modified 98/99 f-body manifolds. I wrapped em in header wrap to keep the heat down under there, so they look pretty badass even though they aren't.
I'm probably gunna buy one of those make your own header kits and do it up nice this summer when I get some time.

 

when you say modified what do you mean? are those the manifolds that are tubular steel?

 

98-99 manifolds are steel. the newer ones were cast iron. what i did with mine was cut off the flange and weld on a pipe and put the flange further down. it helped with clearance.

 

thanks, good tip!

 

Ditto

 

doesn't the S10 LS1 conversion manual talk about that?

 

yeah. scott did it with his as well.

 

I'm actually able to get my hands on a rear diff. from a 98' z28 rather cheap, what I'm wondering is would that make good swap for my sonoma? I know i'll have to weld perches for the leaf springs, but what about width, backing plate to backing plate on the camaro compared to the stock rear diff. in my sonoma? Would it need to be shortened?

 

yeha you can make it work but its pointless. its no stronger than what you already have. youd be doing all that work for somthing that will break just as soon as what you already have.

 

it would definately have to be shorntened. the thing to do is just take the carrier out and put it in your sonoma. thats what i did with mine. i got a 2001 ws6 rear and took the gears and carrier out and put it in my s10. works great.

 

or you could just pay like 500$ for a ford 8.8 out of an explorer. another good thing about it is if uget a 95' or newer they got discs. and a bunch of them have posi. the camaro rear would need to be shortened quite a bit. and ive heard of ppl with stock camaros breaking them. the ford 8.8 just bolts in but you will need to get a chevy bolt pattern and its about the width of a 4x4 rear so like maybe 2" wider on each side, totally manageable.

 

why? that was a waste of time because its the same carrier your sonoma had in it.

 

i think the camaro rear is slightly stronger but not worth the effort to do so.

 

no its not. it has the same spline axels and the same diameter carrier. its made with the same materiels and same cover so it has no strength advantages. its the same carrier.

 

arent they 8.5" most s10s are 7.625"

 

No, the only rear end offered from 1982 to 2002 was the 7 1/2 or 7 5/8 ( there was a "9 bolt" I think) whichever it is, pretty lame of gm to put that behind the ls1. I blew my rearend in my ss last year with less than 10000 miles on it also took my 4l60e at the same time

 

so one myth is busted. when i was first looking for swap info they said my rear would blow almost instantly. you learn sumtin new everyday!

 

no it wasn't a waste of money. i wouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly. i had an open carrier in my s10 stock. i also had 4:10 gears in and i didn't want something so steep as i do a lot of highway driving and wanted the best gas milage i could get. i went from 4:10 open to 3:42 limited slip for less than $100 after i sold the housing. doesn't sound like a waste of time to me.

 

that is not true. i dont know what year it started in, but late model s10's, especially with 4.3L 5 speeds came with the 8.5" rear. it was an option in the later years. 4wd and zr2 models came with the 8.5" rear as well. the standard 4wd model is like 2 inches wider than stock, while the zr2 model is 4 inches wider. the 8.5" rears are more common in late model blazers as well.

and don't listen to that. i've been driving my ls1/t56 setup for over 3 years now. i haven't had a problem with the rearend yet. now, if you throw on some slicks or a real sticky tire thats going to put stress on the rear, it won't last as long. a lot of horsepower and torque will kill any rearend that isn't built to handle it.

 

I was talking about fbody rear ends Yes the 8.5 came on some v6 trucks but not the 300+ hp fbodys