Vin999
Active Member
Generally (unless factory option ordered) the V8 253’s got the Salisbury 8bolt diff single pegger same as the 6cly with the smaller Uni joints. The 308’s got the larger 10bolt lsd diff with the larger Uni joints, the same larger uni’s were also used in the ute/statesman of the same time.The v8 disc brake diffs also came with a 2.60 ratio, which also had the smaller universals (commonly called 6cyl unis).....
Strut wise...You can use upto and including VP.....It is actually better to use VN/VP bearing plates, as it allows more scope with camber/caster changes, when compared to pre-VN.
That’s 10 bolts on the inside crown gears not the 10 bolts on the outside cover of the smaller 8bolt diff.
Replacement strut bearing plates are the same from VB/VL to VP & VG & VQ S1. They just have different part numbers from the sellers. For VN/VP/VG/VQ the 3 studs are just moved to the different position marked on the bearing in the same orientation on opposite strut towers which keeps the 10mm OEM offset for the latter VN/VP/VG/VQ models.
Rotating the bearing studs 1 hole forward or back will give a 1 degree positive camber change and also have a small ½ degree positive/negative caster change depending which direction you move studs and helpful when slightly lowering car but not on super low.
Useful info for OP to know since he is wanting to change the starfire to 308 V8 and needs a V8 diff to match.....Using 2.60/2.78 diff is stupidly low ratio and even the V8 would go slower than the 4cyl starfire higher ratio but the V8 could probably get nearly 100kmh in just 1st gear and avoid gear changes so not reallyyyyy suited for anything. A 3.08 is better start off for 308 V8 for economy & highway speed cruising but 3.36/3.55 diff would help with quicker acceleration more so in lower geared 4sp manual or higher geared auto. The 2.60 / 2.78 ratio diff is more suited for 5 sp boxes of the Sillica aka celica kind.