positraction

[bbaxter]

Hello Jeff, I am having trouble with your email. I am looking for a heavy duty posi rear end complete. Wonder if you know where I can buy one, or you have a spare.. I have a 72 GT, been sitting for 19 years, which I hope to resurrect.. I also have a 69 GT, very rusty parts car, with a running but tired complete engine. If we have any parts to trade or sell, let me know. Bruce Baxter, bax9327@msn.com 855 Montana Ave. Missoula, Mt. 59802

[opelwasp]

For posi youll need a Quaif rear diff ($1500+) or switch to a Toyota, Chevy, or BMW IRS.

[GTJIM]

.. or find a ZF or an Isuzu Impulse unit - there were also a few Auburn units produced for early Vega/Astres which fitted the same 6 3/4" GM Salisbury diff.
The "cheapest" way to get a limited slip diff is probably to replace the whole diff with a narrowed 7.5"/7.625" S10 or Camaro 10-bolt diff .........

[baz]

hi bruce
ive moved this to a better forum that the one for jeffs race car

i looked into the quaife situation last year for some of the members as they are made near me (well a couple of hundered miles away) and they were making some but did not expect to send any to the USA as they had no interest from quaife usa
they would sell to me to forward with no worries but i dont know how the warranty would be covered at this time
they are £525 (i think there is tax at 17.5% +shipping ) this would be $1000 +the tax and shipping or there abouts depending on the yo yo ($) at the time

http://www.quaife.co.uk/catalogue/page7.htm

[namba209]

Baz, don't know if I asked you if you know a fellow countryman named Martin, but he's the one who got the NOS ZF for me in Germany. Gil at OGTS hooked me up with him. At the time there were 2 NOS and maybe 6 used ZF units available, of course I got one of the NOS units. Could be they might still be available. Just a thought.

[bbaxter]

Thanks for the input, guys. I was just daydreaming that Jeff Denton might have a spare differential lying around , that he didn't need. He's only 120 miles from me.
New question: I have seen photos of a GT with a 2300 Ford motor, owned by someone named Paul. I have a 2300 in the Garage. How difficult is this swap? What would be the hardest parts? It looks like to get the turbo in, I would have to remove some passenger floor. And I know nothing about computers. Any advise on this one?

[jeff denton]

Hi Bruce, I just sent you an e-mail to answer some of your diff questions.
As to the 2.3 swap, I think there are some posts about this being done.
There have been some pretty imaginative swaps done, how to do it is kind of up to your skills and abilities.
Most of these questions will include answers begging you to leave it Opel-powered, and warnings that you are over your head and will ruin another good Opel.
Simply because we really don't know how serious you are and if you can actually do it.
But we are always happy to help!

[Manta Rallier]

Originally Posted by bbaxter Hello Jeff, I am having trouble with your email. I am looking for a heavy duty posi rear end complete. Wonder if you know where I can buy one, or you have a spare.. I have a 72 GT, been sitting for 19 years, which I hope to resurrect.. I also have a 69 GT, very rusty parts car, with a running but tired complete engine. If we have any parts to trade or sell, let me know. Bruce Baxter, bax9327@msn.com 855 Montana Ave. Missoula, Mt. 59802

FYI, we are swapping a Toyota 8" rear pick-up axle into our rally Manta. Easy to get LSD; we got a complete 'V6/turbo' 3rd member with LSD and 4.56 gearing for $300, gears can be had from the upper 3's to the low's 5's for very cheap. The early pickup axles ('79-'84) are 55" flange-to-flange, which is 2.5" wider than the stock 1.9L axles in Mantas (I assume the Kadett and GT widths are the same.) Weight of this combo is very close to stock.

These early Totota axle tube diameters at 65 mm are very close to Opel stock diameter. The early Toyota 10" drums are usable, but we'll convert to discs. It'll require some machine work and welding on the Toyota flanges to use the standard Opel 4x100mm bolt pattern. As for suspension, you could weld on the Opel spring/shock perches, and use the stock lower trailing links. You would still have to add a 3rd forward link to replace the action of the torque tube, but this looks very easy.

We are going with a one piece drive shaft, along with a 4-link trailing arm set up and ditching the torque tube. . Since we are still working on developing this, it remains to be seen if we will have to mod the axle tunnel to accomodate the sligthly larger pumpkin. (Particualrly for achieving 4-5" of axle bump travel.) It'll be interesting to see how this comes out!

Regards,
Mark B.

[bbaxter]

I have read of other guys having good luck with the old Toyota rears, and a near fit.. I have also read where the high powered drag racers still twisted the Toyota axles.
My tape measure says my GT rears are 47" plate to plate, and 52" outside to outside, so it appears I will have to narrow whatever I find, unless I stumble across something closer. The search goes on. Thanks for the input.

[opelnut10]

Originally Posted by bbaxter I have read of other guys having good luck with the old Toyota rears, and a near fit.. I have also read where the high powered drag racers still twisted the Toyota axles. My tape measure says my GT rears are 47" plate to plate, and 52" outside to outside, so it appears I will have to narrow whatever I find, unless I stumble across something closer. The search goes on. Thanks for the input.

what are you going to do with this car, if you are going to drag race it, my suggestion is get a 9" Ford housing and axles from someone like Moser. They will make it any width you want it and drill the axle flanges to any bolt pattern you want. With 31 or 35 spline axles and a Nodular iron carrirer YOU WILL NOT BREAK IT. large assortment of gear ratios, easy to come by, can use Detroit Locker, Positraction or Spool and you can get it for less than buying a positraction from Europe. You are going to have to put the spring buckets, trailing arms and traction arm on the car anyway. Opel gears are expensive, nearly impossible to get in this country, and WILL BREAK on a hard launch with sticky tire (Been there, done that) If you are going to drive it on the street, an 8.5 inch 10 bolt GM rearend will work just fine. Again strong, plenty of gears available,positraction and disc brakes.

[jeff denton]

Yes, you can't go wrong with a Ford 9-inch. A tad overkill for some engine swap ideas, but just right for the blown, twin turbo, nitrous four valve V-12 Hemi crowd...
And very common. And commonly custom made to size. Parts are everywhere. It gets you right into nice brakes and better wheel choices, too!
Remember to study up real good on how to make it work in a GT, there's gonna be a torque tube issue.

[opelnut10]

Originally Posted by jeff denton Yes, you can't go wrong with a Ford 9-inch. A tad overkill for some engine swap ideas, but just right for the blown, twin turbo, nitrous four valve V-12 Hemi crowd... And very common. And commonly custom made to size. Parts are everywhere. It gets you right into nice brakes and better wheel choices, too! Remember to study up real good on how to make it work in a GT, there's gonna be a torque tube issue.

The torque tube issue can be solved by using (making) a torque arm (like late model Camero) but if is going to be used as a drag car it will have traction devices such as four link with locator bars or ladder bars both with coilover suspension. It is a major undertaking and requires skill and equipment(welder, tubing bender, tubing notcher, cut off saw, saws-all, etc) If you don't have the skills or equipment be prepared to pay big bucks to hire someone that does. because it requires custom design, fitting and fabracation and that takes time and time is money (IMHO)

[blancojp]

Hey dude!
A Ford 2.3l engine from a '80s mustang LX will fit nicely in a GT with very minor mods. The earlier models have the intake manifold towards the driver's side so it will conflict with the installation. The Opel engine cross member can be used if you shorten both of the motor mount posts about three inches and use something similar to a '55 chevy motor mount. This will place the engine crank pulley approx. in the middle of the steering cross member so you can still use the Opel radiator and fan.

As for the rear end, you can get a chevy S-10 possi with rear drums (54" wheel plate to wheel plate) for about $400 in Bradenton, Fla. with just about any gear from 3:26 all the way up to 4:10 to 1. This unit is two inches wider than the stock opel but you solve that by using front wheel drive rims in the rear. Transfer all of the brackets from the Opel rear to the chevy unit and the torque tube issue is resolved by installing a ladder torque tube from Summit racing, but you will have to resolve lots of drive shaft clearance issues. End result will be cutting and boxing in the section where the torque tube is attached to the Opel frame.

Since the S-10 is a 5-lug unit, you can use either a Fiero front disk setup or a 1979 chevy monza rotors with Wilwood calipers.

I went through the exercise already so I hope this helps you in your task.

[bbaxter]

More good info! Can you give me some contact information on these S-10 posi rears from Bradenton, Florida ? Thanks.

[bbaxter]

Hello blancojp, Can you give me some info on how to contact whoever is selling S-10 rears for $400. in Bradenton, FL? That seems to be the nearest fit to a GT, without narrowing. Thanks. Bruce Baxter bax9327"at"msn.com

[blancojp]

I'll reply to you this way so the information will be retained for near etternity.
The place is calle S-10 warehouse and it is in Bradenton, Fla. you can find them all over Ebay so you can see what they have.

[bbaxter]

Regarding LSD's and 2.3 Fords, can someone give me some web sites for eslinger, (Ford parts), and for S-10 Warehouse in Bradenton Florida? I admit I'm not good with this computer, but for Eslinger, I keep getting a travel agency, and even Cox Chevrolet dealership in Bradenton claims they have never heard of S-10 Warehouse. More help for the computer challenged, please.

[BQS4]

Originally Posted by bbaxter Regarding LSD's and 2.3 Fords, can someone give me some web sites for eslinger, (Ford parts), and for S-10 Warehouse in Bradenton Florida? I admit I'm not good with this computer, but for Eslinger, I keep getting a travel agency, and even Cox Chevrolet dealership in Bradenton claims they have never heard of S-10 Warehouse. More help for the computer challenged, please.

I think the S-10 Warehouse you're referring to is an Ebay-store Seller. I have bought a thing or two from them.
eBay My World - s10warehouse try that link

[RallyBob]

Originally Posted by bbaxter Regarding LSD's and 2.3 Fords, can someone give me some web sites for eslinger, (Ford parts), and for S-10 Warehouse in Bradenton Florida? I admit I'm not good with this computer, but for Eslinger, I keep getting a travel agency, and even Cox Chevrolet dealership in Bradenton claims they have never heard of S-10 Warehouse. More help for the computer challenged, please.

Esslinger
Racer Walsh
And another good source for Ford 2300 parts, Race Engineering

Good luck.
Bob

[bbaxter]

Thanks, Rally Bob, You know guys, every time Bob gives us some advise, we should send him 10 bucks. His advise is certainly worth way more than that. For the Engine Swap Forum, if any of you like the 2300 Ford, we now have Esslinger, Racer Walsh, Race Engineering, And let me add MODERN PERFORMANCE INC, another guy who builds monster 2300 turbo motors. The 2300 sounds like a great motor, tremendous power potential, not too spendy to build, and lots of cheap parts available.
S-10 warehouse was helpful, too, lots of info there.