[b-man]

I wouldn't spend a dime upgrading your 8.2, by the time you put in a posi, gears and axles you'll easily be into it for over a grand including labor. There's nothing you can do to change the fact that the weak gray iron housing will deflect under power with any kind of traction and eventually destroy either itself or what is loaded inside.

Spend your dollars wisely and step up to either the 12-bolt or 8.5 10-bolt to start with, you won't regret it.

Here is an excellent and affordable 8.5, your current brakes will bolt on:http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...4&postcount=10

Get it built with 3.08 gears, great on the highway and a decent performance gear for around town. Another bonus is every 8.5 has a nodular iron housing, with just as much or more pinion support than a 12-bolt. These 8.5 10-bolt rears are truly a performance bargain.

I have dealt with Jim Mischke and it was a very positive experience. He built my 8.5 in a timely manner and kept me updated during the build, even emailing pictures as things progressed.

[Josue]

That's great to read a positive review like that! Especially for someone with such a convenient location for me! And I didn't even see that post about the 8.5 10 bolt, looks like it'd save me $500...score!

I'm still on the fence about gear choice though. I've been throwing around the terms "road course" and "highway driving" a lot, leaning me towards the high 2's/low 3's for gears, but I'm 20 mins from Summit Motorsports Park (formerly Norwalk Raceway Park), so I've grown up drag racing, and would still like to feel the power from stop light to stop light, ya know? I don't want to sell myself short in gear selection worrying about highway RPM's or MPG's. I'm going to be driving it as much as I can, but I'm not trying to convince myself that I'm going to be getting 30 MPG's in a 3500+lb car with a big, thirsty V8! And as far as highway use goes, I'm not going to be hitting the Hot Rod Power Tour anytime soon, or running up and down Route 66, so the highway use it sees will just be 20-25 minute jaunts a few cities over and whatnot. If the car proves to be reliable enough for longer hauls, then even those would only be an hour to an hour and a half.

Maybe split the difference like JLM says, and go with 3.23's?

[b-man]

If you ever happen to step up to a 455 or 400 block with a stroker crank those 3.08 gears will be great on the track.

There's a guy who's running in the low-11s in the street forum running those gears with a big-stroke engine:http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=761935

With that said, you really can't go wrong with a set of 3.23 gears, probably the most common performance gear offered from the factory during the muscle car era from any brand.

[Josue]

Wow...impressive times! Definitely something to think about!

[Toms bird]

Just wanted to say about Jims work. I have been very happy with his work and service. He did a 8.2 and a 12 bolt. No problems with either. When I had dumb questions about break in and stuff he got right back to me and walked me through it, service after the sale.

[b-man]

A couple of pics that Jim sent me during the build, one of the finished rear on a pallet next to the box containing the new Moser 30-spline axles just before strapping it down for shipment.

[Josue]

Thanks again for the reviews! I've sent him a PM, but I saw he hasn't logged onto this site since May 20th, so I'm going to try emailing him this week.

Meanwhile, I talked to my neighbor across the street earlier tonight, he has been restoring his '68 Camaro for years and years now. I brought up rear ends, and he mentioned he was going from his 10 bolt 8.5 with a posi carrier and 3.08's, to a Ford 8.8 soon, and he'd sell me his old rear end (complete) for $100. I can either install as is, or go down to our local speed shop and order a new set of gears. I didn't know this shop does rear ends too, I thought they only did engine work, but they actually installed the carrier and gear set into this rear end when my neighbor had the work done years ago.

He also mentioned S-10 ZR2 rear ends being a viable option? They had 3.55's, posi, and rear disc brakes already installed. Is this a popular option for 1st gen F-bodies?

[b-man]

Grab the 8.5 with 3.08s before someone else speaks up for it.

If not anything else it will be a much stronger step up from your current 8.2 with 2.56 gears with much better gearing for a street 350. You can always stick a new set of 3.42 gears in it when you swap to an overdrive trans, that's the same ratio I have in my 8.5 that will be running behind a 4L70E (.70 overdrive).

I don't know a thing about the S-10 rears and their ability to bolt-in the early F-body cars.

[Josue]

Yea, I had doubts about it being a bolt in swap. I figured the spring perches would at least have to be swapped? I don't know if a leaf spring is a leaf spring, and the 68 leafs would fit in the ZR2 rear end....

The rear end isn't going anywhere, if I tell him I'll take it, he'll hold it for me until whenever. I could probably go over tomorrow, pull it out, and head to my dad's bard to install, but that would leave his car unable to move. lol It's on wheel dollies right now, he scoots it to the side of the garage so his wife and pull in, then pulls it back out to work on it.

He also has an "axle" guy he can set me up with. He used to build Jeeps and rock crawlers and whatnot, and always took his axles to this guy. $75, and he'd blast and paint the rear end. He could also weld the tubes too...heat up the pumpkin around the flange, then lay down the weld so it'd penetrate the different thicknesses of metal. Sounds legit!

[Doug Hopkins]

Originally Posted by Josue

Would this be a decent option? $2000 for a whole new unit?

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...ghlight=girdle

This guy is 45 mins from me too, so no shipping charges. haha

Great price , but your 46 year old never been apart 350 will not last very long with a 3.73 gear. If you plan on a larger engine in the future and mostly street miles, in my opinion you would want no more than a 3.23 gear. My 3980 Lb. 76 TA with a KRE 455 in street trim runs 11.80's @ 114 with a 3.23 gear. With a short street tire I would never use more than a 3.42 gear. The Pontiac street motor is a torque monster, not an RPM screamer. I ran a 3.55 in a 67 326 Firebird. Big mistake ! I could not wait to put in a 3.08 back in the car. That 3.73 would be fun around town (light to light), but on the highway your engine will be screaming. Just my 2 cents.

[Doug Hopkins]

Originally Posted by b-man

I wouldn't spend a dime upgrading your 8.2, by the time you put in a posi, gears and axles you'll easily be into it for over a grand including labor. There's nothing you can do to change the fact that the weak gray iron housing will deflect under power with any kind of traction and eventually destroy either itself or what is loaded inside.

Spend your dollars wisely and step up to either the 12-bolt or 8.5 10-bolt to start with, you won't regret it.

Here is an excellent and affordable 8.5, your current brakes will bolt on:http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...4&postcount=10

Get it built with 3.08 gears, great on the highway and a decent performance gear for around town. Another bonus is every 8.5 has a nodular iron housing, with just as much or more pinion support than a 12-bolt. These 8.5 10-bolt rears are truly a performance bargain.

I have dealt with Jim Mischke and it was a very positive experience. He built my 8.5 in a timely manner and kept me updated during the build, even emailing pictures as things progressed.

Very good choice the 8.5 is an upgrade that will live behind 550 HP and 600 ft.lbs. of torque when built correctly! The 3.08 would be a good choice and no more than a 3.23 or 3.42. I personally like the 3.23 in my car. A very streetable gear. I bought two extra ring and pinions a 3.73 and a 4.10 for my TA, but until I go to a very tall tire and 1/4 mile only I will stay with the 3.23.

[Josue]

Originally Posted by Doug Hopkins

Great price , but your 46 year old never been apart 350 will not last very long with a 3.73 gear. If you plan on a larger engine in the future and mostly street miles, in my opinion you would want no more than a 3.23 gear. My 3980 Lb. 76 TA with a KRE 455 in street trim runs 11.80's @ 114 with a 3.23 gear. With a short street tire I would never use more than a 3.42 gear. The Pontiac street motor is a torque monster, not an RPM screamer. I ran a 3.55 in a 67 326 Firebird. Big mistake ! I could not wait to put in a 3.08 back in the car. That 3.73 would be fun around town (light to light), but on the highway your engine will be screaming. Just my 2 cents.

Yea, 3.73 would definitely be way too much! The more I read, and the more advice I get, I'm thinking the 3.23 would be max for me. Or, since my neighbor's axle already has the 3.08's in it, maybe I'll just throw that whole assembly in, and not have to tear the rear end apart and spend more money...

I just worry about selling myself short with the 3.08's vs. the 3.23's. Realistically, what kind of difference would I see in those 2 options? How many more RPM's on the highway? How different would the acceleration be? Would it even be noticeable?

Originally Posted by Doug Hopkins

Very good choice the 8.5 is an upgrade that will live behind 550 HP and 600 ft.lbs. of torque when built correctly! The 3.08 would be a good choice and no more than a 3.23 or 3.42. I personally like the 3.23 in my car. A very streetable gear. I bought two extra ring and pinions a 3.73 and a 4.10 for my TA, but until I go to a very tall tire and 1/4 mile only I will stay with the 3.23.

Define "built correctly"? I'm looking into engine options now (check your pm's!), contemplating upgrading the powertrain first before spending thousands of dollars on brakes and suspension on a car that can barely get out of it's own way, and won't be seeing any road course time anyway. So, if I go that route, I'd definitely need a rear end that can hold it's own.

[silverbullet07]

You can use a online calculator to determine rpm differences between 3.08 and 3.23. You just need to know your transmission gear ratio.

Here are a few.
http://www.crawlpedia.com/rpm_gear_calculator.htm
https://wahiduddin.net/calc/calc_speed_rpm.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/fl/procrastination/rear.html

Good article.
http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/148...o-calculating/

[Josue]

I'll have to check the tire size that's on there now, or start researching what wheels and tires I want so I can use that figure.

How can I find out the trans gear ratio? The car has a powerglide in there now, but I'd like to put a 200R4 in there, wouldn't there be 4 different ratio's in a trans like that? Which one would I use?

[Josue]

i.e.- 3.23's, 65mph, 31" tire, and 2.74 1st gear of the 200R4 is 6235rpm! So, I'm assuming I'd need to use the 0.67 4th gear/OD ratio lol, which equals 1525 @65mph.

3.08's = 1454rpm @ 65mph.

[Doug Hopkins]

[QUOTE=Josue;5425074]Yea, 3.73 would definitely be way too much! The more I read, and the more advice I get, I'm thinking the 3.23 would be max for me. Or, since my neighbor's axle already has the 3.08's in it, maybe I'll just throw that whole assembly in, and not have to tear the rear end apart and spend more money...

I just worry about selling myself short with the 3.08's vs. the 3.23's. Realistically, what kind of difference would I see in those 2 options? How many more RPM's on the highway? How different would the acceleration be? Would it even be noticeable?



Define "built correctly"? I'm looking into engine options now (check your pm's!), contemplating upgrading the powertrain first before spending thousands of dollars on brakes and suspension on a car that can barely get out of it's own way, and won't be seeing any road course time anyway. So, if I go that route, I'd definitely need a rear end that can hold it's own. The 3.73 might not be too much if you are planning on an overdrive transmission. The 3.73 might not be TOO much if you go with an OD trans.

You will notice an improvement from the 2.56 to a 3.08. The 3.23 would be slightly better though. But if you neighbor has a 3.08 that will fit for cheap then that is a consideration. By "built correctly" I mean that you want good axles, a strong posi unit, and a good ring and pinion and properly setup by someone who does rear ends as their specialty. Moser in Portland, Indiana did the 8.5 in my TA. Handy for me as I am in central Ohio not far from their facility.They used 30 spline axles, Detroit Truetrac posi, new bearings and he used the GM 3.23 gears that were in the housing. Had the tubes welded to the center section and the spring perches gusseted.

[Josue]

Originally Posted by Doug Hopkins

You will notice an improvement from the 2.56 to a 3.08. The 3.23 would be slightly better though. But if you neighbor has a 3.08 that will fit for cheap then that is a consideration. By "built correctly" I mean that you want good axles, a strong posi unit, and a good ring and pinion and properly setup by someone who does rear ends as their specialty. Moser in Portland, Indiana did the 8.5 in my TA. Handy for me as I am in central Ohio not far from their facility.They used 30 spline axles, Detroit Truetrac posi, new bearings and he used the GM 3.23 gears that were in the housing. Had the tubes welded to the center section and the spring perches gusseted.

He didn't mention the rear end as having any special axles in it, so I'm assuming they're the stock ones...I'll have to double check. And I wouldn't say the speed shop who installed the carrier and gears "specialize" in rear ends, just your average speed shop I guess. Engine/machine work, carb work, I guess rear ends too, and they can order anything you'd ever need. My neighbor has nothing but good things to say about them, so I'll just have to put a little faith in their work. For the price, I think it'd be hard not to!

Playing around with the calculator links above, it's unbelievable the RPM difference between the powerglide and the 200R4!! The car has 26" tall tires on it now (215/65r15) and at 65mph, the powerglide, and 3.08's, it says 2587rpm's. The 4th gear OD is 1733! 3.23's at 65 in the powerglide is 2713. 4th gear OD is 1818! Quite the difference.

Current setup is 2150rpm @ 65, so 500rpm more with the 3.08's.

[Held for Ransom]

Is the rear in the Camaro the stock unit or one he replaced? I thought those year Camaros had their own 8.2, which isn't worth much for rebuilding either.

[MescaBug]

Camaros have the Chevy 8.2. Buick, Olds, Pontiac, the 'BOP' 8.2.

The cover is different but the guts are similar. Chevies are C-clips axles and 3/8 RH gear bolts. Not a big deal if you swap the entire assembly. But parts are not that easily interchangeable between Chevy and BOP.

[Josue]

I'll have to run the numbers on it to be sure, but he said it was the 8.5. I wouldn't even bother with it if it was the 8.2, I'd just rebuild my own for all that.

Another question that popped up...what's this going to do with my speedometer? I'd have to assume it throws it way off?