I'm going to try to get my Camaro mini-tubbed at the end of this summer ($1800) and thought that I may as well get a more heavy duty axle to replace the 8.2 that's in it. My question is this. What is the best donor vehicle to get these out of? Is there a big difference in a full floater(when and after it is narrowed)? Is there a better(cheaper) option? I found a 8.5 that is in a 76ish Camaro for around 75$, but figured I would have to pay to have it narrowed and new shafts and possibly new gears. 12 bolts are so expensive and hard to find so I gave up on that a long time ago. Thanks for the help, Jason Hopson

8.5" 10 bolt is next best thing to a 12 bolt. Find them in all '74 to '79 Nova's (and their GM kissin' cousins the Apollo, the Omega and the Ventura), and it is a drop in bolt up for your first generation Camaro. Though you were contemplating putting a Dana 60 in your Camaro. They are just about bullet proof but a little on the chunky side as all that strength comes from all that extra metal they put in there to meet Mil Spec.


Larger Dave

A dana 60 is HUGE and probably overkill for your application. 9.75" ring gear IIRC, and it will just be added weight that you will have to lug around. I'd go for a 9" or 12 bolt, they aren't THAT hard to find :D Or, as stated, an 8.5" 10 bolt is a good choice as well.

Jason -

As the others have noted, a Dana 60 is overkill and not the way you want go. They are huge, and heavy, and... We had one in a 68 Super Pro (it was supposed to be SP anyway), and between the weight of the rear and the weight of the cage, it was about the slowest "fast" car I have ever driven.

If you plan to cut and weld anyway, why not use an A-body (Chevelle, etc.) 12 bolt? I don't know about availablity where you are, but around here they can still be found for around $200 in need of rebuild. Can't seem to get a bare 1st gen F-body housing for less than 3 times that.

I kinda figured that they were a little over kill, but I thought that would be the most concrete way to do it. It will be put behind a 427/M-21 combo so I thought it would live through that at all costs. As far as finding a 12 bolt in south east tn, it's difficult. I have however, seen some in some full size blazers(I think. I haven't really looked at them. They were on the ground and the tires and rims were gone.) Would a 12 bolt from something like this work? Or would costs get in the way? As stated before, 8.5's can handle quite a bit of power, but would it last behind a 427? That's the route(8.5) I was going to take originally, but thought if I was going to invest that much money in it, that I would go ahead and get the next best thing. Thanks for the help so far. I'll probably stay away from the 60 if that's the general consensus. Could still use some help in looking for source vehicles for 12 bolts. Jason Hopson

12 bolt truck rear ends won't work as far as a strong rear end. They look the same on the outside as a car 12 bolt (a poser) but it has weak internals. The posi is a ratchet type that will self destruct in a water box. The pinion bearing is a 1/8th inch smaller than the car pinion. Because of this there are very few gear choices available, and as implied by the smaller pinion is not as strong.

Check with BigGearHead as he finds and builds strong 8.5" 10 bolts, and sells brand new Moser 12 bolts.


Larger Dave

If you want a little narrower 12 bolt without cutting and narrowing it, keep your eyes on the nova boards. Look for a 12 bolt for a 65-67 Nova.

A 9" and two pumpkins!

A 3.00 ratio and a 4.00 ratio!

And if a 9" isn't strong enough, isn't there a truck duty 9.25" out there too??

pdq67

You think Camaro 12 bolts are rare try to find an early Nova one. I used a 60 in the old corvette just because I didn't want any problems but a 9in would have worked just as well. I would really think about some of the Currie 9in stuff they seem to do a good job.

The Impala 12 bolt is a good housing to build. It is cast a little thicker and can be narrowed to fit your car. It doesn't have the eyes cast into the top like the Chevelle housings. You will need a set of housing ends because the Impala uses the truck axle bearings and brakes. The truck 12 bolt will work, but has a smaller pinion bearing and the larger axle bearings and brakes. Eaton makes a posi for the truck 12 bolt that is just a strong as the posi for the car 12 bolt. If you want something from GM that is stronger than the 12 bolt then the light duty 3/4 ton truck 9.5 14 bolt is a good choice. It has 33 spline semi floating axles and there is an Eaton posi available for it too. This would be almost as strong as the Dana 60, but lighter. They are also easy to find.

I have had people tell me in the past to stay away from full floaters. What reasoning would there be for that? And speaking of Impala's, there's one setting where I'm picking up my 427 friday so I'll see what they say. What years are good candidates to have the 12 bolt that I'd be looking for? There are a couple setting in the surrounding areas that I may be able to worm one out of.

A full floater is going to be very heavy. You can convert a full floater to semi floater by cutting off the housing ends and using Ford or other ends with custom axles. As for the Impala, '65 to '70 are the only years that they had the 12 bolt.

Thanks for the help, I'll let you know what I can find.