Swapping out entire engine, drivetrain.. question

[73super]

Hey, I keep hearing that a '63 Riviera rearend is the rearend to use when moving to an open driveline in a '55 Buick. Question(s)...

1. What is the gear ratio in one of these or did they vary?
2. Will my stock '55 wheels work on these drums?
3. Has anybody done this conversion and do you have pics.. PLEASE!

Thanks!

[Airy Cat]

The gear ratio is a 3.07 or a 3.23.
You can run the stock wheels. It's a 5 x 5" bolt patern.
I knew a guy that used the '63 through '65 rear ends and it worked great.
No pictures.

[MrEarl]

Would love to see pictures and follow this swap out. Keep us informed.

[73super]

Would love to see pictures and follow this swap out. Keep us informed.

Depends on what I put in as a power plant. If it turns out to be something other than Buick the people here can get pretty darn unruly.. ha!

[73super]

The gear ratio is a 3.07 or a 3.23.
You can run the stock wheels. It's a 5 x 5" bolt patern.
I knew a guy that used the '63 through '65 rear ends and it worked great.
No pictures.

That's great! I've got a line on a '65 Wildcat rearend with 3.07 gears (non-posi).. that'll work great for highway cruisin'! Thx.

[sledhead]

have complete unit $100.00 housing is rough has been sand blasted I have pulled 3rd member out looks great 3.07 ratio. axles are good as well also have the 4 bolt flange a constant velocity u joint assembly will need seals,gaskets , brakes and new axle bearings. I was going to us it in my 1956 Special but changed my mind with some help from other members input.
I have a rebuilt 322, edelbrook carb,cam craft cam and dual exhaust Adding 700R4 trans 4 bar rear suspensionand a 10 bolt chev rear axle with 3.42 gears. 10 bolt is the same width or 1/2 " narrower. Need to redrill axles for a 5x5 spacing has 5 x4.75 . Adding scarebird disc brakes The Riv axle assembly is very heavy so would need to be picked up. e-mail if interested. I hope this helps.

[73super]

Sounds sweet but Minnesota is a bit far to travel for a rearend.. I appreciate the info however.

I believe I've found a complete and working rearend only a few miles from work here for $100. Seems nobody wants a non-posi...??? Well I do! This car is going to be a cruiser, not a drag queen.... ha!

Thanks again!

[73super]

OK.. I've got my '65 Wildcat rearend. Gears are 3.07. Looks pretty complete except for emergency brake hardware missing.

My plan is to located the upper and lower control arms and coils for this rear end and graph it onto the '55. Will have to fabricate a couple brackets, but other than that it should work fine. I'll also get the air shock setup for the back.

All in all it should be a "relatively" easy transformation. I'll send pics once I start.

[56_Buick]

I'm going to be keeping a close score on this topic.

I have a very strong running original 322 with 52k miles, however I'm on my 3rd dynoflow Trans ( forward acc, clutches, and now a horrible leak. )

I've been thinking heavily about the 455/trans/rear conversion.


Hope yours goes Great !