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After a complete body off rebuild, i decided that the 3.08 gears needed to go in favour of some 3.55 gears. I wish i had done this the first go around. lol At least everything is new and clean under the car so that was the only bonus.
When you get exhaust put on your Vette. make sure the muffler shop creates a form of rear disconnect so you can remove the rear end if you have too. They welded on the collectors to the head pipes, and they would not fit through the true dual crossmember? Well long story short, i was able to twist the entire exhaust out of the way enough to remove the diffy and all the components.
Driveshaft. ARRRGGHH. I took it out attached to the diffy, and installed it after the diffy was in. Various lengths of 1/4" socket extensions are in order here, as well as a roll of electrical tape to tape the new bolts to the socket to hold it in place. Used blue bolt locker and a 150 inch pound torque wrench to put them back in.
The rest of it should go easier today, all the hard stuff is done except getting the exhaust back on.
When I dropped my rear end last year I told my wife that the money we spent on the side pipes the year before was worth every penny.
Yes get the side pipes! Sound great and make everything under the car accessible and easier to work on.
I think you'll love the 3.55 vs the 3.08. I made the switch last year and it a significant difference in torque to the wheels. Cruising is a bit louder though.
Yes looked at the dyno sheet and the rpm/mph chart with 3.55 gears. Cruising at 65-70 mph will be around 3100 rpm motor makes 375 tq right there. so nice power to be able to pass with. at 5800 motor makes 350 HP car should top out at 130 mph.
Last edited by Grumpy 427; 05-15-2017 at 12:49 PM.
Heere's mine 3in. Stainless through the x member and two jpoints at the back so I can drop the entire back portion of the exhaust at the track.
I would say about 50lbs in tubing, cat and mufflers to make the Vette lighter and open exhaust.
I'd like to go the other way and install 3.08, and get lower rpm at highway speeds, no real need for torque or HP when cruising on the highway .
What???? LOL That makes no sense. The highway is where you want HP and Tq nice to be able to pass people that cant or wont do the speed limit.
Mind you a stock 80 vette with the L48 has no Hp or tq so thats a safe car then. My 2016 Subaru forester has 180 Hp same as what the 80 vette came with stock.
St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-‘18-'19-'20-'21-'22-'23
Originally Posted by Grumpy 427
What???? LOL That makes no sense. The highway is where you want HP and Tq nice to be able to pass people that cant or wont do the speed limit.
Mind you a stock 80 vette with the L48 has no Hp or tq so thats a safe car then. My 2016 Subaru forester has 180 Hp same as what the 80 vette came with stock.
well thanks to the metric system i cannot drive my vette till next week. F*&king metric bolts holding the spring plate to the rear end. The spring is a tad bit thicker, and it ran against the bolt now i have one stripped bolt.
Well My luck has changed, the local farm auto supply, called Peavy Mart actually had the correct Metric bolts in the bin, and were open till 9 pm. Its a long weekend here so i will try and get this done tomorrow.
Well car is on the ground and we now have a 4x4 Corvette. I hope the spring settles? I used the 8" bolts lol and its a good thing. I think i will need 14" bolts to get the ride height where it needs to be.I had to crank it up a bit to get the lower bushing cup to clear the rear tire as well, so 6 " bolts would of made the car sit way too high. Will go out and drive it a bit see if it squats?
Car is way more responsive with the 3.55 gears, accelerates better all around better to drive than the 3.08 gears. Grey/ black 22 tooth speedo gear is bang on as well.
05-15-2017, 11:06 AM
Rear end removal and install Fun Fun.
Yes get the side pipes! Sound great and make everything under the car accessible and easier to work on.
