Rear end for 350 in s-10?

[Prempt]

I am going to put a 350 in my s-10 and need to know what rear end I should get. Right now I have the stock (7 1/2 I think) rear end for a four cylinder. I have a 1989 Chrysler 5th avenue that is parts car if that rear end would work/be better? If not, what would you guys suggest?

[Pewter'01SS]

I've got a 10 bolt and it worked fine, with slicks. I am rebuilding it and it will have ALOT more power when I'm done. Nitrous, what the hell, why not?? I'm thinking about a 12 bolt, not only are they stronger but heavier and in an S10, I'm thinking it would help with traction and be able to take the abuse.

[bowties4everamen]

GM uses that 10 bolt 7.5 rear end in its camaros, Montecarlos, Malibus, Elcaminos, etc. You will not have a problem there. Besides, if you did theres plentiful parts in wrecking yards that are cheap to get. I have yet to grenade a 10 bolt.

[Vortec350S10]

my stock 10 bolt in mine has 145,000 on it and I have 31" tires. I have yet to have a problem with it. If you want to swap something stronger the easiest one is to get a 8 1/2" 10 bolt from a 96 or newer 4.3 5 speed S10 or blazer. These came in some of them with the "HO 4.3's". You can tell these apart by looking at where the axle tubes come out of the center housing. 8 1/2's are stepped down in diameter where the 7 1/2's are one diameter on the tubes. These 8 1/2's should bolt right in. I'm not sure if they came on 2wds but I know the 4wd axles are a little wider so your 2wd wheels will stick out maybe a half inch more than normal. Unless you are using huge, sticky tires with a locker your stock rear end should be just fine. Tires/traction are what limit torque on the rear end, not horsepower.

[bigbadbowtie]

I know the 8.5 used in 2nd gen camaros are VERY strong even in stock form. I Used my stock axles in to the 10 sec range before upgrading to Moser.

[sub006]

My street and racing experience has been that Chrysler 8 3/4 rears have bigger bearings etc. and far outlast GM 12 bolts and Ford 9 inch. Late models from about '67 to early 80's are best. Narrowest ones come out of Valiants, Darts, Dusters, etc. and can be bought and built for half or less what the "big two" cost. Look for 6 cylinder cars in the junkyard, the rears are identical to 440 Road Runner equipment (Hemis got Dana 60's) but hardly stressed at all.

Only drawback is few ratios available stock. Most common are 3:23, 3:55 and 3:91.

With a spring-pad swap the 8 3/4s from the compacts mentioned above are a bolt-in to early Novas. If this is narrow enough for your S-10 you won't have to pay for narrowing!

[nova68]

just put a ford 9 under it. I just put one under my nova awsome. Also it is really easy to swap gears