New 3.73 on 3.23 carrier?
 

Customer wants 3.73 gears in his 65 BOP 8.2 Vista Cruiser. He does not want to put a new posi in it. What are my options? Currently has 3.23.

Found this...

https://www.differentials.com/gm-8-2...rential-parts/


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https://www.randysworldwide.com/reso...arrier-breaks/ You will have to change carriers for a 3.73 gear.

you cudda asked dad

OUCH! That had to hurt.

LOL! Happy Holidays to Ken and Crocie Jr.

Tom V.

Type > BOP 8.2 rear gear spacer < into your search bar.

Stan

You need a 3.36--4.33 carrier to do it without a spacer. An 8.2 is weak enough as it is, so I would either find the right carrier, or upgrade to a later 8.5 rear end.

Ken you know parents never know anything!

Unfortunately the 8.2 isn't popular enough for the aftermarket to make thick ring gears for the 3.23 and down carriers. That would be the easiest but as far as I know they aren't out there for this application.

You'll either have to add a spacer for the ring gear, or buy a new carrier for 3.36 and up gears.

Thanks Tom! Happy Holidays to you and yours.

I've seen an early Vista Cruiser rear and it looked stronger than the regular BOP 8.2 rears, can't remember if it had better axles.

The way the BOP carriers are designed, you need a NEGATIVE spacer to install a3.36 and up on a 3.23 and down carrier. I researched that 40 years ago for an article I was writing, and as a possible new part to sell for H-O Racing,

I bet those "Negative Spacers", LOL, are not cheap and hard to find too.

Tom V.

Dad was right the whole time! Cant seem to find the Negative spacer anywhere!

Time to swap in a 4 pinion 3.23 to 4.33 Limited Slip Differential into the housing, right.
Practically every one of the TRI-POWER GTOs had a 3.23 (most likely 3.55 gear
LSD unit in them, most were a 2 pinion one.

Tom V.

All due respect, this is incorrect. The range goes like this for the original 8.2 in these A body cars: 2:56- 2:78 share a carrier, 2.93-3.08-3.23 share the same carrier, and 3.36-3.55-3.90-4.33 share the same carrier. Every original Tripower GTO I have seen with a stick had a 3.55 in it. In fact, in 45 years, haven't seen a real TP car with a 3.23 rear end...ever. Not saying they weren't built, but saying that almost every one of them came with a 3.23 has not been my experience on this planet.