Hi all, i just got my very first Corvette, a 1981 C3 4 speed!

along with the car i received a rear end. it looks in great shape and spins smoothly, i believe i was told it was a 308 rear posi off a 5speed automatic 1981...

could anybody confirm that for me and tell me what other years this will fit on? also roughly what it sells for? i would like to sell it to fund other projects for the vette sorry for the noob questions still learning my first vette!




Thanks!
Ryan

 

anybody?

 

Well there are a couple of things to look at. First of all a Four Speed and a Automatic use a different rear end. There are a couple of different ways to find out. If You flip the Rear over there will be some Numbers stamped and they will tell the story of what it was when it left the Factory. Looking at the Pictures we can see its a C3 Dana 44 so we know it came in a 1980-81 or 82. The Number we are looking for should be something like OH C 218 1. The OH is the Ratio, the C is the Plant and the 218 is the day of the year it was built. 1 is the first shift. Ok so if it has the OH Code its a 1980 with 3:08 Gears. If it has the OK its a 2:72 Auto 81 and OJ is 2:87 Manual and OA is 2.87 Manual 81 or 82 with 2:87 and if its got a OF its a 82. But all this really tells us is what it left the Factory with, and unless You are restoring a Car to be original nobody really cares. What we really want to know is what Gears it has now. A simple way to determine this is to turn one of the Wheel Axels one turn and count how many times the Driveline turns. If it turns a little more than 3 turns its got a 3:08. If it Turns 2 and 3/4 then its got a 2:72. If it turns 4 1/2 turns somebody put a 4:56 in it etc. The Manual trans cars had bigger U-Joints that the Auto Cars for 80-81 and they are easy to tell the difference. Look at the Axel Shaft U-Joint Flange and see what Bolts are used to Hold the U-Joints. if they are 1/4" then its a Auto, if they are 5/16" then they are Manual. All the 82's came with the 5/16". Sounds like You are out to sell this rear end and they are currently not worth all that much. From a performance standpoint a 5/16" U-Joint rear is worth more, and a 3:08 is worth more, but only to a chosen few that are building a performance car out of the 80-82's which most people are not.