Rear End Swap?

My 108 van has a 3.73 ten bolt open differential in it.....I've been thinking about acquiring a complete rear end from a 90's GM wagon, which would have limited slip and a 3.23 ratio,be an inch longer (D2D), but would also have bigger brakes and require fabrication of all mounts.....It also would have a 5on5 lug pattern.... Would my money be better spent re-gearing and installing limited slip in the 10 bolt?

The van rear end is offset 1" to the right. a compound angle will create other vibration issuse.

m1D

Would it hurt to put a 1" wheel spacer on one wheel to keep the wheels centered and weld the spring perches to keep the 1" offset to the right?

My plan is to set the engine back 18", lowered 2", and centered......so I'm thinking that centering the diff would also be good..... Having done a bit of setup work on v-drive boats and other hot rod projects, I'm aware that drive shaft phasing needs to be considered when locating the engine....

I would just re-gear your existing rear, or swap for another early rear with the stock 3.36

I just re-geared from a 3.36 to 3.73 because I'm moving from the 3-spd to a 700R4.

VCVCSmiley wrote:I would just re-gear your existing rear, or swap for another early rear with the stock 3.36

I just re-geared from a 3.36 to 3.73 because I'm moving from the 3-spd to a 700R4.

I will 2nd that just re-gear your housing theses van rears are made for vans only and there is nothing worse than a drive-line vibration..!!..JMO...

Just curious as to why centering the engine?

Moving it back 18 inches, so driver clearance won't be an issue anymore....Actually my biggest concern with the rear end swap is having bigger brakes in the rear.....will also kinda suck to have 2 different lug patterns......Are there any limiited slip carriers available for these 10-bolts?

Explorer 8.8 is the ticket if you don't mind 5 on 4.5" pattern. 3.73 or 4.10 gears, limited slip and disk brakes, 56.5" wide wheel mounting surface to wheel mounting surface. I wouldn't worry about any vibrations as long as the pinion angle is correct aka u-joint working angles. Basically the the pinion shaft should be pointing down a couple degrees from parallel to the crankshaft. Rossler transmissions site has explanation and diagrams.

I'm going to have to re-measure..... I had the D2D width at 64.5 (?)....... I DID measure leaf spring to center and the driveshaft is exactly in the center......I really prefer a 323 ratio......I need to pull a rear drum off my 91 wagon and compare brake hardware for sizing similarity.....Rear brakes prone to lockup would suck, but could be dialed down with an aftermarket prop valve..... What would suck worse is not enough pressure to operate them....... I'd be okay with 336's, but I'd really like to have limited slip and don't know if it's available for a van 10-bolt....

the factory 10 bolt in our early GM vans uses the same guts as the chevelle, nova, camaro.  8.2" ring gear.  Posi units are available from several sources:  Auburn, Eaton, Moroso, Yukon

This is the best price I have found on one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GM-8-2-10-Bolt-Posi-28-Spline-Limited-Slip-Posi-Traction-1965-1972-NEW-/371343683093?hash=item5675ceee15&vxp=mtr

If you want 3.36 gears for your 10 bolt, I have a very good condition used ring&pinion set that I will sell cheap

make sure you do not buy anything for a "BOP" 8.2" 10 bolt, these are different and won't fit your rear.

Keep in mind 3.23 gears are not available for the 8.2" 10 bolt. Your aftermarket choices for that rearend are 3.08, 3.36, 3.55, 3.73, 4.11, 4.56

Thanks KK! Great info!
I followed that link and entered 69 g10 in the app chart and it came back as no-fit..... I guess I'd hafta call them and find out if/why......