66 rear end in a 68?

[Gkirch]

I’ve got a 68 car that has the 4 lug rear end. I’ve also got a 66 8” 5 lug that I plan on swapping onto the 68. Other than being 2” shorter in width, will I run into any issues with this swap?

 

[wicked93gs]

Yes, the axle tubes on the 65-66 taper where the mounting plates go, 67+ do not, so you will need 65-66 specific u-bolts and shock plates....alternatively you can slot the holes on the 67-68 plates...but you will still need smaller u-bolts.

 

[Gkirch]

Yes, the axle tubes on the 65-66 taper where the mounting plates go, 67+ do not, so you will need 65-66 specific u-bolts and shock plates....alternatively you can slot the holes on the 67-68 plates...but you will still need smaller u-bolts.

Awesome, thanks! It’s mounted on a set of old springs, so the hardware is all there except for the brake assy. Thanks for the reply

 

[wicked93gs]

Heh, I ran into that when I went the other way and installed a '67 8" in my '66...needless to say getting the correct hardware set me back by almost 2 weeks....it just so happens the extra width helped me to be able to run my '05 v6 wheels....still ended up with spacer/adapters, but was a lot closer than the narrower rear end.

 

[Gkirch]

Heh, I ran into that when I went the other way and installed a '67 8" in my '66...needless to say getting the correct hardware set me back by almost 2 weeks....it just so happens the extra width helped me to be able to run my '05 v6 wheels....still ended up with spacer/adapters, but was a lot closer than the narrower rear end.

That’s the whole reason I’m doing the swap, to be able to run the wheels I want (17x7, 4.5 backspace) With adapters, they are about an inch out of the wheel well, so I can deal with spacers