1dirtyZ

iTrader: (1)

will a rear end from a late 80's 3rd gen camaro fit on our ls1's?? i know the brakes won't but will the stock 4th gen braks and backing plate fit on these rear ends?

Patrick G

iTrader: (14)

Yes, I believe they are 100% interchangeable.

Dwain Brammer

The 3rd gen rearends are narrower and may require using wheel spacers for stock rims (however, the narrower rear may allow you to use a deeper dish custom wheel). Also, they have no ABS or TCS provisions. If using a 3rd gen rearend I would try to find an '89 Borg Warner 9 bolt rearend out of an IROC or GTA or TPI Formula that had the G92 option. That year was the last year that 9 bolt rears were offered and had the 11.65 rotors and PBR alum calipers. The G92's were 3 series posi's with 3.27 gears in auto's and 3.45's in 5 speed cars. TRUE ratio 3.73 and 4.10 gears are available for them from a guy on thirdgen.org. Avoid the 2.77 geared 9 bolts if you can because it will set you back about $400 for a 3 series posi for them when using lower gears. The 9 bolts are better than the 10 bolt because they have a 7.75" ring gear instead of a 7.625" and they have bolt in axles instead of the crappy c-clips. They are supposedly 30 to 40% stronger than the 10 bolt. Also some 3rd gens were upgraded by the dealer with 8.5" Dana 44 rearends but they are very rare. Hope this helps.

[ February 17, 2002: Message edited by: Dwain Brammer ]</p>

1dirtyZ

iTrader: (1)

thanks man, very helpful.
i never knew camaros came with 9 inch rear ends.
now how much narrower are they??

1LE

iTrader: (2)

I believe the Dana 44 only came in the 89 turbo TA but I'm not positive.

Toph

[quote]Originally posted by 1dirtyZ:
<strong>thanks man, very helpful.
i never knew camaros came with 9 inch rear ends.
now how much narrower are they??</strong><hr></blockquote>

Actually, they're 9 bolt, not 9 inch <img src="gr_images/icons/wink.gif" border="0">

As far as size goes, I want to say that they're 1 1/2" narrower on each side.

Hope this helps.

[ February 18, 2002: Message edited by: Toph ]</p>

1dirtyZ

iTrader: (1)

<img src="images/icons/confused.gif" border="0"> nine bolt?? what are the visual differences from the outside? ( nine bolts on the diff cover??) what other cars came with these rears?
how much stronger are the dana's when compared to a stock 10 bolt?

Pro Stock John

iTrader: (34)

I'd only mess with the Dana 44 rearend/3rd gen.

The rest are no stronger what I know.

3rd gen is 1" narrower per side, or more. Sounds like Toph might know.

Dwain Brammer

Yes 3rd gen rears are 1.5" narrower per side. I also said 9 bolt, not 9 inch. Neither it nor a Dana 44 will be anywhere as strong as a 12 bolt or 9". But they are cheap alternatives. I personally would not fool with either in a 4th gen because ABS and for daily drivers TCS is worth keeping if you have them. But for a real tight budget a 9 bolt third gen rear will get you by if you are running street tires and not making over 400 hp. It will last longer than a 10 bolt will under the same circumstances. If you're making real power and making hard launces at the track you'll have to bite the bullet and get at least a 12 bolt. I'd go 9" in extreme cases.

ALSO: The only f-body to come stock with the Dana 44 was the 91/92 Firehawks, which only like 25 were made. They were never used on the 89 TTA's. GM used to sell the rears over-the-counter before and after that thru their GMPP line. So some cars were upgraded by their owners with them. I see them for sale occasionally on thirdgen.org but it is rare and usually they want alot for them used. SLP was selling new ones last time I checked for $1600 so their not cheap.

[ February 18, 2002: Message edited by: Dwain Brammer ]</p>

84ZZ4

9" stock in thirdgens... I wish, then I wouldn't have had to buy mine!

Anyhow, the 9-bolts are an australian rear and have, you guessed it, 9 bolts on the diff cover. They also utilize axle retainers at the end of the axle tube just like the ford 9" (i.e. no c-clips). 9 bolt rears have a 7.75" ring gear (compared to the 7.625"/7.5" 10 bolts) and all have 28 spline axles (early thirdgen 10-bolts had 26 spline). I believe (though I'm not certain) that the 9-bolt also has some sort of pinion support that the 10-bolt lacks--I know one of the biggest failures of the 10-bolt is that the case flex and allows the pinion to walk up the ring gear. <img src="gr_eek2.gif" border="0"> 9-bolt parts are a bit more expensive though, and the gear choices were limited until a year or so ago to 3.08, 3.27, 3.45, and 3.70 (aftermarket). There's a few thirdgen guys I know running 9-bolts behind big blocks... that should tell you right there that they're stronger than the stock 10-bolts.

Thirdgen rears are definitely narrower than fourthgen rears, but the difference is past the suspension mounting points. Thirdgenners swap to fourthgen rears all the time, all that's required is using 4th gen rims. To go the other way, you could use spacers.

As far as swapping into an LS1, what you want is actually a DRUM rear 9-bolt (the below picture is an 89 9-bolt utilizing the 89-97 PBR disc brakes). LS1 rear brakes can be mounted up to the drum rears fairly simply IIRC.

Here's a 9-bolt in case anyone wondered what they looked like:




[ February 19, 2002: Message edited by: 84ZZ4 ]</p>