Ok i am wodering if 3rd gen camaros came with 8.5 10bolts in any of the years? If so what years did the came in and did they stell use the torque arm set up like the newer ones.

 

No, the 3rd gen never had a 8.5 10 bolt. The 3rd gens only had 7.5 10 bolts and Aussi 9 bolts. Unless you count the 92 Firebird Firehawk which had a Dana 44.

 

Axoid pretty much sums it up.

GM 10 bolt 7.5 inch ring gear 26 spline axles = 1982 through 1986
GM 10 bolt 7.625 inch ring gear 26 splines = 1987, 1988
GM 10 bolt 7.625 inch ring geat 28 splines = 1989 - 1992
Borg Warner Ausst. 9-bolt = 1985 - 1989
Dana 44 = 1992 SLP Firehawk, some aftermarket companies like Summit Racing Equipment.

 

The 28 spline 10 bolt was a late 1989 change. Most 1989 cars will have 26 spline depending on when they came down the production line.

The Dana44 is a 8.5" but has nothing in common to the GM 8.5". It was available from the GMPPC but has been discontinued. For the price of one now if you can find one, is about the same price as an aftermarket 9" or 12 bolt.

The BW 9 bolt is the best choice for a factory high strength diff but they're not as common so parts are harder to find. www.9bolt.com is the best source for parts. The 9 bolt is a 7.75" ring gear. It has 4 pinion spider gears. The axles bolt in on the outside like a ford 9" so it doesn't use c-clips.

You can use any third gen 10 bolt diff and upgrade it to 28 spline axles. All you need is a 28 spline carrier (posi) and the axles. Good aftermarket axles (better than stock 28 spline ones) are $125 each.

 

I would like to make a bracket for the TA and put a old 8.5 10 bolt in my iroc. My friend races a 69 camaro alky bigblock and goes 9.7@142 and never has problems with his 10 bolt rear.

 

Unless you can do it yourself, it'll probably be cheaper to simply buy a nine-inch from any of the many performance shops than it is to retrofit the 10-bolt into your car. You will most likely have to change the axle length, then adapt your car to a four-link suspension or else heavily modify the 10-bolt housing to accept a torque arm mount. That would involve welding to cast iron, which means you may end up having the differential housing re-machined to realign your differential bearing caps.

The advantage of 'bolt-in' is huge when you consider the Strange, Moser, DTS axles.

 

find a good place, buddy of mine was quoted a couple hundred bucks to have all of the brackets for a third gen rear welded onto a second gen 8.5" rear. Only difference i believe is it was around a 1/4" shorter on either side. Im starting to look for next summer cause this friend said all said and done he could have had the whole setup for 1000 bucks canadian

 

I built an 8.8 Ford and I love it