General LSX Automobile Discussion - Turning this lemon into lemonade!

Hello everyone,

Im new to this forum and to the ls motors, but bare with me. I bought my fiancee a 2000 ws6, white with blue stripes. ls1 with an auto. I love cars and have built a few sbc`s, just never an ls1. The car has some issues but I plan on throwing a lsx 427 backed by a built 6 spd. I plan to have the car completely finished within a year. I am going to build the car completely myself, with the help of my lovely fiancee. she wants gun metal grey with black stripes for the paint and I already ordered 17x10.5 rear and 17x9 front torq thrust wheels in anthricite (has a bent stock rim).

her rear end is growling real bad and is in need of attention! (no pun intended)

I plan on building the rear end also, problem is, I know nothing of building them. I have some information comming so i can research putting one together. I do understand that it would be smarter and easier to just buy a built unit, but thats just not me.

I like learning the hard way and it has payed off for me. I do all my own work on my vehicals and it saves tons of money.

so back to my question.

I want a built 12 bolt and I want to start off with a housing. no internal parts yet as I dont know what exactly I want to put in it yet. Can you kindly give me a couple options on 12 bolt housings to start off with that will work for the car? i would rather get a housing that will bolt up directly, but if i have to fab some mounts and brackets thats fine.

I have a really good mechanical mind and am very tetius when it comes to this stuff.

I am super excited about the whole build and will share tons of pictures along the way. blood sweat and whatever, Im doing it!

sorry for rambling on, and have a wonderfull evening!

i would say for a 427 car with a 6 speed, step it up to the ford 9 inch!

you can get a moser housing or a custom fabbed one

look into a company midwest chassis, they have an awesome setup that bolts right in!

if you really want to "diy' a better rear end you could grab an 8.8 out of a mustang or buy a housing/axle package for a 9in for a relatively good price, and weld your brackets on.

look into the rearend/gears section. nothing wrong with a 12 bolt, but most reccomendations will lead you to a 9in.

zach

Thanks for the quick reply. Im still in research mode and its my project over the winter. im going to build the motor in the spring when i buy the transmission. Im sure with time and patience I can build just as good of a rear end as any of them, but pry not much cheaper than buying one built already. its more fun to put things together and say "i built it"! thanks for the suggestion though. ill definatly look into it. I was mainly looking for a budget housing to put the trick parts in. keep it looking as close to stock underneath as possible.

So why do you call it a lemon? It doesn't sound that bad.

Your Fiance was right there when you wrote this, huh? :jest:

Also, +1 on the recommendation for the 9".

its a lemon because i bought it for $6400 and it had problems. i keep finding more problems with each thing i fix. I told her she can drive it till winter and now im putting a tranny mount in it so she can have a little fun with it.

I replaced the axel bearings/seals.
it was clunking bad when i put it in gear so i changed the control arm bushings( the just fell out of the controll arm..lol) still clunks but is alot stiffer around corners.

then i climbed under it and the asshole i bought it from had wire wrapped around the transmission to the cross member. (i might take a picture of it to show someones ghetto engineering skills). i would have at least used some big hose clamps!!! lol.

The motor runs like a champ and the transmission is good, but all that is coming out. i would just like to whip a couple shitties before I tear it apart, but would like to be safe doing it. I mean let her whip a couple shitties.. lol.

can i get a 9" housing out of any vehical and fab it up under the car. I guess im trying to say. are all 9" housings the same?

Your biggest issue with using most other housings is not many cars use the torque arm setup. You would have to find a way to add it, and most people don't have a welder at home that can deal with cast iron center sections. Its been done before, just a PITA. Sounds like a fun build though.

its going to be an awesome build. I have always wanted to build a late model car. I love a challenge and now that I have the means to doing it, Im taking the plunge. Im trying to do all the work myself and everyone likes to save money so thats what im goona do. a little here and there adds up quick. couldnt a person take a 9" housing, lets say, out of a pickup truck, narrow it to spec, and cut off the brackets from the 10 bolt and weld them onto the 9inch?

^^^yes they could, however, narrowing a rear end likely requires precision cuts and fabrication jigs. I would buy a bolt in housing and just assemble the insides. My .02.