Anyone know of a good mechanic in Houston, TX to get my rear differential rebuilt on my 75 C3? Thanks

 

How about SAM? The School of Automotive Machinists! I bet those guys could get you fixed up.
Address: 1911 Antoine Dr, Houston, TX 77055
Phone: (713) 683-3817

John

 

Just ship it to Gary Ramadei (GTR1999).
He isn’t in TX, but he is the best in the business and will do it with all the good hardware.
If you go cheap or with someone who doesn’t really know what they are doing, you may pay to get it done twice.

 

Having kids with no experience and very limited ability rebuilding your Vette parts is just a really bad idea.... you need to find some crusty, sarcastic 65 year old guy who has rebuilt hundreds of these things, and who used to work on the cars when they were brand new. These guys are getting tough to find, which is why people spend the time and money to ship their diff's out to Gary, and they ship their carbs to me. Find an old ******* to work on your stuff, and you'll be in good shape.

Lars
(Yeah, Gary - that was a compliment)

 

Pyle Brothers in Baytown TX. They have been in business a very long time and do work for all of the performance guys. They rebuilt my '74 in 2000 and never had a problem.

 

Lee's 4X4 in Pearland!! Great Guy and 30-40 years of experience on All differentials. Address: 3916 Halik St, Pearland, TX 77581
Phone: (281) 485-5168... Tell him Cruz with the Chevelle sent you!...

 

List of old, crusty, sarcastic Texas ******* car-guys being assembled above - great stuff..! Love it. Looks like you're in good hands!!

Lars

 

Lars- lol! Crusty old guys rule!

To OP-- 75 diff's have bad axles, ring gear bolts and clutches. There are many many place that will rebuild these, they are not rocket ships- then you would need Lars. However, as simple and basic as they are there are ways to improve the build so a lot depends on your objective now and in the future. If you are planning on a street car with low power and no abuse that is one application, if you have power, say 400+hp and plan on some abuse then that is a completely different application.

I would ask any place you speak with if they know of or use the following
1- USA Timken Bearings- while all well known brands should be made in ISO certified plants I would stick with Timken.
2- Axle bearing type- there are differences
3- Axle replacement type and endplay setup- Tip- a rebuilt diff with more then 010" endplay is not good.
4- Clutch type for the posi- solids, snowflakes, fiber?
5- Posi polishing and tuning. Do they check the case for cracks?
6 -Ring gear bolts used
7- Gears used if needed
8- Fit caps to what spec?

If you get answers to these questions that sound reasonable but sarcastic, well no they should not be sarcastic with a customer but who knows, then you will have a better feel for the guy. There is a huge difference in cookie cutter jobs and those that are more detailed for longer life.

Good luck.

 

Well, I've personally dealt with two of these a-holes.

- Spent what was probably one of the last Tuning for Beer weekends (in Northern Virginia) w/Lars where he tuned my car
- Gary has rebuilt my steering box, differential, trailing arm bearing assemblies and half shafts.

You will not find better, not saying there aren't others who might be as good, but you cannot go wrong with either of them when it comes to their specialties.

Yeah, it's going to cost you a good deal to ship, just suck it up and do it right the first time .