Anyone know of a good rearend i can swap in my newly acquired 63 chevy pickup that would have a 4 3/4 bolt pattern. looking for something around 3.08 or so. i need to get some fuel mileage. also planning on front discs and power steering. truck already has a goor 350/350 in it and a solid cab. thanks
swap rear end in 63 chevy pickup
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26Troadster
Well-known member
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i have a 76 trans am rear end in mine, it is about a 1" or so narrower then the truck rear. you will have to change all the mounts. other wise you can get the axles welded and drilled, but you might have a problem finding some drums to fit. maybe you can change the back plates to work with different drums. maybe go to the rear you want to use and mount it with ladder bars or 4 link.
Blue Eyed Devil
Devil's Advocate
If you want to do a swap the entire front cradle from a '73-'87 is close to a bolt in deal and gives you the discs and power steering. Use the same rear from that pickup and you are set. It will be a 5" bolt circle insted of 4 3/4", but still pretty user-friendly and a dirt cheap upgrade...
i have a 83 cradle here, just since its a running trk and daily driver i didnt want to tear it down that far down. i also have rear end fron 85 van. its just that the speedway kit had 4 3/4 bolt pattern hubs in its kit so thats why i'm looking for that rearend. but i may do entire swap. just looking at options
Lakota
Rides a rusted horse
I went crazy trying to find a good rear to fit my truck, they're hard to find. Most Chevy truck rears were geared for pulling power (3:70's-3:90's, some 4:11). I took the easy way out. I used the stock 3:72 rears with taller tires. I swapped the 27 inch tires for the LT 30 inch tires. It made huge difference. With the 27 inch tire I was turning 2800 RPM's at 60 MPH, with the 30 inch tire I was turning less than 2000 RPM's at 70 MPH. You'll notice the difference on the highway when your engine isn't screaming to keep up with traffic, and you're saving on fuel. If you're really bent on changing the rears, you won't notice much difference between the stock rears and a 3:08. You will when you get to the 2:70's -2:90's. But, they hard to find. The cheap easy way out is taller tires.
