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Here recently I put my car on jack stands and have started fixing all the little issues that have been adding up over the years. You know, the ones that dont keep you from driving your car, but they drive you crazy. One item on my list was my rearend. It was badly bent from some hard launches. I could tell because my tires would always wear out on the inside first. My torque boxes have been welded almost since the car was new and at the same time I welded the axle tubes to the center section. But this is not enough reinforcement to keep your rearend from bending like mine. This is the third time that I have rebuilt this rear. First time I put an Auburn Pro in it with some 3.73s and Moser axles. The Auburn didn't last long and broke the spider gears. Next I put an Eaton diff with 4.10s and the same axles. This setup worked great for my needs so I decided to stick with it. I did however purchase a "newer" used Eaton diff (only 3k miles on it) since mine had so many miles on it. Here are some pics of the rebuild.
Disassembly of the old.
After I got her torn down to a skeleton I ordered a set of 9" ends from Mark Williams. I have a buddy that has a rear alignment rod but he was unavailable at the time so I had to take the rear to a chassis shop that I'll keep anonymous. They cut the stock ends off and welded the Mark Williams ends on. This is how it turned out. The pics below show how bent the tubes were. The ends are on straight, the tubes being bent so bad make the ends look crooked.
Since the tubes were so bad I wasn't gonna let it fly. My buddy with the alignment rod was finally available so him and I cut the ends back off and started straightening the tubes. We rigged up a couple of turnbuckles and used a torch to heat the tubes.
This pic shows the alignment rod. It is straight with respect to the carrier bearing races. The tubes were both this bad.
After we straightened and welded the ends back on. Looks much better!
After the ends were on straight I decided I didn't want the turnbuckles on so I replaced them with some mild steel 5/8" tubing. Don't worry, I welded the solid tubes on before I cut the turnbuckles off.
Disassembly of the old.
After I got her torn down to a skeleton I ordered a set of 9" ends from Mark Williams. I have a buddy that has a rear alignment rod but he was unavailable at the time so I had to take the rear to a chassis shop that I'll keep anonymous. They cut the stock ends off and welded the Mark Williams ends on. This is how it turned out. The pics below show how bent the tubes were. The ends are on straight, the tubes being bent so bad make the ends look crooked.
Since the tubes were so bad I wasn't gonna let it fly. My buddy with the alignment rod was finally available so him and I cut the ends back off and started straightening the tubes. We rigged up a couple of turnbuckles and used a torch to heat the tubes.
This pic shows the alignment rod. It is straight with respect to the carrier bearing races. The tubes were both this bad.
After we straightened and welded the ends back on. Looks much better!
After the ends were on straight I decided I didn't want the turnbuckles on so I replaced them with some mild steel 5/8" tubing. Don't worry, I welded the solid tubes on before I cut the turnbuckles off.
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