Did I score at the junk yard?

[IceHouse]

Pulled a 8.5" 10 bolt from the back of a 74 Nova at the junkyard today. I am wondering if it has aftermarket axles. They appear to be made of some kind of alloy. They have a very shiny look to them, and no surface rust at all. I figured the stockers would be made of regular steel. Maybe I got a better deal than I thought. What do you guys think?

Craig

[OHCbird]

Generally, most aftermarket replacement axles have a more gradual taper on the, and have more bearing area. They also don't put the cool stickers, etc on the ends unless you get the 'good stuff'.

Those are good housings- Lots of cheap, strong stuff out there for them.

[Richz68]

Craig,



I am trying to find one of these myself....... although I am running a set of C5 wheels so Ideally I would like to get a 8.5" that is 3.5" wider than the stock 1st gen F-Body rearend.



Keep us posted!

[IceHouse]

Rich,

The 71 to 81 Camaro/Firebird has a 8.5 10 bolt that is 1" wider than stock, and they are easier to find. They do use a wider leaf spring mount though. Also the 1/2 ton trucks use a 8.5 10 bolt that is about 3 3/4" wider than stock. Maybe you could have custom longer axle shafts made, and bolt your existing brakes to this axle. Here is a link with good info on the 8.5" swap: http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/techarticles/48518/
Good luck with your swap.

Craig