Rear Track and front end

[fe350chev]

Hi all

Hoping someone can answer this for me.

I am going to get a diff shortened and I am in planning stages (Drum brakes).

I want to know what people think is a good width to go drum to drum as opposed to standard drum to drum measurement.

I don't wish to alter the body of the car but was thinking of putting 14 " wheels by 7" wide (or bit more), nothing too overboard just to fill guards nicely. I want to know how much I should shorted the diff by so I can get a nice deep dish on wheels etc, like weld wheels etc... I was think 1 inch either side might be good. I understand that this measurement is different to track width cos that is set by dish and offset of wheel.

Also, is it true that using torana stubs at front to upgrade brakes over hr is no good cos it buggers up steering geometry? HQ are better option right? But I am thinking of just sticking to hr cos I plan on having hq pattern at rear anyway.

Cheers

Deano.

[Ol_Girl_58]

Deano,

Rather than going to the expense of shortening a diff, have you considered a running diff that has a narrower track? I have a Chrysler Centura diff in mine, which is considerably shorter than a stock FE-FC diff. I am running 15x8 wheels with 225/50 Bridgestones and minor flaring of the guards. You'll have to change the stud pattern if you want HQ pattern on the rear, as the Centura is Falcon PCD. Alternatively, if you wanted to run HQ front discs, you could buy blank rotors and have them drilled to suit the rears. Less hassle and cheaper to do.

Otherwise, I think an LC-LJ Torana diff is also narrower than stock FE-FC.

Hope this helps...

Cheers,

Ol_Girl_58

[Glenn 'Stinky' Stankevicius]

What wheels are you going to run? This will determine most things, if you are going to run steelies then save your cash and change the off-set. I have 14x8s with 235s under my FE with no body mods and only minor rubbing on the inner part of the tubs, with plenty of clearance to the outer guard lip.

[fe350chev]

forgot to clarify that i need a stronger diff because will be running a warm injected 6cyl, possibly turbo's later. dont want too much unsprung weight.

I did look at torana diffs because they are small but not real strong i dont think.

do like centura diff a lot but rarer these days. I already have holden v8 diff. i supposed 700 bucks to shorten a current larger diff is dearer than paying 500 bucks for a rare centura if u dont have to do any cutting. Centura would be the way to go I think.

I know volvo 240 diffs work well with no shortening. and vl diffs or borg warners would go well but need shortening, or muck around with offsets.

keep the debate going. want as many opinions as possible. or even if anyone has a diff in adelaide or melbourne thats suitable i might be interested after new year, but not huge priority right now.

[Glenn 'Stinky' Stankevicius]

I have a Volvo (Dana) Diff almost ready to fit, not sure of their width though.
They are a proven diff with a cheapish LSD solution. I know of 2 blown cars running these diffs with no issues.

[fe350chev]

mmm, when i go to adelaide i might scour the wreckers, i am very remote and no old car parts wreckers around. hard to find those makes.

[FC427]

Centura diffs are not as strong as Commodore they are 25 spline but the internals from a 28 spline BW can be fitted but then you need to have axles shortened and resplined .....FC427....

[fe350chev]

I thought stock VL diffs were 25 spline? Also, do you know how many spline a V8 Salisbury diff, that are in statesmans and the like? How bout chopping one of these down, or do you still think a borgy or later model (say vn) diff would be better? I am not that hard on diffs. I run a 351 years ago (a chev 351, was bored out lol) with borgy's and i had more trouble with engine mounts etc than the diff, was auto though and this will be manual.

[mcl1959]

The correct method is to buy your wheels and set them up in the guards at your desired position. Measure the distance between the wheels where they bolt to the axles. This is the width you want your overall axle to axle length to be. THEN you can go looking for donor diffs which will suit this.

Your other question - yes Torana stub axles have a different camber setting to HR and HQ axles which makes them undesirable in a HR front end. HQ and HR stubs have the same camber setting.

Ken

[fe350chev]

Thanks Ken.

I did a custom F100 ute tub trailer a few years back and I did just that. I turned her upside down, bought bt big 6 stud offroad wheels and put them in wheel wells, then measured and ordered axles to suit with stubs. Same principle.

Thanks guys. Gives me something to think about.