trying to swap a b-body rear into the monte

[Coveted]

heh I scrapped one of these rearends recently

DAMN YOU!!!! damn you to hell!!!!
just kidding :lol:
supposedly the axle is 63in flange to flange, a gbody is something like 58. i was looking at running a 3in spacer, each side, so cutting 2.5in out of the spacer sounds good to me.
re. the control arm points, the swap has been done (search maliburacing.com) and hell, people do the a-body swap and they don't line up.
so i figured it's worth a shot. if it don't work, sh*t happens. if it does work...

I was thinking the same thing, to swap it as a spare rear, like heavier duty.
I got it for free, when i pulled the pumpkin it was shot like it was blown up, So i said forget it and scraped it.

This is why im so intrested to see one of these in a monte! haha

Its wider axel to axel, but it can be done. a fourlink kit would be nice for one of these, and they are only like 250?

 

[megaladon6]

we put them in stock cars and never did anything to the lower control arms. so i really do not know what you are cutting or making longer.

the lowers are fine, there's a slight width difference but not enough to keep from bolting tham in. it's the uppers that need to be shortened. i don't have time to get pics of the g-body rear but i'll try and get the b-body rear posted. unfortunately my VW is having some weird issues and i can't drive her, so that's a priority right now.
what did you guys do to fit them in? adjustable uppers, b-body UCA's, shock mounts? i've been doing this because i've only seen one person who did it and their description was pretty vague. everyone else says they don't fit.

 

[megaladon6]

well, i finally got around to test fitting the rear. as expected there are some issues, but nothing i feel is insurmountable.
here are some more pics of how it sits.


the LCA's need to have the axle ends turned inboard about 8-10* but it might be possible to just turn the mounts without losing integrity and i think spherical ends will handle this misalignment.

the spring mounts are shorter than the g-body, not sure if this will be an issue. the other side is misaligned but i may just have the spring upside down or turned wrong. i also have the thicker g-body insulators in there, i'll have to try the B-s and see if it helps.

where i have the shocks mounted is obviously the wrong angle and is presently about 2in above it's normal spot., but i'm sure there's a good way around this. maybe just a steel plate welded in below it.

the UCA's need to be shortened by approx 3.25-3.5in (about 8.5in center to center total length) and again there's a slight angular difference, i haven't gotten a good number yet, but it also seems to be about 8*. rod ends won't help here unfortunately. i think i can bend the UCA axle side tabs to account for this.---edit, actually i just did

 

[78 Green Lemans]

Were the coil mounts too close together or too far forward on the axle tube?

Good info so far. 8)

 

[megaladon6]

i may just have the one mis-mounted, i have to see. i also found out (last minute) that the rear is presently about .25in shifted to the P/S. i'll have to get that adjusted. (just in case i also have to make sure it's perpendicular to the body axis.) i think it's just due to being on the jack etc. but if the spring mount is misaligned it's a touch to the rear of the car. they're correct along the width of the axle.

 

[78 Green Lemans]

I think that 0.25" to the passenger side is normal for these cars. The stock diff in my wagon and my lemans are both the same way.

 

[streetworkxs]

I was planning on putting my '95 9c1 rear end in my gbody. opened it up assuming it had a posi since it was a 9c1. It only had 308 gears no posi. Wider rear end, and the top mounts were off. It seemed like alot of time and money so i scraped that plan. Found a 8.5 gn rear end rebuilt with ls1 brakes for $775!!

 

[megaladon6]

well, i paid $200 for the axle, and what ever is costs for a little welding and drilling. the top mounts are simply closer to the body mounts, not too hard to get around. and since i'm running C5 wheels, the extra width helps.

 

[streetworkxs]

ya that was my plan! I had a full 9c1 impala for $500 and took the motor. And then saw the rear end and it got me thinking. It does have disc brakes so thats a plus. The bolt pattern is 5x5 which isnt much work to redrille. let us know how it comes out. Its a solid rear end

 

[1evilregal]

I'm interested in this one as well... I had tried to mount a 9c1 axle in the regal and ran into the angle issues you mentioned, so I reinstalled the original rear again, but still have the other axle under the back porch, along with front spindles and control arms...

quick question... think the b-body UCA's might help with the angle issues? never considered the thought... I only knew the thickness of the mount holes were different.

keep the updates coming! :wink: