I have a stock 10 bolt, that is non posi. One of my family members have a 9 bolt disk posi rear that came of a 88 trans am(5 speed). But dont want the disc becouse i would have to chnge a couple of parts to have the disc to work.

Do these rearend hold some power?

Can i put my drums of my 10 bolt, and put it on the 9 bolt? Can some one tell me whats the best way to do this or to just stay with the disc and get the other parts to make it work.

-Eric

 

i can tell you that the 9 bolts will jold more power than a 10 bolt because they do not have c clips and use a cone-style posi unit. however, the 88 rear discs were still the old style before the PBR's. many people complain about the pre PBR rear discs. in my opinion, i would upgrade to the rear discs. wouldnt hurt and you could always upgrade to PBR's down the road. plus, the gearing in that rear, if it indeed came from a 5 spd car, would be 3.45 which is a big improvement over your 2.73.

 

My car is a 5.0 (5 speed), it came with 2.73?

 

whoops, didnt see the t5 there. i think you have 3.08's in the back then.

 

So ill will get 3.45 gears. Thats really good. you think my car will waist alot more gas?

I dont under stand what you are telling me about the brakes.

My buddy was telling me that you have to change something that distributes the brake fluid to the car. I looked and it and its like a big peace of metal with 4 lines going out.

Do i need to change this part for a different one?

And so i should stay with the disc?

You think i just can put new pads, new rotors, new calipers, and berings?

 

Stick with the disc brakes. The part your friend mentioned is called the Proportioning Valve and it's an easy swap. You'll be bleeding the brake system anyway so changing the prop. valve will only add some minor labor. Personally, I'd buy the 1LE valve. This will put you one-step ahead should you ever upgrade the brakes to the PBR/1LE system.

To convert the 9-bolt disc to 10-bolt drum will require far more time, labor and $$$. The 9-bolt and 10-bolt use different backing plates. This is still true even if you currently had a 10-bolt disc on your car.

In fact, I don't think the 9-bolt ever came with drum brakes as an option, so no 9-bolt drum backing plates are available and you'd have to modify your 10-bolt plates to fit the 9-bolt. It's not worth it IMHO.

Actually, if you're planning to pull the axles on the 9-bolt to replace the bearings and seals, I'd look into swapping the rear discs for the PBR disc brakes. The only real challenge will lie in trying to find the 9-bolt PBR backing plates since these are no longer available from GM. Another option would be to buy the Baer rear disc brake system and then you'd be all set. It all depends on your budget.

 

actually, some 9 bolts did come with drums, but these were all non posi rears.

to clarify what i said before, in 1990 all camaros and firebirds with rear disc brakes received updated rear disc brakes with PBR calipers. these were vastly superior to the previous disc brakes on 3rd gens.

 

The '90 and up cars all came with 10-bolts so unfortunately you don't get the advantages of the 9-bolt. But, 10-bolt parts are far easier to come by and cheaper.

 

by 1991, all 3rd gens came with 10 bolts. but in 90, some had 10 bolts and some had 9 bolts. i suspect GM had leftovers and threw them on the earlier 1990 models as my 90 has a 9 bolt from the factory.

 

It's not a waste if your car's faster...

But it will go through a little more.