Rear end swap ideas.. (Purists need not enter)

Fishy, the early Chevy 10 bolt, late 71'ish and earlier, was a 8 1/8" ring gear and a small pinion and yes they were weak. The 8.5 came out around 71' and the 7.5 came out about 75'. I've been around dozens of builds back in the day with these rears. Most of my own i used 12 bolts, but a 8.5 10 bolt with good axles, a good carrier (auburn) and the tubes 360* welded to the center section will take almost anything you can throw at it, especially on the street. Surprisingly the 7.5 built the same way will live behind a auto. trans for quite a while. As far as the OP's question, throw the 4.88 S10 8.5 in and forget about it.