12 bolt out of 78 HD pickup into fbody?
03-28-2012, 08:24 AM
#1
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12 bolt out of 78 HD pickup into fbody? So I am totally new to rear-end replacement etc but my 10 bolt is done for. A buddy of mine is giving me the 12 bolt and I have no idea what I need to do to make it work. Any ideas? I take it that abs is gonna be out of the question (weekend/track car anyway), and that it likely will need different axles and whatnot.
I'm pretty handy mechanically and can get things fabbed if necessary.
I'm pretty handy mechanically and can get things fabbed if necessary.
03-28-2012, 08:53 AM
#2
Most likely the truck axle will be wider, so it would have to be narrowed. Then you have to deal with shock and spring mounts (leaf on the truck versus coil on the f-body), and there is no torque arm mount on the 12 bolt that is required for the f-body.
03-28-2012, 09:12 AM
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So fabbed shock, coil spring, and tq arm mounts at least. Would a driveshaft shop do the axle narrowing? Would the housing need to be narrowed too?
03-29-2012, 08:58 AM
#4
You will probably need to find what all the dimensions are for the stock 10 bolt, then compare that to your 12 bolt and see what the difference is. Some driveshaft shops might be able to narrow the housing for you.
03-29-2012, 10:24 AM
#5
You can't "narrow" most GM axles. They are necked down just outside of the splines so there's no material to re-spline. So you're looking at aftermarket axles anyway. Welding a TA mount to a housing can be tricky since housings are typically cast iron or nodular iron.
