[DeTomaso] Corvette rear end

[mikeldrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 1/3/10 2 09 30, gudmundfroiland at yahoo.no writes:


> Hi al. I have a frend who are looking for a 1972 Corvette rear end. It 
> has to have positraction and gear ratio between 3 to 3,5 - 1. Are there any 
> on this forum that know of where there might be one ? Thanks.
> 

A quick internet search on the 1972 Corvette shows:

Standard rear axle ratio
3.36:1
Optional rear axle ratio
3.70:1, 3.08:1, 3.36:1, 3.55:1, 4.11:1

Option:

RPO G81
Positraction rear axle, all ratios
$12.65

That was the original sales price for the addition of the positration.

If your friend plans to buy a differential from the USA, he can probably 
have whichever ratio he wants.   Does his car still have the build tag which 
identifies which ratio it had originally?   Does he care about originality?   
If not, he should probably decide which one he wants.

Does he need a complete rear end assembly, or does he just need the 
internals of the differential to rebuild his existing unit?   Does he want a 'new' 
unit (that is, one that has been completely rebuilt to like-new condition) 
or would be happy with something just plucked out of a junkyard from a 
wrecked car?

The good news is that the suspension was unchanged from 1963 to 1977, so 
there are a LOT of parts available for it.

I know barely anything about Corvettes, but a simple Google search for 
"Corvette Suspension Diagram" turned up this website from a Corvette parts 
dealer, with factory diagrams for all the systems of the car, with links to parts 
prices:

http://www.volvette.com/page/VVP/techdiag/

Mid-America Motorworks is one of the nation's largest Corvette specialists; 
they have a page where they list prices for rebuilt rear ends.   HIGH 
prices!

http://www.mamotorworks.com/corvette-c3-c2-rear-differential+1963+1982-1-303
-1443.html

Note that there is an additional $400 charge if you don't return your used 
one!

Here is another source that is much less expensive--$899:

http://www.ikerds.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=CP&
Product_Code=200-000

They have a $400 core too.

There is a Corvette shop about a mile from my house:

http://www.corvette-express.com/index.php

I can swing by there and see if they have anything to offer, if you like?   
Since I'm likely to be shipping it to you, whatever you wind up getting, it 
would make sense to try to source it locally so that you don't have to pay 
to ship it from (wherever) to my house AND then from my house to you.

Tell us more about what your friend needs, exactly.   Does he need the 
entire rear suspension, or does he need a complete rear end, or does he just 
need the gears to go inside the differential case?

Finally, if you just enter "Corvette Junkyard" you'll come up with pages 
and pages and pages of links.

We'll get him sorted out!

(We now return you to your regularly scheduled Pantera programming) :>)

Mike