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'64 rearend power limits

22K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  66SS427 
#1 ·
i have a 1964 impala ss and was wondering what the rearend would hold. Planning on around 500 hp. What, if any, upgrades can i do to make it work or do i have to switch to a Ford 9 or a 12-bolt. thanx
 
#2 ·
The stock rear end is notoriously weak. The 12 bolt rear end was designed to replace it as the 409 at even the 360 horse power level was blowing them right and left. The ring gear could not hold the 409 horse 409 and the axles were even weaker. To look factory original you should look for a nine inch (just like that Furd) Olds-Pontiac rear end. They were stronger than the Furd rear ends which is why NHRA top fuel cars and floppers used them until the 11" Furd rear end was developed (that s right real racers still do not use a Ford 9" even today; it is actually an 11" ring gear custom made just for racing that just looks like a Ford rear end).

I am sending you a PM with info on how to swap out your factory 8.20" 10 bolt Salisbury rear end for a Hotchkiss style 12 bolt Spicer, (with an 8.875" ring gear) and what you will have to do to modify your car to get some big bologna s to fit under there. If you think you will really be putting over 500 horses to the rear end I would install a Dana 60 (which is basically a 12 bolt on steroids made by the Spicer/Dana corporation, the same folks who made the 12 bolt for GM). The Dana has a nine inch ring and pinion, and comes with 31 spline axles that can be upgraded to 35 spline if need be (the 12 bolt uses 30 spline axles and your current 10 bolt uses 28 spline axles). The Dana 60 is just about indestructible; and it does not suffer from the same parasitic drag of the Furd 9" rear end (which will cost you 5-6% of your total horse power to run).

Big Dave
 
#5 ·
Currie is most famous for building rear ends and front ends for the 4x4 market. They have lots of experience in building rears. Moser is unique in that they make the parts as well as put together rear ends for their customers. They are recasting the old desirable Spicer 12 bolt that was under all GM muscle cars from 1964 to 1972. They make an all new 12 bolt out of better materials (high nickel content casting) with beefier than stock axel tubes and chromemoly HD axles. Strange also makes gear sets and axles, as do the Summers Bros.
Not just any mechanic can be asked to assemble a rear end for you. It takes a lot of patients and specialized tools that a mechanic out to make a profit will not be totally enamored in wanting to devote the time to. It is also a lot of work, which is why I no longer set up my own rear ends (getting lazier as I get older).

Big Dave
 
#6 ·
impala plans

What are your plans for this car??? Are you going to RACE it at the track? Slicks ? stickshift? High stall convertor? Trans brake?


OR

Are you going to street drive burn rubber from light to light etc?

If you are more towards the street driving burn out show off deal...You will be fine with a good build 8.2 drop out rear. If you need help I will get you a quote for a build. let me know what gear range you want. Jim

J D Race
 
#8 ·
All of the drop out (Hotchkiss style; Salisbury style is like the current ten bolt made by Spicer/Dana I say that because I messed up above) rear ends are open. To get a Posi requires a special center section with a cast in "P" on the drivers side which are very rare. The Olds Pontiac rear end will bolt into your existing 1957-1964 Chevy axle housing and uses a 9.30" ring gear that will handle 450 rear wheel horse power easily. They will also accept an Eaton Posi unit for them without having to search for a special housing. Then all you have to do is buy aftermarket axles to hold that much power and you can keep your original rear end as is for cruising and slap in the Olds rear along with your slicks to go on race day. That is the advantage of a Hotchkiss style rear end changing gears is faster on race day because the whole center section bolts in and out.

Big Dave
 
#9 · (Edited)
Do you mean the whole RE housing? The chunk? ( carrier and case w ring+ pinion,pretty sure this will not bolt in,its larger physically) or just the case itself bolts into the 61-4 housing? 57 to 64 Olds and Pontiac have larger axle bearings and 31 splines ,maybe it was 35? , 49 (I think) to 56 use a smaller bearing axle and less course splines, I used these in two of my old gassers. VERY TOUGH heavy RE's. Getting parts now is a serious problem mostly from Pontiac collectors as no new GM cases, pinion bearing ,crush sleeves ,spiders, caps ,or even case bolts are being made. bearings can be had from general bearing supply houses, but most are chineeze now. The Eaton is your only choice here as spools can be had, but are tough to find.(I THINK Zoom still lists one and Summit+Jegs list an install kit I think) Ring gear spacers are avail., but gear choices are limited. We discussed this at some legth awhile back on the HAMB. But nothing was mentioned about its use in 55-64 Chevy RE's, probably because we were talking drag racing Pontiac/Olds rears only. I may have some of this wrong, But I think I have the jist of it. I no longer hang out there, but they have this including paint dab info in their tech archives. Just curious as we have a 55 Pont. wgn., 64 Olds Starfire High Comp 394 rag top , several 60 Pontiacs and 62 2+2 out at the farm.
 
#10 ·
Yes you have to change the axles because they are bigger and have a higher spline count. The Pont-Olds pumpkin should bolt into the Chevy rear end as I remember it, with an axle change because of wheel bearings and bigger axles, but brakes are the same. I have not touched one since 1967. I was under the impression there were more around, as I see them come up on e-Bay every now and then (not too frequently) and they go for the price of a FURD nine inch rear: just that it is a GM product that belongs under the GM. Yes these are the same rears used in the gasser wars, nearly indestructible. Should handle 450 rear wheel horse power.

Big Dave
 
#11 · (Edited)
Many of the guys back then did not run posi's. They tended to make the car vere and slide right w the higher HP cars, You can tell when you are setup right, they leave w two tracks ,pass side one slighly ahead of the other. The power make then spin almost even, It worked for me,kept the 51 and the J track straight. My 56 Sdn Dlvry (sold it in 2005) ran a tube axle and 57 Pontiac rear (a bolt in) w 4:88's and a posi. That car was heavy, so a posi worked well in it. I have even run them w welded spiders ,(would'nt try that today tho :noway:) and at one time I had a pair of locking spiders for the Olds/Pontiac rear, never used them and have no idea what happened to them, probably grew legs. I think they were Rocket. They were avail for the 55-64 Chevy, 8 3/4" No power and Ferd 9's as well. Never see them any more.
 
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