Is there something different about there rear or what? I thought it was basiclly the same as ours. But i dont see GN owners switching to 12 bolts ect... as much as fourth gens. There is one in gmhtp the runs 10s and has even run a 9 on higher boost that has the 10 bolt with a girdle and axles.

Is it worth it to spend to extra bucks for a girdle and axles or just go with a 12 bolt?

thanks
James

 

The GN and other earlier models had 8.5" 10-bolts. the 4th gen 10-bolt is only 7.5".

 

I was thinking it was something like that...been awhile since i read much on them. Why would gm put a smaller rearend in more powerful cars??

Is the 7.5 alot weaker than the 8.5 though?

 

Yes, a 7.5 is a good bit weaker. 8.5" is less than .5" smaller than a 12-bolt.

 

I would not waste the time and money to put good axles in a 7.5.
As has been said many times before " You don,t have to worry about the axles, the center section will break first"
I have even thought of running a spool in there thinking it would toughen things up (it aint a daily driver) but I would still be dealing with a 7.5 ring gear.
I may try it anyway, at least it will take the posi exploding out of the equation.

 

Does anybody know will a GN rear end bolt into our cars? I know they have LCA's and coil spring setups, but do they have a TQ arm? I've seen a lot of GN 9inch housings and if i could score one of those cheap i'd be set to build my 9inch.

 

Im looking at a pic of one right now and i dont see a tq arm.

 

No, the GN and Buick T-type have a modified upper and lower control arm setup similar to that of the fox body mustang. Because of that, the rear has different mounting points and is not easily adaptable to a torque arm setup, though it could be done with a good fabricator, just not a bolt in deal though. The GNX had a torque arm setup.

You would also have to change the backing plates as the GN had drum rear brakes and I don't know if the axles and tubes would need to be shortened or not as well. So, basically, it's not a bolt-in deal.

 

The 12 bolt is a 8.875" Gear (like the Ford 8.8") and that 8.5" is a hell of a lot stronger than the 7.5" POS we have. I never understood this either.

Bret

 

A friend of mine has a 87 Cutlass (7.5) which he installed a rear end from a GN (8.5). While trying to put it in the car he ran into a problem, the DRIVESHAFT. It is shorter. So that would probably be another hassle to over come if you swaped.

As for not understanding GMs thoughts, I agree!

I know their LS... engines are outstanding, but as for the overall cars, I would have to say that GMs finer days have come and gone.

I go back to 1987 and then late 60's camaro and early 70's chevelle .

87 = still made trucks with METAL !
87 = more than 2 cars were rear wheel drive (Vette and GTO)!
87 = they owned Oldsmobile and not Deawoo !
87 = there were IROCs aka F-bodies !
etc... anything 96 and newer = OBDII = for all cars !

 

You know they were still f-bodies and have been f-bodies since 67, right?

IROC = International Race Of Champions
And in the mid 80's they used Camaros in that race so GM had the ability to put IROC on the car. Just like pace cars sold by GM, they were not really run in the race but there was one used so GM had the ability to create a Pace Car decals for it's cars...

I hope you don't get offended, but IROC was also put on the Dodge Daytona after IROC stop using Camaros.

 

As stated above, the GNX rear end has a torque arm. GNX rear ends are pretty hard to come by, but there's a company somewhere that makes good replica parts... can't remember who it is right now.

BTW, pics of my GN coming soon...

 

i know the 10 bolts in f-bodies are weak and am by no means trying to defend them but i know of two LS1s both autos and running a lot of spray along with motor mods and one is caged and runnig 10s the other is low 11s on sticky tires, both have stock rearend with a girdle. I need to find a 12 bolt because i dont dare put sticky tires on to get my ets down.

 

I don't understand why they didn't put IROC on the trans-ams from 1994 to current. They have been using them in IROC competition for more years than the 3rd gen camaro was ever used. As a matter of fact, Trans-am production ceased in 2002, yet the IROC series is still using Trans-Ams. How is that?

 

What is a GNX?