Hey Zig, Did you end up getting a Colorado rear end for your ride? I am about ready to go down the same road...... Thanks, Mike
Not yet! As per usual with this site, I thought I had figured this out, and then someone throws me a curve ball. My plan was to use our host's 6 lug disc conversion for the front, and use the Colorado for the rear. This would keep it all 6 lug with a 3.7 back end. HOWEVER~ Some people mentioned that the bearings for these weren't worth a hoot, and if they went out on you, you have to order new ones, not go down to NAPA or such and get new ones. I need to check into this with an email to Rob up there in Kansas City. I'd like to hear his take on this. (Rob is one of the main guys at Classic Parts.) So~ As a result, I'm kinda leaning toward the adapter kit with camaro parts. That would mean 5 lug. That would also mean going from an original 8 lug, all the way down to 5... For a honest half ton truck that started with 6 and is just going down to 5, that's not to drastic. I'm not sure about the 8 to 5 lug drop. Putting an extra 1/4 ton on bearings that were meant for a 1/2 ton ride makes me think long and hard about bearing quality... So as you can see. I'm glad my free time is going toward building my truck a garage. This idea needs more research, comments from the fine fellers here, and time. I hate looking at those original rims that I have and thinking I won't be able to use them because I went 5 lug... Good luck with your ride, Mike! BTW, what did you do for your front brakes?
3/4 ton refers to load capacity, not weight of the truck. If you are not going to load it like a 3/4 on, you will be fine. Mine is a 3/4 ton and I have a fatman front end and a t bird independant rear, it still hauls anything I need it to.
Zig, My truck (Penny) will sit on an S10 frame, so the front end is stock with spacer/adapters to 6-lug, since she will look bone-stock. Hence the leaning toward the colorado 6-lug rear. If I were not keeping original rims I would already have an S10 5-lug (4wd) rear in place. They are common and cheap around here. I was planning on tackling the cab this summer with Dad, but he is set on re-assembling his 1910 Hupmobile in time for it's centennial. So I will concentrate on the chassis.... I am not sure if the colorado rear is 2wd/4wd specific like it's s10 predecessor, did you verify width? Colorado rears are starting to be available locally. thanks, Mike
You can use the S10 four wheel drive rear since it's six lug. It's way wider than the 5 lug 2wd rear but we still use a 1" spacer for good tire to bed side clearance. Of course this is dependent on your wheel back spacing.
I think I measured a 2005... With a tape measure... In a car lot... The width is good. I measured the lug spacing with my tape as well. It seemed to be right for the original wheels. THEN EVAN SAID SOMETHING ABOUT THEY MIGHT BE METRIC!!! Here's my plan. My "free time" is gone until summer, but when I get "free time" again, I am going to take one of my wheels with me and see if it actually fits. If it does, then I'm happy and bringing one home! (Hopefully with disc brakes) When I check on cost, two years ago (already) they were about $400. With the low mileage it would have, that sounded good to me. Hope this helps.
damned metric system! Fear not! Original wheels fit EXCEPT... The hub diameter is larger (100mm=3.937") than the bore diameter of the original wheels (78mm=3.073"). I'd go and take pictures right now, but my SD card is in a game camera taking pictures of deer for me. Lame, I know, but the truth. The bare rim is fairly close to the bedside, but 6.50-16's aren't exactly bulging off the rim. All my tires were dry-rotted, so I dismounted them years ago. Stud diameter is 12mm. PM me (as a reminder), and I'll take some pictures of a wheel on the Colorado rear end on Friday. Mike
Awesome! I want to see pictures of the deer waving at your camera, too! That would be cool if you could take some pictures of that. I am now happy again, until further notice. Is your rear completely installed? A thought crossed my mind last night as to how the u-joints will work out...
Zig, The rear end is installed. All the perches are tacked in place, and final burn-in will occur once I recheck the pinion angle. Keep in mind the rear is in an S10 frame, but it doesn't matter, as the bed-side width dimension is the driving feature. As outlined in another thread, the Colorado rear I used is a 2WD, Z85 (standard suspension), GT4 (3.73:1 ratio), G80 (positraction) unit. As I recall, it is 62.625" wide WMS to WMS, but check the other thread. In my case, it was necessary to remove the original perches in their entirety. There are also a second set of brackets (possibly snubber mounts, I'm not sure) which needed to be removed. I was unaware new perches were available (Speedway is one source as I recall), so I carefully removed perches from a donor S10 rear end. It all worked out, and the OEM perches incorporate a pad for the frame-mounted snubber to hit in the event the rear suspension bottoms out. And I do have pictures of deer, nose to the camera, by the way.
Cool beans~ I have three more nuts to remove and I'll be able to roll that chunk of metal out from underneath as soon as I have my new Colorado to put under it. That's a great site there. Plenty to choose from in Joplin. I'm not sure why some are $700 and some are $400. I'm not sure about how to tell the difference between drum and disc, but that's what that toll free number is for, right? Thanks! BTW, I can't seem to find the pictures of the installed rear end in yours.
Cant wait to go looking! I'm still wondering about how the new Colorado yoke will match up to the old drive shaft... (u-joint union) Hmmmmm.....
Hey~ Here's my reminder to you. Sorry, I was busy, but I think we'd all like to see more progress pictures. And deer pictures...
Driveshaft Fun This is the easiest part : once the tranny and rear end are done , use a tape measure to figure out how long it needs to be and take both old drive shafts to a DriveLine Shop , for about $150 they'll cut it and weld on the correct ends (you DID get the Colorado driveshaft , right ?) , install two new greasabl U-Joints and balance & paint it.....
I only wish I was that far along... Still have three nuts to remove from the U-bolts that are on the driver side, then I can start planning how I'm going to roll the old ass end out of the garage... Baby steps! Put some new zerks in the front end, however~
I did not get the Colorado driveshaft to accompany the rear... My engine/tranny is from a full-size (van in this case, same as a pickup). AND, naturallly, the driveshaft I have is aluminum (lets just make things more difficult). I have found 1 company who is capable of shortening an aluminum shaft. Worst that can happen, is I'll need a hybrid U-joint. Things have been a little hectic around here, no pictures yet. But I do have deer and bear pictures from late September. Happy little critters, lying peacefully in the bed of my GMC. I'll post 'em all when I can.
