What gm 10 or 12 bolt rearend can swap into 1964 el camino?

Answer 1

Done lots of early Camaro/Firebird swaps but just doing one myself on a '64 Elk & happened to see your question...:-) From what I have read, '64 only came with a 10-bolt & in '65, GM offered a 12-bolt in certain HP cars. If you are looking for a direct "bolt-in" swap, then the key is to use the trailing arm design of the "A" body cars that are basically the same width that have the coil spring set-up. You have tons of options & can do serious modifications if you have loads of $$. Gone that route & most of time not worth it unless serious racing is your goal. It all depends on what's your goal. Better traction..??? Type of driving.??? The early leaf spring cars (Camaro/Firebird/Nova & other GM cars) won't work. If you find a trailing arm rear end slightly more narrow, that can still work with minor modifications & actually give you more tire clearance under the rear wheel wells...we can always use more tire width...makes better sense than narrowing your existing rear end, which can be rather expensive if done by a pro..!!. Some '68-'72 rear ends might work but make sure you measure "backing plate to backing plate" for width as some of those years were wider. GM had so many variations during those years based on the cars they were installed in. '73-'77 GM "A" body cars used a wider rear end so stay clear of those as they definitely won't bolt up. Not sure of the '78-'82 mid-size car rear ends but they are slightly narrower (approx 58" vs 60") than the '64-'67 rear ends. Not many 12-bolt rear ends use on the later cars..!!! Probably "special order or HP applications". As I mentioned, I'm just getting ready to swap out my original 10 bolt single-leg rear end for a 10 bolt posi unit from a '78 El Camino ..should fit without much work...likely will need to use the original '64 trailing arms due to the mounting positions/length differences of the trailing arms, which is different on the later Elk. Hope this helps. Craig/CraigsClassics (760) 954-1988