finally picked up my 3.42 LS1 rear. its in great shape, complete.

its pretty sweet. i just gotta decide what to finish it with. either paint it or POR-15. after doing some searchin, i think i like the POR-15. but i'm not all that sure how to use it.

i guess i just put it right on with little preperation? i would like to lightly sand the rear down to remove some of the rust. i hope it sticks good tho and i dont need anything else like metal ready.

por-15 beats paint for corrosion resistane and durability from what i'v heard and seen but, i'd do my best to get every bit of rust i can off of it. *adhesion is our friend* hehe.

might go to the auto store and buy 3 or 4 spray cans of rust converte (converts rust to black primer, then por-15 it).

Btw you can either brush/roll por-15 on or spray it on with a air gun if you water it down.

i was gonna do some light sanding/cleaning up of the rear and then brush on some POR-15

hi,
I’m new to the board and new to 3rd gen camaros and I saw that a few of you guys are doing this swap my question is why, what do you gain? I know they are wider so it seems you could run 4th gen wheels without spacers but the innards are the same (at least for us 7 5/8 guys) am I missing something. im not trying to sound condescending just been scratching my head


thanx-
Asa

well a couple things

like you mentioned, you can run aftermarket 4thgen spec wheels or just the 4th gen wheels in general. you can also run the vette wheels too from C4's to C6's.


another thing is that the Ls1 rears have bigger brakes than the LT1 rears or thirdgen 10 bolts. that makes it nice to have. makes for a great swap for those with drum brakes looking for a good big rear disk brake posi rear.


and finally, over a 9bolt thirdgen rear, you now have an aftermarket and some more gear choices with the 10 bolt rears. the 9 bolt rears are rare and dont have an aftermarket. so if you break one you have to find used good conditon parts. and usually thats kinda rare. i swapped in a 3.27 used gear and posi and its now acting up on me, becoming one wheel peel. NOT what i want. so i went with a 10 bolt rear and went with the 10 bolt Ls1 rear for the bigger brakes and ability to use wheels without spacers... i'm gonna run ZR1 wheels probly.

10bolts can get 3.23, 3.42, 3.73, 4.10's and i think 4.56's or higher. posi's are available from eaton, auburn, slp, etc.
9 bolts have only factory 2.77's 3.27s or 3.45's or aftermarket 3.70's. no posi's are made by anyone unless you get it from australia

The main factor is cost. If you cannot do the work yourself a proper ring and pinion swap combined with an appropriate install kit, posi and labor can be $500 to $900. You can often find a complete LS1 rear with low miles for $200 to $500 that has decent gears and posi already in it. You also can get rid of your drum brakes (if equipt) in one swoop where as you would retain them if you kept your old rear. At that point an aftermarket brake upgrade for rear LS1 brakes is a fraction of the cost ($200 or so) compaired to a full aftermarket drum to disk conversion ($800). Prices very per application and parts but you get the general idea.

thanx for clearing that up for me-
Asa

Orr89RocZ, did you get that rear end offa ebay from that salvage yard in britsol pa for like $200 or $250 BIN? I was watching that auction..trying to get my friend to buy it for his 91 camaro but he didnt have the money. Make sure you tell me how it works out.

This is an excellent option as opposed to buying a new posi and gears for my own rear end except i am weary of putting a used rear end in my car.

actually no, but i was lookin at that auction...

i got mine off of a friend of mine that i met out at the drag strip last summer. he has a shop out in Mt pleasant, PA, which was like 30 min from my house. he has a bunch of wrecked LS1 fbodys and had a few rears available from 3.23's to 3.42's

hm.. how much did you pay for that?

i payed 300 for it. its a low mileage rear with 3.42's. its a 4channel with traction control but the guy put on 3 channel brake lines to help my swap. he also gave me the t56 torque arm with it.

its 100% complete with all the stuff. i wouldnt pay more than 300 for a complete rear.