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s10 rearend

3.5K views 14 replies 10 participants last post by  bloaty57  
#1 ·
i was just wondering all u guys out there with s10s what kind of rearend do u have in it or what kind of rear suspension changes have u made i am just tryin to get some ideas of what i could do
 
#4 ·
IMPO, I don't think the work it would take to do the swap is worth the outcome. The 10 bolt in the S10 should be able to handle a lot, unless you are doing some major work under the hood. Plus, most come with posi, and if not, they are easier to come by and a direct bolt on. What are your plans with the S10?
 
#5 ·
What year model truck is it?

All pre-91 trucks came with 7 1/2" rears, and all 2nd gen trucks came with at least a 7 5/8" rear, some with 8 1/2"... The 7 5/8" has a bigger pinion bearing, 28 spline axles vs. 26, is altogether stronger and is a direct bolt in swap...You can get a take out ZEXEL posi unit from SLP performance for $100.00...Hellwig makes easy bolt-on traction springs that are $40.00 that will totally eliminate wheel hop and do not hang below the leaves...Put some soft shocks on the rear, and you will be as close to hooked as you can get, this side of Cal-tracs or a 4-link...

www.s10forum.com :thumbup:

-=james=-
 
#6 ·
it is an 88 s10 and i just found out that a rear end from a 3rd gen camaro has the same insides(love my vocabulary) as the one in my s10. I have a friend that is selling a rearend for a 3rd gen camaro that has positrac. the turck is going to be street and strip. But in the begining the motor is going to be very mild and as i get more money its going to get wilder. it is a work in progress :)
 
#8 ·
i have been looking at ur truck since i found the site i love ur turck u do a good job. i think i am just gooing to start out with some old fashioned slapper bars and get a positraction unit. My motor is going to be very mild to start off with. I can always do stuff later. i am going to put a 10 point cage in mine, can i use the same dash that is in it or would i have to make one?
oh yeah forgot to say i am puttin a 350 in it
 
#9 ·
Thanks.

If I were you I would just install an 8 point bar. It is legal to 10.0 second ET's which will be all you will ever need with the factory frame. This will also avoid dash cutting or fabrication. I would look into doing some thing better than slapper bars.....they kindof suck IMO. Here is a great site on building some nice traction bars. For the price of a set of slappers you can have much better:

http://www.hotrodsandhemis.com/traction1.html

I think it is actually someone on this group that did it.

Chris

Might be centerlines page.......
 
#10 ·
i uploaded some pics of my truck in to my gallery, look at the dash...is it work fixing or should i just tear it out, its not that bad i think i could go to a junk yard and find the pieces to fix it. My dad want me to have a full cage in it so it is going to have one, he is helping me do most of the work. Turbo, is it hard to rip out the old dash and wire everything up in a aluminum one
 
#11 ·
before you go to the trouble of swapping a camaro rear into your truck, double check the axle code, theres a good chance that might be a posi unit, my 85 came factory with the posi, also, my 86 camaro has rear coils, not leafs, so that will present another problem because u will have to fabricate the housing to accept leaf springs, or you could swap the whole rear of the truck over to coil springs and control arms, which would be real cool..... i would check www.s10forum.com, theres a post on there somewhere that has the rear axle codes listed and tells u what the ratio is and if its a posi i think, or the original sales slip will also say

good luck with the s10 man

keep us posted

russ
 
#13 ·
I used a narrowed 9" with powertrax locker in my S10. SSM lift bars for traction. A set of lift bars, removing the overload leaf, 90/10 front shocks, cage, 28x10 slicks, proper stall and gear ratio (and obviously enough motor) is good for mid 10's with 1.60 60' times. If you are shooting for sub 10 sec. times a 4 link or ladder bars will prolly be needed. Caltrac bars and C.E. Slide a link also have a solid reputation on S10's. Word of mouth says that the SSM bars and the slide a links give about the same 60' times. The caltracs work a little better and don't hang down as far.

go to www.dragtruk.com and look at RANDY406's setup. S10forum is also a good source of info.
 
#14 ·
Well I believe that it was either 88 or 89 that the s10's came with a 7 5/8. I have both a 89 and a 91 and thwy both have 7 5/8. The camaro rearend is longer and has to be narrowed. Plus like someone stated they had coil springs. Stick with what you have because it will be a waist to change it. I am positve that these trucks didnt come with a posi. At least everyone i have owned didnt . Just get ya a posi unit some 342 or 373 gears and you will be fine. I hook well and I do not have traction bars on yet. I have an auburn posi with 373 gears and 275/60/15 BFG drag radials. I hope I helped.
 
#15 ·
I'm in the process of doing the S-10 rear axle swap thing, and although I've got a couple of 9" Ford axles from a truck and an 85' F/S Bronco, I got checking the interchange manual never the less.
I'm using a 1991 S-10 chassis under a 1939 Dodge D11 Business Coupe, and with a 408hp SBC, I really wouldn't trust the stock axle to handle the goofy street stuff.
As it appears, Ford offered 9" axles in the 75-78 Granada's and Mavericks. The Granada's "hub to hub" (where the rims bolt to) width is 52 1/4", and the Mavericks of the same years were 56 1/4".
The widths on the S-10's were 55".
The Granada's might be too close to the frame, or box on the S-10, and the Maverick would be a touch wider, but would work well.
I didn't want to spend the big dollar to get my other axles chopped and done either, so I did some checking.

Soon as I can find a junkyard transplant victim, I'm going to put it to good use.

Take care,
Bob