Chevy 1/2 ton axel swap ?

[scannman70]

I have a 78 wagoneer. I was thinking of doing a SOA lift. Now I read a post that said you can use chevy front its allready a SOA.

So I also have a 78 Chevy Blazer, last summer I was checking axel ratios and found out it has front and rear lockers. :drivin:

See where this is going.

How much will it take to put the chevy axels, front and rear under the wag?

The Blazer is a heap, so it won't pain me at all to cut it up, besides the 350 is going in my 51 ford...

[incommando]

The front would be fine, but the rear might be a slight step back in strength/durability. I know, there are a bunch of opinions about this. But that is my two cents on the 10-bolt rear.

Also, both axles will be wider than your narrow track waggy. IIRC it will be about 4" wider per side. Might cause body issues.

[Stuka]

10B front is a great axle, 10B rear is horible and would be a downgrade from your stock D44. However, if the 10B rear has c-clip eliminators, it should be ok so long as you dont go over a 35" tall tire.

The axles will be wider as incommando said, and the rear needs new spring perches put on. The front is basically a bolt in minus the steering which needs to be addressed via cross-over or high-steer.

[wickedwagon767]

Actually a '78 rear would be the 12-bolt. GM didn't use 10-bolt rears until 1981

The 12-bolt is marginally stronger than the 10bolt. I've seen 12-bolts survive under a 79 Blazer with a mild 350 and 35" Boggers in mud and on trails with some pretty aggressive use of the stupid pedal. Personally, I wouldn't go taller or wider than a 35x12.50 tire on either the 10 or 12bolt, especially if they are locked up. C-clip eliminators are a no-brainer in that scenario........if you want to waste the money. At that point,if you're breaking c-clips its wise to upgrade to a 14bolt rear axle. They're cheap (between $150 and $200 on the norm) and much more cost-effective if you want to make sure your hard earned money is spent well and in the right places.

If you want to keep that 10bolt 6lug front and want a stronger rear end you can hunt around for a 6lug corporate 14bolt axle used on 88-98 light duty 3/4 ton GM trucks and also under the 1990 Chevy 454SS pickups. very strong little 14bolt that can handle 38's.

IF you're going to keep the rear axle from under the blazer you may have to have someone torch off the leaf spring mouting pads and relocate them to align with the springs on your Waggy. I don't know the spring perch width measurements on Waggys vs Blazers, so someone else will have to chime in on that. In any case, the level of difficulty is very low