How strong are 1st gen Camaro 10-bolts?

[4birdman]

I just found a 10-bolt down the road from me out of a 69 Camaro. The guy said he'd sell it to me for $50, so I'm thinking of snatching it up since I have no axle right now.

Our car is going to be running a iron-block LS1 and T56, probably around 400hp or so. Mostly a cruiser/show car, will never see slicks.

Should I snatch it up and rebuild it? For $50 I don't think I can go wrong. I just need to know before I get the rear suspension in and need to set it up.

[hotrdblder]

junk, find a 10 bolt out of a 70-77 nova direct bolt in and is 8.5 inch ring gear not 8.2 like the 67-69 camaro plus the 8.5 is easier to make strong

[nicks67camaro]

junk, find a 10 bolt out of a 70-77 nova direct bolt in and is 8.5 inch ring gear not 8.2 like the 67-69 camaro plus the 8.5 is easier to make strong

YEP....Had the old 8.2 in my 67 camaro not worth putting any money into it. I have an 8.5 from my buddy's old 72 nova works just fine.

[4birdman]

Ah, that's what I needed to know. I knew 2nd gen Trans Ams had the 8.5" ring gear, I wasn't sure what the 1st gen was. I think my friend may have a Nova axle lying around.

[hotrdblder]

2nd gen axle housings are too wide, find a nova and your good

[4birdman]

Yep, I already checked. I had a spare one here for my 79 TA. :D

I'll try and grab a Nova one.

[Taylor1969]

Make sure to get a 72-75 nova. The earlier ones are too wide. The 72-75 will work perfectly with a 9.5" width rim and 5.5" backapacing on a 275 tire

[hotrdblder]

up to 77 will work although some say no, i personally have taken 2-3 out of 76-77's and i doubt all 3 had been changed

[big gear head]

The Nova didn't get the 8.5 undil '72, os don't get the rear end from an earlier one. The '71 and earlier Novas had the 8.2. The Nova and all other X body GM cars will have the same rear end. In '76 they started using the 7.5 in 6 cylinder cars, so watch out for those. You will spend the same amount of money building the 8.2 as you would building the 8.5 or 12 bolt. The only difference in the price is the core.

[4birdman]

So, can you upgrade 8.2" internals to 8.5"?

A friend just gave me the axle out of his 68 Camaro. I have a lot of spare 8.5" part lying around that I could use.

If not I'll just use it for mockup.

[big gear head]

No, you can't put 8.5 parts in the 8.2 housing. The axles will work, as long as the length is the same. There are a few bearings and shims that are the same, but the gears and differentials are different.

[4birdman]

How about if I swapped the gears and differentials, too? I've got stuff lying around from some of the 20 2nd gen Trans Ams I've owned over the years.

[Taylor1969]

How about if I swapped the gears and differentials, too? I've got stuff lying around from some of the 20 2nd gen Trans Ams I've owned over the years.

You can not put the 8.5 diff into a 8.2 housing.

[4birdman]

Gotcha. Oh well, I'll just use it till I can find a 8.5" or cheap 12-bolt.

[MonzaRacer]

WHOA,WHOA,WHOA!!!!
AS for all you nay sayers your full of crap saying an 8.2 cant be made strong.
and you dont believe me I bought and installed the cone type posi froma 64 Tempest that had been dragraced for years with a very strong 400 Pontiac set on kill, WITH 4 speed, and 10.5 lb class racing which ment the car had to carry 4100lbs (thier factoring) the owner would drop the hammer on a 400 Poncho, with Crane superflow RA4 heads, either a single or 2 4 bbls intake, solid liftered unit, he would sidestep the clutch at about 8500rpm at launch!
The only problem was getting ring gears to live on launches like that.
AS for a 400 hp cruiser junp all over it, swap in a good aftermarket 8.2 center section, preload cover and give Moser a call for some of thier street tough axles, and its good to go.
8.2s wont live ,,thats BULL$h*t. ben there and seen it and actually had one in my 70 monte and it never broke.
If you blow one you must have some serious issues or one well worn unit.
dont get me wrong it WONT hold 1000 lbd feet of torque butthe setup from that Tempest was pushing nearly 600 lbft of torque and its big limit was consistencey and tire issues(ie the racers couldnt keep up in the tire dept) but the several picks I have seen show it up on the rear tires with at least a foot of air under the front end so ithey had to be doing something right.
AND most ofthier problems was because no one made Pro Gears (they bend instead of break for dragracing)back then.
Lee Abel
AFTERMARKET PERFORMANCE

[68Formula]

I wouldn' sink a butt-load of money into your rearend (pun intended). Yes, you might get it to handle the power, but for about the same cost, you can find a 8.5". Plus you get a wider range of gear choices. Sell it and get the appropriate rearend.

Why not install a 2nd gen. They are just a little wider, but you could play with the wheel backspacing to compensate (assuming wheels are not already purchased). And they are easy to find.

[big gear head]

The Tmpest differential would be the Borg Warner, which had 4 pinion gears instead of 2, like the Chevy rear ends. This means that the posi itself is about 2 times as strong as the Chevy 8.2. As for making the 8.2 Chevy strong, it can be done, but will cost as much as building another stronger rear end. I have built some 8.2 Chevy rear ends that held up to some abuse, but for the same money an 8.5 can be built stronger. I built an 8.2 for a '69 Camaro about 7 years ago. It was behind a 383 with a 4 speed and it was lifting the front wheels with slick and it is still going strong. It doesn't have any original parts in it and it cost about $1200 to build. It would cost a little less to build an 8.5.

[MrQuick]

Birdman, congrates on the build by the way...If you havent purchased your rear rims yet run the 70 Bird rear and just cut the perches off and put on a set of universal perches and set up your rims back space to that rear. OR have your 70 bird rear narrowed to fit your car and rims since you are going to order axles anyways.


come on lee, why put all that money into an 8.2? That tiny pinion shaft can't last too long right? Isn't that the weak point big head?

I though the same with my old nova. After breakin my 8.2 rear after 10+ races it cost me a trans, driveshaft and a pair of shorts. Might as well go big if you can. 8.5 are all over the place and more gear sets available.

[strangler]

What is an 'Iron LS1' as noted in your sig? 5.3? 6.0?

[4birdman]

We're taking a 5.3L and boring it out to take LS1 flat-tops, then resizing the heads for LS1 valves. :6gears:

[strangler]

ok.