator diaphragm (they go bad and cause low performance), and plumb a return line in, and you're set. This would be your optimal budget setup. Plus TBI looks almost like a carb, so it still has a similar look.

[Chuck78]

T5 info:
http://www.inliners.org/Jack/t5_page.html
http://www.inliners.org/Jack/T5tech.html

http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/t5tranny.htm