hi all,

i have an opportunity to grab an axle or two. i am stuck though. one is a 79 Z28, the other is a 93 Z28. the 79 i believe should be a 8.5 with a 3.42 posi. i think...but the 93 Z28 has disc brakes. anyone know what ratio this one has? is it 3.42 also? what about the ABS? the LT1 and 6 speed have already been harvested. but the rearend is still there. the biggest thing is price. the 79 Z28 is $90 but should need a rebuild. the 93 Z is $350 but should be ok. just need to shorten both.

thanks for any help you can provide.


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What car is the potential rearend going into??? By your post, I'm assuming a 1st gen?

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>the 79 Z28 is $90 but should need a rebuild. the 93 Z is $350 but should be ok. just need to shorten both. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It is not easy to "just shorten both". You not only have to modify the housings, but you'll have to spend extra money on custom axles. For the $$ you'll save on either of these, you'd be best off finding a 70-74 nova 8.5. It's a direct bolt in. Might cost a bit more up front, but in the long run would be cheaper. Also, the 93 housing is most likely a 7.5, and would have coil spring mounts, and upper and lower control arm brackets on it.

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70 & 1/2 RS
SB406 & M20 4spd
9" rear

70 Malibu 350/TH400

Gold member #103
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thanks scooter.

i wasn't too sure about the 93's rear. but do you think that the rear discs would beworth taking? or should i continue to hunt for rear discs from a 79 seville?

as far as shortening the axle i got a friend at a machine shop that has been doing them for the past 30 years. he told me that he can set it up and cut it down all for ~$350. that is new seals, bearings and the cutting. that is why i am looking at the 79 z28's 8.5 as a possibility. if i can get one out of a nova(they are kind of hard to come by out here though)i will probably grab that one too.

thanks again for the post...
later ,JS

There was a post a while back about someone who installed a 70's rearend in their first gen. look around and you might find it. If I remember right the 70's rear's are 1 in wider than the first gen's, but he installed it and it fit ok. He had to re-weld the spring perches. If I were you, I would buy the 79 because I believe it is an 8.5, which is stronger. You will need to measure to make sure it will fit and move the spring perches. If it is only one inch wider it will fit, but you may have to use wheels with a different offset than you have now. I don't think I would go through the trouble of shortening a rear, when there are plenty of housings out there which will fit a first gen.

thanks for the reply rick.

well the bad news is that i found out hte car is not a Z28 but a want to be. something didn't look right so i pulled the build sheet and found that he car was an originally V6. so the rear is still on the car and i think i will keep searching for one. hope sonething comes up soon.

thanks again for the reply, JS http://www.camaros.net/forum/eek.gif

I got the impression that you believed the 79 had a 3.42 posi because you thought it was a Z28. This is not true. Most late 70 Z's did not come with posi or 3.42 gears. Always check before you buy, do not take the word of the seller for they might not "know". If you find a Seville rear end beware that the bolt pattern is 5x5 not 5x4 3/4. However a Seville rear end is the same width as the second generation Camaro, thus is 1" wider than a first generation car.

Steve R.

thanks for clearing it up for me steve.

now if i under stand things the Trans Am is supposed to have the posi right? what kind of gears can i get out of one of them? 3.08? i know that i can get the gears out of a truck 8.5(3.42). one of my friends told me that he read that the Z28 had a posi in it that was where i thought it came standard on the Z28 models(79 that is)

thanks again, JS