Well seeing as i cant't find a 8.5 for under $1200 around here. I will be building my 7.5in rear....They are like gold and everybody who knows g bodys knows what they are worth.. :x Considering that i will NOT be drag racing it should hold up just fine...
Junk the 7.5 I have spent thousands on these rears and none of them have held up. And all behind stock (or close to it) engines and street tires. Some people seem to have luck with them. But is it really worth the risk? When for a few hundred more you can get something better.
Why not install rear disks and do away with the need for the C-Clip eliminators ?? The caliper bracket will hold the axle in place. But as metioned above if you are spending $1k on parts then just buy a whole 8.5 rear or a 9" conversion for about the same price ?
car-part.com is your freind or just keep your eye on the For Sale portion of the forums
I know when my 80 malibu was stock with the 350/200c trans and had the stock 7.5 2.29 rear end. I did neutral drops on that thing all day long. Did a couple of start in reverse than quickly throw in drive to do a j strip. Why did I do this? Cause I was gonna be replacing the whole drivetrain. That rear end held up to a serious beating and then some.
Now with my monte carlo ss rear end, I've drag raced and done some nice 30ft burnouts. That rear end had one issue with the stock ring and pinion in which case it just chipped a pinion tooth. I guess people have had more bad luck than I have with the 7.5 but I have loved this rear end and it has held up great.
I wouldn't waste the money on an 8.5 rear end unless it was at or under 500$. The only reason these rear ends are worth so much is because they've been put on a pedestal as the Grand National, 442, and turbo car rear end. So what? The damn things are used and are not worth a 1000$ if they are not rebuilt. I would suggest if you want bullet proof just buy a ford 9 inch and don't waste the money on a used 8.5. The less people buy those rear ends, the more people will realize they are not worth the grand they think they are worth.
This same thing goes for the 200-4r transmissions. I was just out at the yard and counted 27 of those transmissions in all types of cars. No they're not grand national or monte carlo ss trans, but I can easily rebuild one to the exact same specs for under half of what someone is charging for a true ss or gn trans.
I agree that a used 8.5" isn't worth "didly" it is no better than installing used parts into a rearend housing. A rearend is as strong as the parts you put in it. Aftermarket parts are just as strong as any other and definitely stronger than original equipment. If I was to go out and get a Ford 9" or GN/442 8.5", then I would have to do another driveshaft and with a 9" I would have to worry about a brake setup. I would definitely rather build a 7.5" than waist my time and money with a used rearend. I would have to trust the person that is selling the rearend that the thing is still good, and for the money involved it's not worth it.
the caliper bracket installs on the flange that the backing plate is bolted to...at least it does on the set up I have and all the other set ups I have seen online and it has nothing to to with retaining the axle
The only reason a posi unit would need to get rebuilt is if the gears at some point left alot of scrap floating around in the housing that got into the posi unit itself.
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