dman0712

i have a 79 trans am with olds 403 that will be hopefully. putting down numbers close to 500 hp. I have a 700r4 trans built for 650 hp. I was originally going to rebuild the stock 8.5 10 bolt i have and install 3.73 gears. i recently came across a 12 bolt that came out of a 79 Camaro. it has 4:10 gears and it doesnt have that many miles on it. He wants $550 for the rear end. It has no brakes with it. I know the 12 bolt would be better but is that a good price? What can i sell my 10 bolt for?

svnt442

Scoop that thing up. That is a STEAL for an F body 12 bolt.

MN71W30

They only made 12 bolt for camaro from 67 to 70 as far as I know. The 67 68 69 were narrower than the 70 and I think the perches were different also. Check and see if the 12 has holes for upper controller arms, It could be a Chevelle rear end modified to fit a Camaro. The 10 bolt 8.5 would probably be fine, but the weak point on the 12 bolt would be a C clips. Either way I'd say your good. And I do agree, $550 is a good deal for an original 12 bolt Camaro rear.

Warhead

Is this for real?
If this is an unmodified 12 bolt housing in a 79 Camaro-

Buy the 12 bolt for an investment, and run the 10 bolt.
It will pay for the 10 bolt. Sell the 12 bolt to a collector.
That axle (complete) is worth between $1500-$2000, assembled-and not butchered.
The housing (empty, bare, with no axles, nor center, no gears) will bring $1000-why???
Available for 1/2 year only, in that new 1970 model Camaro.

Either axle will fail if you do not do aftermarket upgrades.
If there are any non factory weld marks, or if it is from something other than a Camaro originally-
then pass it up.
If it is real...
Then JUST BUY IT.
Jim

Run to Rund

The above posts are right on. To elaborate, NEVER race a c-clip setup with 500 HP if you value the car, its quarter panels, maybe your life. The 8.5 can be made quite strong. Brian Trick (507olds) on ROP specializes in them. If you want to spend the money for a real strong setup, all rears end up costing about $2500 up; check quickperformance.com

MN71W30

I don't think the 70 12 bolts are worth $1500. I sold 2 on E-bay in the last 5 years for around $750 each. One was a rusty original 3.31 and the other was a nicer 4.10. I've seen the 67-69 12 bolts go for alot more.

507OLDS

If it is a true Camaro 12-bolt,for a 70,it has more value than the $550.00 price tag.The 68-72 Chevelle 12-bolts are the same width,& a lot of people have cut the spring & control arm perches off of those,& welded the leaf spring perches on,to install them into a Camaro. If that is the case with that particular 12-bolt,the price is hit or miss,depending on how well the work was done.
Your existing 8.5" 10-bolt will be plenty strong for your build,but if you can score a nice 12-bolt,that is done right,go for it.

dman0712

the guy who is selling the 12 bolt said there are no weld marks or anything that he can see. it was put into a 79 camaro and then pulled when he took the car apart. would it be obvious that its a chevelle rear end? What should i look for to make sure its the right one?

MN71W30

Check the passenger axle tube for the code letters and check the date code. Chevelle rear ends have mounting holes for upper controller arms. Camaro's have leaf springs and no provisions for controller arms.