S.O.S....... I have finally had enough of this crap rear end. I've had my 87 since 1996 it's a t top car that runs 11.60s on motor. 355 full roller ported heads and intake 590 560 lift three speed auto full cage subframes and a loop and she flies. The problem is the rear end is a 7.5 10 bolt GM posi 410 and it's b become unreliable and unsafe. I am in the 550 HP range and the rear acts up with drag radials and slicks. The best times and passess were courtesy of a Richmond mini spool which fell out like a bag of skittles after one year...

I have a direct fit Danny Miller rear gear 9" housing and center section. I may even just full spool it with a 31 spline. HERE IS THE THE QUESTION. The housing has chevy 12 bolt axle tube ends and i have all 10 bolt brakes and wheels for 3gen.iam on a budget can I use my existing 10 bolt 3 gen rear drum brake setup on the 12 bolt axle tube ends? Maybe a stupid question but can't seem to get a for certain answer. Thanks for your time please help if you can

 

I can't say for the 12 bolt ends but mine had the large ford ends and I took a set of second gen F body drum brake backing plates, enlarged the center hole to fit over the big bearings on axles and bolted them right up. Then used second gen F body brake wheel cylinders and shoes, cut fittings off my stock brake lines and slide an SAE nut on and double flared the lines. Then used my stock third gen alum. brake drums

 

The 3rd gen drum stuff wont bolt up. Like mentioned, you`ll need to get 2nd gen backing plates & matching shoes / wheel cyls etc to have the correct pattern for that 12 bolt. The offset is different for the 2nd gen (2.81) vs the third gens axle face to flange face (2.75) so there`s a .060 difference there that may cause some headache if the 12 bolt was built to 3rd gen spec.
There is a rear disc swap that would would work on that thats easy to put together http://www.nastyz28.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109454

Now with either case you`ll need to decide how the bearing will be retained and may end up machining the plates or brackets to accommodate the large (assuming 3.150) bearings / retainer plates.

 

I don't know if this info will be of any use to you, but...

I once had a '68 Firebird with a 12 bolt posi W/Drums.

One day, back in the mid '80's, I was bored and decided to test fit an old set of delco-morraine 3rd gen rear disks. I had several sets as I went through four, junk yard 7.5" rear ends that year before I got my Dana 44.

The brackets fit and the calipers fit and landed in the right place for the disk to fit. There were only two problems. First the 3rd gen rear disks had too small of an ID to fit over the ends of the 12 bolt axle. The second was that the caliper landed right where the shock wanted to be.

 

This is true of the disk brakes but the drums have a completely different flange on the third gen, the early 10/12 bolt pattern is very close to the third gen 10 bolt disk pattern so close that guys use the rear LS1`s brakes on old chevelles, camaros, nova`s etcs. commonly. If he were swapping third gen disc`s to the 12 bolt, yes it would swap right over and with the sliding calipers of the early third gens the .060 offset difference would not be a not a problem.

 

Makes sense.
Sounds like, if it has the 12 bolt axle tubes, a disk conversion might be the easiest way to go.