10 bolt limited slip or upgrade to a 12b?

[bucket]

I've been looking, trust me. My brother found a guy parting one out but of course that thing went in a split second.

You can get the 2wd 6-lug 14 bolt axle from a heavy half ton or a light duty 3/4 ton, then you are just some new shafts and drums away from having the 454SS axle. Heck, you could probably even have the 6-lug drums and shafts re-drilled for the 5 on 5 pattern.

 

[Old Painless]

Best thing you can do to the 8.5 is disc brake swap it that way if an axle breaks it stays put without shredding your bed. There are threads on here to do it on the cheap. I made my own for my V10 nice big vented rotors too.

Wow I didn't even think of that. Discs on the rear are alone worth the time and effort to me - that extra security should an axle break or a clip fail makes it that more tempting.

I'd definitely go for a 14 with a 5 lug if I could find one. Not saying that I wouldn't drill out a 6 lugger should a good candidate come around, but I'm irrationally into the oddball stuff that came factory.

But... it looks like this lucky 10 bolt may be getting the deluxe package pretty soon!

 

[Honky Kong jr]

My front got the deluxe treatmend and the rear is well on its way

 

[Old Painless]

I remember seeing that thread - looks great!

 

[Honky Kong jr]

All depends on what carrier I find as to which axles I use. I'm going to put counter sunk bolts threw the rotors and put in longer studs. It's gonna have 36/12.50s mounted to it. I'm not a crawler I have no patience for that I'm happy ina mud hole.

 

[Rusty Nail]

Dude.
14 bolts do NOT go fast.
That's 700 pounds? of unsprung weight in comparison. 20 pounds is LIKE one tenth and one tenth is LIKE two lengths.

I thought the plan was to outrun that Tempest ?....maybe best not to add 500 pounds if you dont got to? Wonderin out loud.
Are we goin racin or what? Let's kill somethin.

Sheesh. I turn my back for 5 minutes and you kids start tearin **** up!

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[Old Painless]

They are a ton of weight, I agree. I swapped one into my '92 1500 for the 10 bolt. I couldn't do an a/b comparison cause I went full roller with aluminum heads at the same time, but it was a tank.. I will admit that it drifted like butter, but ultimately wasn't worth the weight.

On the other hand this truck weighs absolutely nothing in the rear right now. But you're right, that much weight is really difficult to justify.

I'd only want one if it were the 5 lug, and legitimately just for the rarity of it. But thanks rustynail for bringing me back to my senses - the goal is to waste the tempest!!

 

[68post]

Use a support rear cover to protect against carrier bearing cap deflection.
I used a stock Nova 10 bolt 8.5 and factory clutch posi ( C-clips 'n all) in our stock car and it saw tons of abuse too. Lightest rear axle I could use that would take it !

 

[HotRodPC]

Nice, now I have 2 people to blame when mine detonates! Thanks for the input - looks like the summit fairy will be showing up soon.

Uhh No No No ... Don't go blaming anyone if it denotes but yourself. Proof is there they can handle some hp/torque. Maybe you've been hanging out at Pirate4x4 to long. All they do is bash 10 bolts and are all pro 14 bolt full float or nothing. I had a guy try to blame me, you said.... but yet I seen the videos he posted of rolling backwards, slamming into Drive and nailing the skinny pedal. I've also heard of guys doing burn outs in reverse. Think about it, in reverse your pinion is pushing on the coast aka weak side of the ring gear. Point is, work it and play hard with it, but you'll have to use some common sense because they won't hold up to, and I don't what really will, hold up to gross stupidity and destructive abuse. Noone here is telling you they can't be tore up. I'll assure you, I can tear one one up in about 5 minutes with a stock 350. Of course getting one that has 300,000 miles on it with loose tolerances and worn bearings and such probably won't hold up as well either. That shouldn't be a problem though if you're going to install a posi or locker.

 

[Old Painless]

It'll have a casual life don't worry - aside from a couple hard pulls vs. the tempest. I'm not expecting the thing to be bullet proof and the truck it's going in is my daily, so there won't be any abuse like that. Hell I wouldn't have even done that on my ff 14b!

It's kind of nice having the tempest as a feeler gauge, since it is only an 8.2, is close in power, and isn't my commuting rig. Even in that beater I wouldn't abuse the thing just for the sake of destructive urges.

Seems like the 4x4/desert community has better reason to bash the 10 bolt than the drag community would. Shock loading and big ass mudders make for a stronger argument against a 10 bolt than a hard launch off the line.

 

[HotRodPC]

It'll have a casual life don't worry - aside from a couple hard pulls vs. the tempest. I'm not expecting the thing to be bullet proof and the truck it's going in is my daily, so there won't be any abuse like that. Hell I wouldn't have even done that on my ff 14b!

It's kind of nice having the tempest as a feeler gauge, since it is only an 8.2, is close in power, and isn't my commuting rig. Even in that beater I wouldn't abuse the thing just for the sake of destructive urges.

Seems like the 4x4/desert community has better reason to bash the 10 bolt than the drag community would. Shock loading and big ass mudders make for a stronger argument against a 10 bolt than a hard launch off the line.

So did you stay with Pontiac power in the Tempest? (I missed the info post on the Tempest).

14 bolts can also shed alot of weight by converting to disk brakes too. Still heavier, but sometimes the strength is worth the added weight.

True, the offroaders due put axles through hell. Especially the rock crawlers. That's just the norm when you're running biggo tires to begin with. Then you get into situations when you're at high rpms spinning wheels in a wet mud hole and then come to the end of the mudhole and instantly grab traction and them big tires come to an immediate stop. That's a big shock to the drivetrain and eventually the weak link is going to be found.

 

[Old Painless]

No we went sbc - Pontiac anything is too expensive!! Maybe one day but for now it's a mutt.

 

[HotRodPC]

No we went sbc - Pontiac anything is too expensive!! Maybe one day but for now it's a mutt.

Yep, I get it. Not to mention the selection of options to choose from in power parts. I had to sell all my BB Olds 455 and 425 dreams. I wanted to put either my Olds 425 or one of my 455's in a square. And twist the fukn' frame up like a donut twist. Never happened. Sold Out all my Olds parts. Just can't beat Chevy selection and prices compared to the big brothers and sisters.

 

[Old Painless]

Damn that would've been pretty awesome. It's a bummer they're so rare and coveted..

I'm well beyond a restoration worthy base, so I don't mind pissing off purists. It's not a gto so it would need to be absolutely mint for it to be worth anything. If the homemade cowl hood and front end didn't piss them off enough, then the Chevy heart surely will

 

[HotRodPC]

Olds guys are the same way. They're pretty damn snooty and purists also. That 425 block I had was a very rare 1. Some didn't even think such thing existed. Long story but in short, mine had the good cam bank angle and the common size lifter bores. It was obviously a late 67 block and in anticipation of the 455 coming out in 68 so it had the same dimensions as the 455 and ran what is now the common stuff, common cam and common lifters. Another story about that block, I was told by a machinist it was junk. To much rust cuz it had sat outside in a pasture uncovered for 14 years or so. Yeah well, I saved that bitch and made it rust free inside and out. It looked like a brand new block when I was done doing an Electolosis Process on it.