Ardent Fabrication Autocross Truck

[ArdentFab]

I'd keep the old rear end in case it sucks or explodes from going on/off on the tar. Should be exciting either way!

Yup! It's going in storage after this lol good to have a plan B ready to go.

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[sewlow]

Impala SSs & 9C1s came with Eaton limited slip 'posi' carriers. Same spline count as '89+ 400's. I have one in my '98. S-o-o-o much better than the G80.
Dirt simple to rebuild &/or modify as to how tight you want them to run, via clutch count, materials & various spring tensions.
Or...
The Impala diff housing is about 1 & 3/8" narrower per side than the 400's. But only the sedans. Wagon rear ends are wider than the sedan's.
Coil spring suspensions, though. Those coil spring & upper control arm mounts can removed & then the housing can be set up to fit these trucks with the proper leaf spring perches.

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[letitsnow]

Didn't they actually refer to those ^^^ rear ends as "G80" also? That is why there was so much confusion over what fluid to use. Some G 80's were limited slip, some were on/off lockers, like in the trucks - If i'm reading the info correctly...

 

[ArdentFab]

Impala SSs & 9C1s came with Eaton limited slip 'posi' carriers. Same spline count as '89+ 400's. I have one in my '98. S-o-o-o much better than the G80.
Dirt simple to rebuild &/or modify as to how tight you want them to run, via clutch count, materials & various spring tensions.
Or...
The Impala diff housing is about 1 & 3/8" narrower per side than the 400's. But only the sedans. Wagon rear ends are wider than the sedan's.
Coil spring suspensions, though. Those coil spring & upper control arm mounts can removed & then the housing can be set up to fit these trucks with the proper leaf spring perches.

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Wow, thank you so much for sharing that info!!

The impala axle would help even more from being narrower so my wheels wouldn't poke as much.

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[sewlow]

Didn't they actually refer to those ^^^ rear ends as "G80" also? That is why there was so much confusion over what fluid to use. Some G 80's were limited slip, some were on/off lockers, like in the trucks - If i'm reading the info correctly...

Yes. G80 is GM's # for anything 'limited slip'.

 

[sewlow]

The Impala rears come with stupid tall ratios, though. 3.08 - 2.XX.

 

[ArdentFab]

It didn't break!

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[ArdentFab]

Best cheap springs you can get are Moog 5716 for the C2500 with the big block or diesel for $100 new. They're about 1500 lb/inch, and then cut a coil off to get the ride height back down (which also further bumps the rate up some). It sounds stiff, I know, but it works unbelievably well on my Tahoe and at least at the front end, the Tahoe and the C1500 are the same. I think stock C1500 is between 850 and 1000 in the front, stock, depending on the year and engine.

I did some research and was able to find another set of springs that are slightly stiffer with a 1" dia. coil as opposed to a 0.90" dia.

I was able to determine that my truck currently has the 850-1,000 lbs/in springs. I'm going to pull the trigger and get the MOOG 5778 with the 1,590 lbs/in. spring rate [emoji106]

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[gearheadE30]

I did some research and was able to find another set of springs that are slightly stiffer with a 1" dia. coil as opposed to a 0.90" dia.

I was able to determine that my truck currently has the 850-1,000 lbs/in springs. I'm going to pull the trigger and get the MOOG 5778 with the 1,590 lbs/in. spring rate [emoji106]

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Awesome! As mine is mainly a daily driver I was trying to shoot the gap on stiffness; for what you're doing those should be great. Curious how they work for you on the truck and what you end up doing with shocks. I'm using AC Delco 550169 right now and while they control bigger hits well, they don't really have enough low speed damping. Makes the ride quality really good, just feels floatier than I'd like in some situations. The other shocks I've used (Bilstein for the stock 2wd Tahoe) actually were good on the low speed but were all over the place on higher speed large displacement hits. You'll definitely want the poly upper shock mounts.

Random roads with those too-soft Bilsteins:

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[df2x4]

Are you going over 20-30 mph around tight corners in a heavy truck? Like anything else, just get used to what it is and see if it works out. Nothing scary.

The issue is that once you go over that speed threshold at all the stock G80 rear will stay unlocked until you come to a stop again. Was just pointing out that fact. No one said anything about scary, it's just an inconvenience when you're expecting it to stay locked.

Anything is an improvement over a full time open carrier though for sure.