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rearend issue

3K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  d1987smart 
#1 ·
ok heres a f.a.q. so i have a 10 bolt 8.2 (the smaller 8.2) rearend in my 71 nova, i got 15x8 rally's for the rear and i would like to use the rims if i can but heres my problem, i have 65/235/r15 and they rub on the outter lip sure they would hit the inside of the body when i put them on the car, i really want 235/75/r15's in the back which are a little wider, so im wondering where to put my money at, do i take the rearend in and get it cut down on each side so i can fit the tires in the wheel wells more on center and slap bigger tires on it, OR, is it smarter and cheaper to get rims with different backspacing? (by the way i have about 2 inches on each side give or take on the inside of the tire) so i wanna move the tires in more so i can get the power to the ground without using grandma's skinny's as an alternative. thanks guys im sure almost all of us have run into this one before
 
#2 ·
First off, get yourself a Percy's Wheelrite and stop guessing. Guessing costs money.



Then once you've got an actual measurement get a wheel in the offset you need. It'll be a whole lot cheaper than shortening an axle.

There may also be someone here on the site with your model that's been down the same road as you and can tell you what offset will work.

Good luck!
 
#3 ·
thanks this helps alot ill be posting a thread to see who has bought offset rear wheels for their third gen and see what info i can get i know cars differ and can be off by minimal dimensions so ill see how big of an offset people get to put me in the ballpark thanks bro!
 
#7 ·
With your situation, you messed up on the wheel backspace, since you were working with a set axle width and wheelwell width before you bought the wheels.

If you want to keep those wheels, your only choice is to narrow the axles to make the wheels fit....otherwise, buy a different set of wheels with the correct backspace.
I would not recommend spending money to narrow the 8.2" axle housing and buying new axles for it, it is just a poor choice due to weak differential strength.
Smarter move is to buy a different axle assembly in the correct needed width that is a stronger design like the 8.5" 10-bolt, 12-bolt car, 9" Ford, 8.8" Ford, or Dana 60.

Nice looking project, by the way...I dig the color.
 
#9 ·
Honestly it all depends on the rest of your build. Narrowing an 8.2 is not a dumb option if the diff is suited to the HP and torque range the rest of the drive train is putting out. A 8.2 with after market parts can hold around 500hp in a nova in most cases. If running around 300hp stock internals would hold up under normal driving no problem.

Miles
 
#12 ·
While what you've said is true, I look at it this way in Zman/ohio's case:

He's going to buy a posi unit, gears, all the bearings and seals, then pay someone to narrow the housing and then buy a set of axle shafts for it to do the stock 8.2".

For just a couple hundred more he could go to a salvage yard and get a better core axle like the 8.5/8.6" 10-bolt or a 8.8" Ford and do all that same stuff to it and end up with a more bulletproof finished product that doesn't have such a low peak power threshold.
If he searches and chooses well, he could get a posi and decent ratio gears in the donor housing and end up way ahead of the game on cost.....especially since he could start with the common 8.6 10 bolt from a full size 1/2 ton truck/van or 8.8" Ford from an Explorer and cut it down and those are frequently geared with 3.42 or 3.73 gearing.

I consider doing all that work to the 8.2" as money not intelligently spent.
 
#10 ·
for now it will be a 331 nothing two crazy wise one flattops with 58cc heads 2.02/1.6 cast iron heads with a m-21 behind it and hydraulic clutch. But I did get a steal on a 400 sbc later on down the road I just won’t have the money to do it the way I want now, the 331 I have everything for just gonna tank it and put it back together with new. Bearings.
 
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