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Doing a complete overhaul of the rear suspension and diff on my 1972.
My question is, I'm thinking about buying the back half of a 1978. Guy is asking $400 complete with body, glass, fuel tank, lights, rally wheels, diff, trailing arms, half shafts, the works. Too cheap to pass up unless there are any fitment issues, I'd like to rebuild the 78 parts and swap them in to minimize down time. Originality is not a concern. Any fitment issues i should be aware of before i pull the trigger on the parts car?
Thanks,
Dusty
The differential and trailing arms are all the same from 65-79. The half shafts, rear spring and differential cover are slightly different.
Your 72 has 2 1/2" diameter half shafts, the ones in the 78 rear are 3" diameter, but the universals are the same. You can use either half shafts, they are interchangeable. Some people claim the 3" ones are stronger, but I don't think so because I've been told they were made from thinner wall steel.
The 78-79 rear spring is 2 1/2" wide, your 72 has a 2 1/4" wide spring, and the 78's spring "dog bone" mounting plate and rear differential cover are different to mate to the wider spring. You can use your rear spring by using the rear cover off of your 72's differential, or use the spring from the 78 with the other 78 parts.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head, but if I missed something I'm sure someone will add it here.
$400's a steal, you can get that back from the rear glass and moldings.
The differential and trailing arms are all the same from 65-79. The half shafts, rear spring and differential cover are slightly different.
Your 72 has 2 1/2" diameter half shafts, the ones in the 78 rear are 3" diameter, but the universals are the same. You can use either half shafts, they are interchangeable. Some people claim the 3" ones are stronger, but I don't think so because I've been told they were made from thinner wall steel.
The 78-79 rear spring is 2 1/2" wide, your 72 has a 2 1/4" wide spring, and the 78's spring "dog bone" mounting plate and rear differential cover are different to mate to the wider spring. You can use your rear spring by using the rear cover off of your 72's differential, or use the spring from the 78 with the other 78 parts.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head, but if I missed something I'm sure someone will add it here.
$400's a steal, you can get that back from the rear glass and moldings.
Perfect. This is exactly what i was looking for. Thank you.
The FWIW- yes-the halfshafts in the later years are made with thinner metal- BUT due to the increased diameter are about the same strength as the previous years .
That back end would make a pretty cool trailer. I saw a C5 with towing a back half of a C5. I guess they did a lot of long trips.
I was actually looking into making it into one of those little teardrop campers. I could easily put a trailer axle and leaf springs under there. The tough part would be closing in the front without it looking terrible. the leading edge of that rear clip is a pretty complex shape.
The FWIW- yes-the halfshafts in the later years are made with thinner metal- BUT due to the increased diameter are about the same strength as the previous years .
Richard.
I agree. I wasn't trying to say the 3" half shafts were weaker, I just didn't want anyone to think they were stronger. I've had people try to tell me the 3" ones are stronger, they were from big block Corvettes, they were heavy duty half shafts and other similar things, which they are not. The 3" shafts are just the diameter that for some reason unknown to me, Chevrolet chose to switch to starting in 1974.
I agree. I wasn't trying to say the 3" half shafts were weaker, I just didn't want anyone to think they were stronger. I've had people try to tell me the 3" ones are stronger, they were from big block Corvettes, they were heavy duty half shafts and other similar things, which they are not. The 3" shafts are just the diameter that for some reason unknown to me, Chevrolet chose to switch to starting in 1974.
I was doing a "For What its Worth"- I have a bunch of seemingly useless information related to Corvettes floating around in my head-
and that just floated to the top!!!
I was doing a "For What its Worth"- I have a bunch of seemingly useless information related to Corvettes floating around in my head-
and that just floated to the top!!!
That "seemingly useless information" i get from you all is priceless to me. That's why i come here. Compared to the average guy on the street, i think i know a lot of obscure Corvette info, but compared to you guys I'm a total noob.
I agree. I wasn't trying to say the 3" half shafts were weaker, I just didn't want anyone to think they were stronger. I've had people try to tell me the 3" ones are stronger, they were from big block Corvettes, they were heavy duty half shafts and other similar things, which they are not. The 3" shafts are just the diameter that for some reason unknown to me, Chevrolet chose to switch to starting in 1974.
Weren’t the earlier C3’s with the 3” half shafts big blocks, and weren’t those shotpeened? (Like 68-72). So those actually ended up being stronger than the later 3”? Or am I misinformed?
Will it fit?
