Greetings,

I have a 1969 Camaro that came with a 6cyl, PowerGlide, and 10 bolt, 8.2", 2.73 rear. I'd like to upgrade this 10 bolt rear to 8.5", posi, 3.73 gears.

Does anyone know if 8.5" gears will fit in the housing that came with 8.2" gears from the factory?

What would I need to turn this into the posi rear I am looking for?

Thanks very much,
Rob

From what I have read on this board, they will not fit. The best thing to do is get a 8.5 rear out of a 71-74 Nova. It is a direct bolt in. Then (somebody correct me if I am wrong) you can get a posi carrier out of a 2nd Gen car. That will give you a strong rear for a decent price.

Brad
'68, 327, TH350 (some assembly required)

That's correct, the 8.5 posi carrier from the 2nd gen Camaros will fit in the Nova 8.5 housing. If you're lucky, you can find a posi Nova rearend and not have to mess with it.

Thanks for all the info.

Is this a 10 or 12 bolt, 8.5", posi I am looking for in a 71 - 74 Nova? Is this the same rear as the Nova clones? ie. Buick Apollo, ...

How can I tell if it is an 8.2" or 8.5" rear?
Are the 8.2" and 8.5" rear housings different? I haven't done much with rears before.

Thanks again,
Rob

I believe the information that you are looking for is in the March 2000 issue of Chevy High Performance. It will explain which vehicles you can get the housing, posi unit, and gear. If I remember correctly, you will be looking into truck rearends for the posi unit.

Does Chevy High Performance mag have a web site I can get back issues on? I'd like to read that article.

I think I would have to change the carrier if I were to go from 2.73's to 3.73's.

I think I'll try and find one of those Nova rears.

Thanks.

The housings are different. One of them has a square notch on the outside of it. Someone posted this info before, but I don't remeber which one it is. Go back to the brakes and suspension forum and do a search, this is a popular topic. I don't know if the nova clones will work or not.

Brad
'68, 327, TH350 (some assembly required)

When you are shopping for rear ends make sure you don't get one out of a Nova with the steering box located in front of the subframe crossmember. The only one that will fit has the steering box located behind the crossmember, just like your Camaro. The same goes for the other Nova cousins, such as the Ventura, Omega, Apollo. These cars also are a good source of disc brake conversions.

Steve R.

Hi Steve,

Please excuse my ignorance in this area! Could you please explain how the location of the steering box has an impact on the type of rear end I can use?

Thanks,
Rob

Rob, in the mid 70's, 75 I think, Nova's underwent a model change. The early Novas had the steering box located behind the front crossmember, the rear end and suspension parts will fit a first generation Camaro. If the Nova has the steering box located in front of the crossmember the rear end and suspension parts will not fit a first generation Camaro. It is just a quick way to check. The same also works on Nova clones.

Steve R.

Here is some infromation from a post from March of this year.Hope it helps.
http://www.camaros.net/forum/Forum4/HTML/000379.html

I just did an 8.2 to 8.5 swap in my 68. The 8.5 was out of a 75 Nova acording to the axle code. It bolted right up. The 8.5's are about an inch longer in the pinion. You may need to shorten your driveshaft if you don't have enough "slop" where the slip yoke slides into the trans. I had enough leeway in mine, so no shortening was necessary. You will have to get a combination type u-joint to fit the 8.2 style driveshaft yoke to the 8.5 yoke on the rearend. The 8.2 rearends have an inverted "V" on the cover. The 8.5 cover is smooth, and the housing has two square lugs sticking out on either side under the cover. This website has a good description of the two rears. www.novaresource.com (http://www.novaresource.com) Good luck! I just finished mine yesterday and went out and laid down a nice pair of matching tire marks. Haven't done that in years!

Mark

Look under axle codes on the website.

[This message has been edited by mbrekke (edited 10-09-2000).]