What rearend?

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What rearend?

Postby operatorfailure » Wed Jun 15, 2011 2:10 pm

So, I have been putting off getting my starfire ready for the dragstrip for the last couple years but I went last weekend and got the bug again. It's basically a stock rolling chassis right now, I just bought the motor mounts and a pullout vortec 350 out of a 98 Chevy, 350 turbo out of another guys drag car and will be getting a 3500 stall for it and stripping out the entire interior, ac, all that unneeded stuff. My question is, what's a decent rear end to throw under this car on the cheap that will handle a moderate 350ish horse v8 and maybe some nitrous? I searched what I can but all I have right now is my phone and the search doesn't work the greatest on it it seems.

Also, would the stock rearend hold up if I don't use nitrous this season, and if so what sticky tires can I fit on the stock rim and in the fender?

Thanks!
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Re: What rearend?

Postby gotmud7 » Wed Jun 15, 2011 4:32 pm

You want a rear axle out of an S-10 truck / blazer. Good choice of gears, brakes, etc. Make sure it is 2 Wheel Drive.
The only Vega's that only had a little rust were the ones still on the assembly line.
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Re: What rearend?

Postby Fasterthansome » Wed Jun 15, 2011 5:41 pm

8.5 10 bolt
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Re: What rearend?

Postby gotmud7 » Wed Jun 15, 2011 6:17 pm

He did say "cheap". By me, that eliminates the 8.5.
The only Vega's that only had a little rust were the ones still on the assembly line.
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Re: What rearend?

Postby operatorfailure » Wed Jun 15, 2011 6:30 pm

Yup, I did say cheap!

If I'm going to throw an s10 7.5 (~7.625) in there is it going to handle 4.10 or 4.56 gears, spool and 500 hp (max, on nitrous).

If there is no chance it will hold up, I will save up and buy something better instead, no use spending $200-400 now to break it and have to spend $1000 on a completely different setup in a couple months.
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Re: What rearend?

Postby bill1978v8 » Wed Jun 15, 2011 6:48 pm

With the nitrous (500 hp) and a 3500 stall I would say move on to something better but thatis not cheap. I ran a 7.625", 28 spline in a Monza housing for two years and then sold the car. It had about 430 hp with nitrous (stock LS1 and a 100 shot, 3000 stall). The rear end finally went boom this April. They can last but your on borrowed time. Call Jim at JDrace.com and he can give you good advice. I would like to get one of his torque arm rear set ups but I have to sane a lot of $$ for that.

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Re: What rearend?

Postby Rickracer » Wed Jun 15, 2011 11:15 pm

The cheapest strong rear you're probably gonna find would be an Exploder 8.8, the junkyards are full of them, all the Exploder 8.8s have 31 spline axles, half of them have posis, they usually have 3.55, 3.73, or 4.10 gears, and 95 and up are disc brakes too. Grab an extra short side axle, (if it's a u-pull-it yard, you can snag the extra axle and stick it in your housing while you're there and not have to pay extra for it). When you get home, cut 3" out of the driver's side axle tube and weld it back together. Voila, nearly bulletproof rear for cheap. When you decide to step up, and need c-clip eliminators, get 9" axles and housing ends, done deal, 31 spline is 31 spline, 8)
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Re: What rearend?

Postby MachoPoncho » Thu Jun 16, 2011 3:52 am

plus you have to get they h body uppers and lower mounts welded on
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Re: What rearend?

Postby spencerforhire » Thu Jun 16, 2011 5:52 am

You could beef up the 7.5" with aftermarket axles and an Auburn carrier to make it survive 500HP, but that's far from cheap; the sensible solution is a bigger rear end. If you own a welder and have even modest fabrication skills, adapting a 9" Ford(or the previously mentioned 8.8") or an 8.5" out of a Blazer(if you can find one!) is possible on the cheap. Making a bracket to adapt the torque arm is easiest on the 9" Ford because it can be bolted on with the pumpkin and pinion support bolts. The 8.8" and 8.5" are a pretty easy swap into an early Vega with it's 4-link , but are a challenge to make work on a later car like your Starfire with it's torque arm. If you're talking "drag race use only", a set of ladder bars will let you lose the torque arm(and the lower control arms as well).
At the 500HP level, I'd recommend aftermarket axles anyway no matter what you choose for a rear end, so I think a "cheap" rear might not really be a permanent solution.
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Re: What rearend?

Postby Fasterthansome » Thu Jun 16, 2011 7:15 am

gotmud7 wrote:He did say "cheap". By me, that eliminates the 8.5.

"Cheap" would be a mini spool in a stock set up.
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Re: What rearend?

Postby operatorfailure » Thu Jun 16, 2011 10:39 am

Hmmm.... honestly I would run the car this year on the stock setup with no nitrous just to work out wiring bugs, any other little crap then do an 8.8 or 9" this winter except for the stock bolt pattern on this rearend, I can't get a decent wheel for it. That would solve the putting a crappy rear under it for a year just for it to be crap also. I can switch to s10 axles in the stock rear but that means all new brakes and such right?
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Re: What rearend?

Postby gerbsinmd » Thu Jun 16, 2011 10:48 am

If you change to the S10 axles you only need to change the drums with the axles. you may have to grind down the backing plate a touch, but I didn't when I put mine in. It was the easiest upgrade I've done. Then you can use 5 bolt GM wheels and find a huge selection of tires, compared to 13 inch tires anyway.
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Re: What rearend?

Postby operatorfailure » Fri Jun 17, 2011 10:38 am

Alright, I think I will just do the axle and drum swap and run all motor this year just to keep from blowing it up. Thanks everyone! Now to find some wheels and tires that will fit on this little car.
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Re: What rearend?

Postby gerbsinmd » Fri Jun 17, 2011 11:22 am

S10 15x7 2wd wheels were a super easy bolt on with 225/60/15 tires, 235/60/15 tires should work just as easy. If you want more tire than that, then you will probably have to start messing with different offsets and maybe rolling the fender lip.
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Re: What rearend?

Postby jbarbone » Sun Sep 09, 2012 2:36 pm

same rearend has been in my car for over 15 years of street and drag racing mopar 8 3/4
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