need help with 8.5 A-body rear

[79olds1985]

Just wondering, i have an 8.5 rear out of an A-body cutlass and was wondering what all i had to do to put this in a g-body cutlass. are the axle tubes the same length as the g.n. rear? are the mounting brackets on the rear the same as the g.n. rear. just looking for a little help. thanks

 

[CHUMPCHANGEBU]

the rear is longer than a FACTORY 7.5 or grandnational 8.5 10 bolt rear.in order for you to usethe A-BODY REAR YOU NEED TO BUY THESE control arms from EITHER UMI OR BASELINE OR TRZ they have the A-BODY to G-BODY control arm kits it might say 12 bolt but its for 10 bolt and 12 bolt rear ends and also rember the back spacing on ur rim will be different because the rear end is longer. im going through the same thing too good luck with your swap

 

[79olds1985]

thanks man i apreciate it but by any chance do you know what the back spacing would be on the rim i am realy thinking about just cutting each side a 1 1/4 inch shorted the nwelding the housing back on to keep my rims.

 

[CHUMPCHANGEBU]

thanks man i apreciate it but by any chance do you know what the back spacing would be on the rim i am realy thinking about just cutting each side a 1 1/4 inch shorted the nwelding the housing back on to keep my rims.

u can cut them i believe it will be 4inch backspacing instead of 3.5 if your going to cut the ends than u really should use a c-clip elimantors and bolt the axles to the housing im actually going to do the same with a 91 capric rear end i ot from an old buddy of mine but im haveing a local chassic shop put them on and weld them e has a jig for rearends so its nice and straight and i dont have to worry about anything (I HOPE)

 

[79olds1985]

yeah thats what i have. I bought strange spool axle,and c-clip eliminator kit. how much are they charging you for the labor on the rear end? just trying to get a good idea on what i would be spending

 

[CHUMPCHANGEBU]

last time i built a rear thjey charged me 400 with axles so im hoping the same this time too

 

[dwkohout]

i have an 8.5 rear out of an A-body cutlass

yeah thats what i have. I bought strange spool axle,and c-clip eliminator kit.

A-body Olds 8.5's have boltin axles.

 

[79olds1985]

That looks real nice. did you have to do any work on the rear as in cut and paste? shorten the housing at all or did you just play with the backspacing? what backspacing did you go with im trying to fit a 15x8 inch rim and a 30inch tall with a 11.5 inch wide tire with a possible 10 inch contact patch

 

[dwkohout]

im trying to fit a 15x8 inch rim and a 30inch tall with a 11.5 inch wide tire with a possible 10 inch contact patch

Without any experience with that size tire I couldnt tell you what backspace would work. No I didnt narrow the axle. Ive been using wheels with enough backspace. I have 16x8in GTA rears have just over 5in back space and my rear 17x9.5in ROH wheels have 6 5/8in backspace.

 

[UMI Performance]

Hello,

We can help with the upper control arms needed, the upper mount "ears" on the A-body rear end are at a different angle than the G-body. You would need a set of off set upper control arms to prevent suspension bind. I posted two links below to take a look at. For the lower control arms the standard G-Body length will work just fine.

http://www.umiperformance.com/3019
http://www.umiperformance.com/3039

I hope that helps!
Ryan