Need gears and spool for 55-62 Corvette rear
 

Trying to find spool and gears ( 4:88-5:38 ) for a Chevy rear used in 55-64 passenger cars, and 55-62 Corvettes. I believe it to be an 8.2 but am not sure....please school me! If there is no spool availible, who has the best posi unit.

Re: Need gears and spool for 55-62 Corvette rear
 

Best I can remember from the old days, guys would change to a Pontiac or Olds rear-end. Suppose to be stronger.

Re: Need gears and spool for 55-62 Corvette rear
 

Thanks Terry, I should have mentioned it was for stock. I have been told by NHRA it must be of the same type (third member) and from the same manufacture (Chevy) and not GM. That leaves me with nothing, but what they used back in the day. Probably a 4:56 and a posi. Or go SS, then it's wide open!

Re: Need gears and spool for 55-62 Corvette rear
 

Wade,I have a spool,axles,steel caps & gears for a 55-64 chev rear end. The axles are Henry's,the spool & steel caps are Summer's Brother's & the gears I believe Schiefer. I have a bunch of ratios anywhere from 3.08 to 5.57,some Pro & some street. Also have a complete "heavy duty" carrier with posi unit & 4.56 gears that I just took out of my '56 street car yesterday. E-mail me at marciala@telus.net if you are interested.

Allan

Re: Need gears and spool for 55-62 Corvette rear
 

[QUOTE=Wade Mahaffey;67893]Thanks Terry, I should have mentioned it was for stock. I have been told by NHRA it must be of the same type (third member) and from the same manufacture (Chevy) and not GM.
Thats odd, if that was the case, a 5.0 Mustang guy wouldn`t be able to legally use a 9" in place of a 8.8, or a MoPar guy couldn`t replace 8 3/4 with a Dana. Sounds like you got some bad info.

Re: Need gears and spool for 55-62 Corvette rear
 

Allan, Thanks for the information and I will be in touch. Doing more homework at the Div 2 race this weekend......Thanks for the good news !

Re: Need gears and spool for 55-62 Corvette rear
 

Rory, I got that information from Wesley Roberson who explained it very well to me. Talking with him, I came away with the feeling that he wrote the rule book. He reminded me of a police officer, very nice and helpful. But not the guy you want to meet on the wrong side of the law.....or rule book ! I feel he is the source you want, prior to your build......do it right, or get pulled over later !

Re: Need gears and spool for 55-62 Corvette rear
 

Wade,

Put a 12Bolt in it, been legal for years. Wesley better get a new rule book.

Re: Need gears and spool for 55-62 Corvette rear
 

Wade

The original units are quite weak. As you get into the lower ratios they do not have a lot of teeth on the pinion. For the street they are OK but for racing you better like doing "weekly" maintenence on the rearend. You will get tired of racing real quick using the old 10 bolt.

Allan

Re: Need gears and spool for 55-62 Corvette rear
 

Thank you PJ305 and Allan for your information. I did speak with a few NHRA officials in Richmonds Divisonal race today. A few were OK with the 12 bolt, I then went to Jim Collins (NHRA DIV2 Tech Director) and explained my understanding from Wesley Roberson. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT I AM NOT LOOKING TO PUT ONE OFFICIAL AGINST THE OTHER. I am preparing to build this car and want to be afforded the same as the other racers, nothing more or less! Mr. Collins was in agreement with Mr. Roberson but, he would check it out with NHRA DIV1 director Mr. Bob Lang ( chairman of the Stock committee ). Hopefully they will see fit to allow the 12 bolt in a 60 Corvette Stocker. There are many rear end applications and/or components out there that differ from the rule book right now. All I want is what they are using.

Re: Need gears and spool for 55-62 Corvette rear
 

Wade,
PJ305 called it right. If your building a stocker I'm pretty sure you can use a 12 bolt. Travis get's on here quite a bit. He's tech in Div 3.

Re: Need gears and spool for 55-62 Corvette rear
 

Pretty clear to me (not reading or quoting directly), your allowed a corporate type PASSENGER car rear-end. As the '62 'Vette is a non-IRS rear, it's a simple swap to a GM (non-truck) rear. To be safe, I would say that it should be from a post-1960 GM passenger cars as the stock guide (or rules) do not have allowances for vehicles pre-1960 vehicles. Don't forget, it's dictated the width of the replacement rear has to be identical to stock width.
Killer combination with any of the 327's!
Have fun..

Re: Need gears and spool for 55-62 Corvette rear
 

Wade..... it's NO PRBLEM AT ALL.

I have a 3800 pound 62 Chev full size car, Jerico, with nearly a 100 ft pounds more torque than a small block.
The rear has been trouble free. I also have a couple dozen customers who have purchased a similar arrangement from me.... no failures ( these are all in 55-64 passenger cars ).

You can PM me, and I'll give you the info on how to go about it.

Re: Need gears and spool for 55-62 Corvette rear
 

Thank you Aubrey, I will look to you for information in the near future.
My e-mail mahaffeymotorsports@hughes.net Thanks again, Wade