Atlantean

Hello Vette lovers!, I have an 80 vette with nearly 600 horses, my problem is the original aluminum rear, although not getting on it lasted less then a month, the gears are alright but the casing cracked and it does not hold oil. I was told by other forums that cast iron would be much stronger. What other years would fit and how complicated is the swap. I don't want to spend much since the whole job has cost over $40K already, I now want to finally drive it. Thanks for all the help....

Durango_Boy

Just find a mid '70's C3 and take the whole rear end and cross member with cover and spring. Everything. You might want to swap the gears you have into the iron rear end or have it rebuilt, but it'll certainly be stronger than the aluminum case.

That being said, 600 HP at the wheels will certainly cause other problems. The aluminum case was the weak point. You make that stronger and you'll have to deal with snapped yokes, broken U-joints, twisted half shafts, and obviously the iron rear end may fail as well.

Van Steel

The swap is simple, it just bolts to the aluminum batwing. You just need to swap other parts as well. Here is a list of what you need to change.

Rear End and it has to have the tongue on it
63-79 Side Yokes
63-79 Half Shafts
63-79 Strut Rods
63-79 Strut Rod Bracket
63-79 Spindle Flanges

Here are pics of a HD rear we did
http://www.vansteel.com/photos/index...thumbs&e=4&s=1

1981Z06Vette

The internals arent the same (the aluminum diffs are Dana 44s), so the gears cant be reused.

flynnd_33

i was wondering the same....i have 480 crank...thats without nitrous....and about how much horsepower will that setup hold...and how much does it cost....

Durango_Boy

Good to know.

Van Steel

This particular kit here we had in an 80 w/650HP at the rear wheels. You don't have to go to an all out kit like this. We have different variations to accomidate different applications. I'll shoot you over a PM tomorrow. Do you have a cast iron that you want to use or would we suply you with one?

flynnd_33

no i dont have a cast iron case right now....i pry can get one...it kinda depends on the price differnce too...bone stock dana 44