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B body to E body rear-end swap

carpoor

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I've been told that a rear-end out of a 66-67 B body will fit in an E body and give you an additional 3" total clearance for tires/wheels. Has anyone tried this? I am not sure if this would require relocation of the springs or just relocation of spring pads on the differential.
 

gzig5

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I've been told that a rear-end out of a 66-67 B body will fit in an E body and give you an additional 3" total clearance for tires/wheels. Has anyone tried this? I am not sure if this would require relocation of the springs or just relocation of spring pads on the differential.

That's the story I've heard. I pick up a 66 B body rear at the swap meet and once the project progresses far enough I'll get the offset brackets, move the pumpkin and brakes over and slap it in. Any B body from 62-70 will work with the spring relocation to 44" from 46", but the 65-67 give you the narrowest drum to drum package, which may or may not be important depending on your wheel offset. The spring location determines how wide you can go.
 

moparleo

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It looks like according to the chart I sent you, There is only a difference of a little more than 2 inch between the drum to drum measurement. 67 B-body D to D 59 1/2" and E-body D to D 61 5/8". You can get more clearance using more positive offset rims for a lot less trouble. Offset spring hanger are required for the most clearance between the inner fender and outer lips.
 

carpoor

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That's the story I've heard. I pick up a 66 B body rear at the swap meet and once the project progresses far enough I'll get the offset brackets, move the pumpkin and brakes over and slap it in. Any B body from 62-70 will work with the spring relocation to 44" from 46", but the 65-67 give you the narrowest drum to drum package, which may or may not be important depending on your wheel offset. The spring location determines how wide you can go.
Thanks for the reply. I may be trying to fix something that doesn't need it. This is my first E body so I know nothing about wheel and tire fitment. I want to run Cragar SS deep dish wheels on the rear. My previous experience with this was on a 72 Duster. I had to run air shocks to get it to stop cutting the tires and I couldn't have riders in the back seat.
 

gzig5

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A bodies have less room for big tires.

It's a balance between tire width, diameter, and wheel backspace. A 275 wide 50 or 60 series tire should fit with the correct offset on the wheel on the stock rear. I think a 305 wide will fit with the narrower B body rear end. I've seen where a guy was running a 315 rear with the stock wheel wells, but the wheel offset has to be perfect. There are offset calculators that help figure out what clearances will be but you need to measure your car to know what you have for clearance and if it is the same on both sides. On my car the rear end is offset to the driver side about 1/4" so if you are really tight that can make a difference. I currently have 255/70-15 on the rear on a 15x8 wheel with 4" backspacing. That's a 29" tall tire and it really fills the wheel well and I need to slightly roll the driver side fender lip. I have at least 1 1/2" space to the spring though so a 275 would fit easily with the right wheel spec. I will go to a 60 series next year but that was the tire that was mounted on the used wheels when I got them.
 

carpoor

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I appreciate your input. I currently have the rearend out of the car to clean, encapsulate, and undercoat the underside. The wheels I want to use, Cragar SS with 8" width and 4.5" back spacing, will fit on the original differential/spring set up but I can't get a measurement on the wheel wells for a while.
 

Mopar okie

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I have 2 Challengers I put a B body rear under, you have to use off set spring hangers front and rear, the B rear is about 2" narrower than the E body. DC has the hangers, the front offset hangers are too long, had to heat and move over, I built a set of fronts. It can be done.
 

Cratos

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I also need to move the tires in board about 2 inches on both side ( 295-50-15's on 15 x 10 keystones so I am thinking an A body rear may be the way I need to go?

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Chryco Psycho

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A body diffs are not really a good fix , the 8 3/4 diffs are 4" bolt pattern & the 8 1/4 diff are not as strong + the may be too narrow causing problems getting the U bolt over the fatter part of the housing , do you have a B body diff now cratos ?
 

Cratos

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I have the stock rear right now but need about 2 inches on both sides. with 15x10 keystones :)

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wayne

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Do you know what backspace those wheels are? A proven size that fits ebodies with a 10" wheel has 5.5" backspacing using a b body rear axle.
 

Cratos

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I am looking for someone in centrial fl to do the spring relocation kit so I can get going on this while I have the time.
offset -35 rear spacing 4.125
 

moparleo

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Is it worth all this trouble to fit a rim that was not s=designed to go there.? Will you always be happy with that rim or might you want something else later ?? One thing is, unless you save your original housing and related stuff, it will be a lot harder to put back to oe specs.
 
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