I hope someone can help me out/send me in the right direction. I have an 82 Z28, The engine I put into it came out of a 86 Chevy Custom Deluxe, Along with the TH350 Transmission. I've been told that MOST cars have short shafts, and most trucks have long shaft transmissions and that I would need to have a new driveshaft made. I don't really know how to go about measuring it.

So my question is, is this true? and would a different shaft from a different vehicle fit it?

and how do I go about measuring what I am needing. The crossmember bolted up fine, just like it should have, no adjustments were made, but I was told the extra length is in the tailshaft

 

If the tailshaft housing is 6" long, you can use your '82 driveshaft. If the tailshaft housing is 9" long, you can use a later 3rd gen driveshaft (the more common ones).

A good reference chart:

 

So I need to measure the tail shaft, and if it's 6" get the stock 82 length shaft, if it's 9" get the stock late gen 3 length?

Sorry, I'm not much of a transmission/driveshaft guru.

 

sorry to revive this, but I went and measured the shaft this morning, it wasn't the 6 inch tailshaft, it's the 9 inch one. So can anyone tell me the length of a "later model" third gen?

 

the 2 aluminum shafts I have ( I think they're 4th gen, but I think they are the same as 3rd gen lengthwise) measure 41" from u joint centerline to u joint centerline. the yoke is 6.25" from tip to centerline of front u joint. So that adds up to 47.25" from centerline of rear u joint to tip of shaft.
someone else chime in here, I thought the 3rd and 4th gen shafts are all the same length until you get to the 6 speed ...????

 

They are all interchangeable. They may be a lil bit different in length due 2 a yoke design change but will swap.

 

I keep looking around, I just can't find the length exactly, I'm having a friend make me one, is why I'm trying to figure out the length of the shaft I'm needing.

Thanks for all the help and replies

 

So gregg, a 41" driveshaft will work for a TH350 with a 9" tailshaft?

 

not sure, you need to measure from where the u joint sits in the rear diff yoke all the way to the end of the trans, draw a picture and take it to whoever is making the shaft for you. they should be able to do it correctly if it's a reputable business...

I was just measuring a factory shaft for you for reference purposes..... thought you already had a shaft and wanted to compare.

 

Most DS shops will have you measure the rearend U-joint saddle to the outputshaft of the the trans.