Caprice rear end in an Fbody?

[MI6TA]

So I was talking to a LTx fan who drive a caprice and he told me that the caprice has a 8.5 or 8.8 rear end. I'm wondering if the caprice's rear would fit on a 97 fbody? If so would be convienent to get out of the junkyard and cheap I bet too. However life's never that easy lol

[dawdaw]

nope its a triangulated 4 link... would require a ton of modification/welding for it to work...

[firebird_1995]

Hmm 4 link? Wonder if it would fit a Monte Carlo maybe???

[JCzNova]

Hmm 4 link? Wonder if it would fit a Monte Carlo maybe???

For The Fabricator, I'm sure it would.

Sent from my S4 Mini

[popo8]

VIVA LE FABRICATOR!!!

LTXtech.com is my DRUG!

[firebird_1995]

You guys are killing me.....

[JCzNova]

You're the one machining billet opti's and not telling anyone. :D

Sent from my S4 Mini

[dawdaw]

What's your Monte a leaf spring car?

[firebird_1995]

You're the one machining billet opti's and not telling anyone. :D

Sent from my S4 Mini

That's not me. I just drew the disc.


What's your Monte a leaf spring car?

Coil spring. I know the chevelle 12 bolt rear can be bolted into the gbody with some modified upper control arms. I'll have to see if there are any chevelle or gbody guys using the b body rear.
Which b bodies use the 8.5" ring gear? Is there an RPO code to look for?

[JCzNova]

I meant full body billet opti's. You don't have to hide it

[GuillaumeC]

Which b bodies use the 8.5" ring gear? Is there an RPO code to look for?

Almost all the 94-96 b-bodies had it, except some civilian models with the 4.3 and 3.23 gears had 7.5" but I have never seen one.

The 9C1 and SS got disc brakes.

They might work on a G-body since the suspension is very similar but the Caprice diff is WIDE. The monte Carlo axle shafts are 28.438" long and the Caprice/SS has 31.81" axle shafts (9C1 has 30.438" axles).

[popo8]

"g-body shuffle"

LTXtech.com is my DRUG!

[firebird_1995]

The 9c1 rear would work perfect for me. I have a set of prostars with f body backspacing and I measured I needed the rear to be at least 1.75" wider per side. 2" wider would be perfect. Disc brakes? Yes please!

[GuillaumeC]

Well there you go! :)

[firebird_1995]

Found one semi locally for $250... wonder if they are any stronger than the 7.5" 10 bolt. I'm gonna have to look into this. Sorry for thread jacking you op.

[GuillaumeC]

Found one semi locally for $250... wonder if they are any stronger than the 7.5" 10 bolt. I'm gonna have to look into this. Sorry for thread jacking you op.

They are A LOT stronger than the 7.5" unit... I'm still running the stock 8.5" diff in mine @ 4200 lbs race weight. I now have Moser axles but I've been 1.4x 60' on the stock ones with no problems at all.
The 8.5" is a very solid piece and the stock 30 spline axles can take a huge beating.

[Featherburner]

Chris, all you need is a rear out of a GN or 442. They are 8.5" with a possi and a direct bolt in.

[firebird_1995]

I've tried looking for them. The only ones I can find around here are anywhere from 800 to 1200 and are usually open carrier units. About the best deal I found on a gn rear end was 1600 and it had Moser axles and a spool in it but 4:56 gears. It was sold within a week. Around the 1500 dollar mark and I'd be better off buying a brand new quick performance 9".

[DMBlack]

Off topic for OP, but Chris have you thought about running a Ford 8.8? I don't know if these only work for the Mustang rears or if the Crown Vics are the same.
http://trickchassis.com/trickstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_155&products_id=514

Crown Vic should be wider than the Mustang and if the the link mounts are the same as a Mustang?

[firebird_1995]

Checking it out now. Didn't realize they were as strong they were. I was hoping to stay away from having to redrill for different bolt pattern but the 9c1 rear end is a 5x5 pattern for some reason???

[Featherburner]

Checking it out now. Didn't realize they were as strong they were. I was hoping to stay away from having to redrill for different bolt pattern but the 9c1 rear end is a 5x5 pattern for some reason???GM big car all are 5x5

[MI6TA]

My question has been answered a long time ago, thread hijack all you want.

I've considered the 8.8 because they seem to be cheaper than the true 9" rears. I haven't done any research other than that though. I'm just very concerned with the stock 7.5" and am on a budget for upgrades, thanks obama.

[firebird_1995]

Well, we can try to keep this on track a little bit. The 8.5 was also used in some other vehicles from what im seeing. Anything can be made to work if you're willing to do a little work. For me personally, having a g body with a factory 4 link type suspension, I am limited to cases with mounts for upper control arms. As for rear end strengths, what I'm reading is the 8.8 in its stock form (mustang) has 28 spline axles and most say the strength begins to diminish around 500hp. (The explorer rears have larger axles but no upper control arm mounts so they are a no go for me). The 8.5 rears I've looked at seem to have 30 spline axles and are on par with the strength you would see in aftermarket axles. I believe you could make a mount that attaches to the upper control arm mounts on the center section and welds to the axle tube that would facilitate a torque arm mount. Or I've seem clamp style attachments for 8.8 conversions that clamp to the nose of the center section that give you an attachment point for the TA. All things considered, I believe I am going to snag a 9c1 rear and see what I can come up with for my application. If I used the 8.8 ford rear, it looks like I would have to upgrade axles right out of the starting gate. The 8.5's 31 spline axles and 11" disc brakes is a HUGE upgrade from the 7.5" 10 bolt. I will just have to have the rotors and axles drilled for the 5x4.75 bolt pattern which isn't a bad thing. It would give me an opportunity to upgrade to larger studs.

[94Blackbird]

Well, we can try to keep this on track a little bit. The 8.5 was also used in some other vehicles from what im seeing. Anything can be made to work if you're willing to do a little work. For me personally, having a g body with a factory 4 link type suspension, I am limited to cases with mounts for upper control arms. As for rear end strengths, what I'm reading is the 8.8 in its stock form (mustang) has 28 spline axles and most say the strength begins to diminish around 500hp. (The explorer rears have larger axles but no upper control arm mounts so they are a no go for me). The 8.5 rears I've looked at seem to have 30 spline axles and are on par with the strength you would see in aftermarket axles. I believe you could make a mount that attaches to the upper control arm mounts on the center section and welds to the axle tube that would facilitate a torque arm mount. Or I've seem clamp style attachments for 8.8 conversions that clamp to the nose of the center section that give you an attachment point for the TA. All things considered, I believe I am going to snag a 9c1 rear and see what I can come up with for my application. If I used the 8.8 ford rear, it looks like I would have to upgrade axles right out of the starting gate. The 8.5's 31 spline axles and 11" disc brakes is a HUGE upgrade from the 7.5" 10 bolt. I will just have to have the rotors and axles drilled for the 5x4.75 bolt pattern which isn't a bad thing. It would give me an opportunity to upgrade to larger studs.


The 31 spline carriers from the explorers will fit the mustang/crown vic 8.8 housings. It's a VERY common upgrade in the mustang world, as literally all you need is the carrier and a set of 31 spline axles. That's part of what allowed me to build my 8.8 the way I did, since mustang 8.8 and GM 7.5 rearends use the same outer wheel bearings.

[firebird_1995]

OK.... Cheap mustang housing, explorer carrier, and new axles. What do you have in your 8.8 swap if you don't mind me asking?

[94Blackbird]

OK.... Cheap mustang housing, explorer carrier, and new axles. What do you have in your 8.8 swap if you don't mind me asking?

Mines a little different since I used an explorer center section with axle tube sleeves and the stock 7.5 axle tubes. Parts wise I have about 450-500 (150 for junkyard 8.8 then 3xx for a set of moser axles. I don't remember how much new bearings and seals cost, but it was pretty cheap.) Over all I think I have about 13-1400, but only because I had to have someone else build a jig and weld everything up. From the looks up it you could probably get away for 6, maybe 700 bucks if you do all the fabwork yourself.

Something to keep in mind, the mustang axles are about 4 inches narrower than a 4th gen f body, and crown vic axles are 2 inches narrower than a 4th gen f body axles. I don't remember the exact measurements off the top of my head. Also stock exploder axle housings are offset pretty severly to one side. Don't remember which it was, but they are.