47-55.1 Rear End Advice Needed

[Jbrenyo]

I am new to this forum and hopefully are not making a mistake posting this question here. My son purchased a newly built 1953 Chevy truck on a 118 inch S10 frame, with an LS1 from 2004. The rear end in the truck is from a 1998 S10 blazer, a 7.65. We are concerned that this rear end will not hold up to the torque and power of an LS1 and are looking to replace it. We know that we could have a Ford 8.8 fabbed up to work, but my question is, is there a GM rear end that could just bolt right in there without any significant modification? We would keep the same rear suspension and would like to have disc brakes in the rear as well.

Any thoughts/suggestions are most welcome. I'm sure that this will not be my only question. Thanks!

[jweb]

The Explorer 8.8 is a good choice( I have one in my truck) but it does have a few issues.
Wheel bolt pattern - these axle are 5x4.5
Axle width - If I remember the 8.8 is 59.5" wms to wms.
I fixed both of those issues with some 1" hub centric adapters. Gave me the perfect width and correct bolt pattern.
Driveline - The 8.8 has a different style yoke and may change the length of driveline you need.

You can also look at the ZR2 S10 rear axle. They are wider than what you have (possibly too wide depending on your wheels) but would be stronger than the 7.65 you have now.

[Bad Apache]

My .02 would be run what you have. Unless you plan on drag racing it with sticky tires, it'll take some abuse. They definitely aren't the strongest rear, but it's in there. The side gears are the weak link. The postal trucks eat them for lunch. If you do upgrade, as stated the 8.8 is hard to beat for the best bang for your buck. And they come in many widths. Not sure what the S10 WMS to WMS is, but the 8.8 came with rear discs in several applications.

[dsraven]

if you are gonna swap the axles then you might as well start with something that will hold up and is fairly common. the 8.8 ford fits the bill and is only marginally different than the chevy 12 bolt as far as ring gear diameter and pinion size. there is the lug pattern difference but that can be overcome fairly easily. if you want a centered middle section then try finding one from a mustang.
I have an explorer axle in a 57 chevy truck frame. it came with the larger axles, 3.73 ratio, posi and disc brakes. the park brake is easily configured. to overcome the wheel bolt pattern issue I simply grabbed an extra brake rotor when I got the axle from the pick n pull yard. I cut the brake surface off the rotor so all that was left was the flange that fits over the actual axle and has the holes for the wheel studs. a friend of mine has a metal lathe so he chucked it up and marked/drilled some 1/8" holes in a chevy pattern in the area in between the ford lug pattern. this became my template/pattern. then all I needed to do is bolt that template on the axle using the ford pattern, mark the axle flange using a 1/8" drill bit through the predrilled holes in the pattern, just a small mark is all that is required so the template holes don't get rounded out. then I removed the template and the axle from the housing (I was giving the axle a good flush and check over anyway so the diff was coming apart no matter what), with the axles out it was easy to center punch and drill the new chevy pattern holes in the axles. with that done I also laid the template against the brake rotors and marked/drilled them for the new pattern as well. when drilling the axles I used chevy wheel studs the same size as the front, mustangII, brake rotors so the wheel nuts are the same size and wheels could be swapped front to rear with no concern for wheel stud hole diameters. the pinion flange will look different than the chevy yoke but that is also fixable because some broncos came with the open ujoint yoke style flange. there are several options available in different strengths and sizes. if you grab a diff from the graveyard it would be a good idea to dissassemble, check and rebearing while it is apart. there are kits available with everything you would need.
if swapping axles ensure you don't overheat the axle tubes when removing brackets or welding on brackets. the overheating can cause the axle tubes to bend as they cool off. then all your work is for naught.

bearing and seal kit example. not sure of the quality, just an example
https://shop.broncograveyard.com/88-...uctinfo/32319/

here is a link to the hotrod network mustang axle page
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/ford-rear-axle/

here is a link to the pinion flanges available if you want to use a 1310 or 1350 series u joint instead of the bolt on flange style that usually comes with the 8.8 axles

1350 yoke
https://shop.broncograveyard.com/For...ctinfo/32355A/

1330 yoke
https://shaftmasters.com/fo88inpiyo13.html

1310 yoke
https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-57...bolt-yoke.html