[Rmvr53]

I have a 62 Austin Princess with a 250 straight 6 Chevy and turbo 400 tranny residing under the hood/etc. This combo appears to have worked great for over 20 years till the ring gear departed the 3rd member (via a new perfectly sized slit in the rear cover of the diff....). Since this particular rear end is made of unobtainium on this side of the pond, I have been researching an American swap. An S10 2 wheel drive rear end is within 1/4" of same size with the stock Austin rear being 50" back plate to back plate and 56 1/4" drum face to drum face.

BUT...

I need a 5 on 5 bolt pattern to use the original wheels/hubcaps. Whats the best way to get an S10 rear to 5 on 5 or what other pathway(s) should I take?

thoughts?

thanks

Bill

[Deuce]

1) pull the axles and have them redrilled ... Moser does it
http://www.moserengineering.com/Page...pservices.html

2) Leave the rear @ 5 on 4.75 and redrill the fronts to 5 on 4.75
Use 4 Chevy rims and the Austin hubcaps.

3) I would look at a Chevy Astro Van. They have the 5 on 5 pattern.

4) Look at a V8 early 70's Maverick rear end ( 56 inches wheel mounting flange to wheel mounting flange ) The 8 inch Ford is a way better rear end IMHO than the S-10. Redrill axles to the 5 on 5 pattern.

[Rmvr53]

Originally Posted by Deuce

1) pull the axles and have them redrilled ... Moser does it
http://www.moserengineering.com/Page...pservices.html

2) Leave the rear @ 5 on 4.75 and redrill the fronts to 5 on 4.75
Use 4 Chevy rims and the Austin hubcaps.

3) I would look at a Chevy Astro Van. They have the 5 on 5 pattern.

4) Look at a V8 early 70's Maverick rear end ( 56 inches wheel mounting flange to wheel mounting flange ) The 8 inch Ford is a way better rear end IMHO than the S-10. Redrill axles to the 5 on 5 pattern.

good ideas...thanks

I would think the Astro would be to wide...anyone know?

I thought about re-drilling the fronts but the VP uses pins to hold the hub caps on so changing wheels is not an option

I hadn't thought about the Maverick....

on either the Ford or CHevy rear end, anyone know if a "stock" drum will fit rather than drilling those as well?

Bill

[Deuce]

Originally Posted by Rmvr53

I thought about re-drilling the fronts but the VP uses pins to hold the hub caps on so changing wheels is not an option

Are the pins on the center portion of the rim ?



Or on the outer portion of the rim ?



It is not a real big deal to put a inner rim into another shell ...

You can even change them around to keep the Hubcap pins and get the right bolt pattern. You can even change the offset in/out to gain clearance.

[Rmvr53]

Originally Posted by Deuce

Are the pins on the center portion of the rim ?



Or on the outer portion of the rim ?



It is not a real big deal to put a inner rim into another shell ...

You can even change them around to keep the Hubcap pins and get the right bolt pattern. You can even change the offset in/out to gain clearance.

think dog-dish hubcap - held on like an old VW - but as a "VP" crest in the center

Pin....

/\
_I_

Bill

[Deuce]

Well ... you are screwed

Redrill the axle shafts.
Moser can redrill both the axle shaft and the drum ... but a Astro van drum MAY interchange if the axle was redrilled.

Just be careful the the center hole in the rim will fit over the centering hub on the axle.



The Maverick has a better axle set up IMHO ... partly because of the axle bearings ...



The Maverick has the small bearing ( but way plenty for the Austin ) and the bearing is on the axle shaft ... the S-10 has them in the housing ( which can be a real pain to change ). The Maverick also has removable center section ... so if the gear ever died ( unlikely ) you can change it ... easily ... with the S-10 ... it is a spicer type and they have to be set up in the rear end housing and are not as user friendly to change

[Rmvr53]

So if I went with the Maverick rear end, do you know if the big ford rear drums/back plates will bolt up to the Maverick tubes? (after having the axles re-drilled)

Bill

[Deuce]

Originally Posted by Rmvr53

So if I went with the Maverick rear end, do you know if the big ford rear drums/back plates will bolt up to the Maverick tubes?

Yes ... as long as you stay with the small bearing backing plates. Full size Fords came both ways ... some with the small bearing and others with the large bearing.

IF ... you can stand 1 inch more width per side .... a 66 to mid 70's Ford Bronco rear would work also. They have the bigger brakes and a 5 on 5.5 pattern ... leaving more than enough room to drill the smaller 5 on 5 pattern on the flanges. The Bronco is a 9 inch series rear. OR ... Curries Enterprises can build you a correct 56" width 9 inch Ford with the pattern you need.



Currie is here

http://www.currieenterprises.com/ces...724&p=849.9000

They also sell axles and pieces. $895 is a fair amount of money ... but it would be the ultimate cure ... and all new ... so you should never have to worry about rear end failure again.

[Rmvr53]

Originally Posted by Deuce

Yes ... as long as you stay with the small bearing backing plates. Full size Fords came both ways ... some with the small bearing and others with the large bearing.

IF ... you can stand 1 inch more width per side .... a 66 to mid 70's Ford Bronco rear would work also. They have the bigger brakes and a 5 on 5.5 pattern ... leaving more than enough room to drill the smaller 5 on 5 pattern on the flanges. The Bronco is a 9 inch series rear. OR ... Curries Enterprises can build you a correct 56" width 9 inch Ford with the pattern you need.

Currie is here

They also sell axles and pieces. $895 is a fair amount of money ... but it would be the ultimate cure ... and all new ... so you should never have to worry about rear end failure again.

so...do you know which big Fords will have the small bearings so I can eliminate part of my search?

thanks for all the input guys...

Bill

[Holder350]

OR buy a new set of rims and get 2 with 5x5 and 2 with 5X4.75

LOL I know this is not what you want to do but tis the way we did a Buddy's 32 Chevy after installing a mustang2 front clip

[lalimo]

Hello Bill
How did you end up to replace the rear end?I am having the same issue on my 60 princess.

Harry

Originally Posted by Rmvr53

I have a 62 Austin Princess with a 250 straight 6 Chevy and turbo 400 tranny residing under the hood/etc. This combo appears to have worked great for over 20 years till the ring gear departed the 3rd member (via a new perfectly sized slit in the rear cover of the diff....). Since this particular rear end is made of unobtainium on this side of the pond, I have been researching an American swap. An S10 2 wheel drive rear end is within 1/4" of same size with the stock Austin rear being 50" back plate to back plate and 56 1/4" drum face to drum face.

BUT...

I need a 5 on 5 bolt pattern to use the original wheels/hubcaps. Whats the best way to get an S10 rear to 5 on 5 or what other pathway(s) should I take?

thoughts?

thanks

Bill

[Rmvr53]

welll....the short story is about 2 weeks later a friend located a Mavrick rear end...in his back yard. So then we started looking for the drums/back plates. About a week later I found out that Big Healey (3000) was a bolt in but was a 3.91 as opposed to the stock 3.53 which I was game for except the Chevy/400 was already tight and a 3.91 was going to make it a stump puller. But...I could have it for $100 so I told the guy I'd take it and be by for it that Friday.

Never happened

Friday morning about 5:30am the house burned down. I lost the Princess, and 4 other cars in the fire. Three of the 5 were over 30ft from the house in another building that caught fire from the heat and embers, 2 were in the attached garage.

So... needless to say the project was never completed. But to actually answer your question, I was going with the 3.91 out of a stick 3000 at least temporarily to get the car back on the road and see if it was going to work. If it didn't, I had a 3.40 Mavrick rear end to build up and I figured I could get my money back on EBay for the 3000 diff.

Bill

[user151]

Originally Posted by Rmvr53

I have a 62 Austin Princess...... An S10 2 wheel drive rear end is within 1/4" of same size with the stock Austin rear being 50" back plate to back plate and 56 1/4" drum face to drum face. ......
thanks
Bill

Your conclusion re the S10 axle seems to be a couple inches (1" per side) off ofmine....
OK I guess those figures you gave are for the Austin compared to the S10 ... since others checking on S10 measurements may find this thread I just wanted to give my measurements on the 1992 S10 Blazer 2WD 3.42 ratio rear axle I have under my rod (not the one in my avatar...) .
And I understand that two people measuring the same object may get different results....

Here's my S10 rear axle:
between backing plates 47-1/2" (outer edge of backing plate)
Wheel mounting surface to WMS 54-1/2"
between axle flanges 48"
--axle flange measurement is inside to inside (add 1/2" for outside to outside)

Fits under my 30 Ford coupe fine but of course it will depend on your wheel offset...

[Rmvr53]

I found four different measurements when I was looking - 2wd vs 4wd and early (pre 90ish) vs late (91ish up) as I remember. Somewhere in the early 90's they made a change and I don't remember when I was told it was but there was a difference. So, it is possible to get 4 different measurements from the "same" truck.

[user151]

Good point Rmvr.
I understand that the 4WD rear axle is a bit wider than the 2WD axle for the same year.
And from what you say, the early vs late may be different.
=4X