builds that piss you off

Ramcharger413 said:

Heres one that I bought way back in 1975 the barracuda had a Ford 9'' 4:11 (Note shackels hated those things) rear end, 413 w/dual quads, 4spd and a Chevy straight axle. It was a very healthy ride, just didn't turn very well.

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What a wild looking little Barracuda! I can remember when straight axles were all the rage - I was a little young, but my dad was a rodder so I started early... Wonder what became of that thing...?

Ray

5.7 hemi said:

Rolling thunder you are right about the gear choices for the 9 inch. I just like to see the drive train all mopar when a mopar is built. Now if you need to use ford or chevy parts in other places, go for it

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Oh don't get me wrong I agree.... I like to see all mopar drivetrain as well but I was simply pointing out why others may think it is a good idea... I have a friend that ran a 741 case 3.55SG in a 8 3/4 behind a built 440 with a 10-71 blower on it... 4-speed... and I believe 18" wide Slicks... and it lived fine for 3 years... still working good in my charger at that...

The 8 3/4 rearend is good up to 600 h.p. I don't believe there is alot of street cars running that much h.p. I don't think the money savings is that much from a 8 3/4 and a 9 " fartd , it's surely not big enough to get me to run one. . And as far as using a dana 60 , I have two set ups for mine. I just set them up separately (one for race 4:88, one for street 4:10) for each gear change , and save the shims, when you need to change gears just use the shims for that change. . It's easier than changing a 8 3/4 center or 9" fartd.
Other thing that annoys me is when they call it a "POSI". Just my '3' cents.

Dana break? Did I read that right? Dana's, if built properly, are bullet proof. I am building one now for my car. When it's all said and done $800 (approximatley) for the whole unit. 3.55 gears with spool and new Moser axles. No cross-breading here. BTW, anyone can throw some old 8 3/4's my way, free pick up....

brian.linn said:

Dana break? Did I read that right? Dana's, if built properly, are bullet proof. I am building one now for my car. When it's all said and done $800 (approximatley) for the whole unit. 3.55 gears with posi and new Moser axles. No cross-breading here. BTW, anyone can throw some old 8 3/4's my way, free pick up....

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No cross-breading but it's a sure grip not a posi.
Sorry I hate the term posi. lane:

let the beatings begin

res1vw21 said:

No cross-breading but it's a sure grip not a possi.
Sorry I hate the term possi. lane:

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How about 'spool?' I have a spool...

Man, what the hell did I start? Have I said I like this site?

dirttrackdemon said:

Back in my circle track days, I found out that a 9" ford loses more H.P. than a 8 3/4". I ran a Mopar car and I also kept it ALL mopar by running a 8 3/4" with a 6.20 gear. I never broke an axel or a gear all the years I ran.

Just my thoughts.

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The 9" pinion center line is further off the axle center line then most rear ends, which uses more HP due to friction, but the load carrying ability per tooth should be pretty high. Also, the pinion depth is reportedly easier to adjust because it comes out through the front.

Ford also made an 8.75" and a 9.375". The 8.75" was installed in the same style housing as the 9" but typically used in the small block cars (my 68 GT Mustang had one). The carrier and all the parts are the same except the dia of the ring gear. I believe the 9.375" was typically found in big wagons and 1/2 ton trucks.

If I'm building a MoPar I'm sticking with a MoPar drive train. What about the 9.25"?? That's a pretty good unit I hear. Maybe the gear choices are limited? Never looked.

I think the 7.25" has bigger axles than a 12 bolt :tongueflap:

My 1997 Ram had the 9.25 and it took all the abuse I could throw at it.

So, what happens to brand bashing if General Mayhem buys our beloved Mother?
The reason you find so many performance conversions with the ford 9" rear is because it's the only part worth taking out of the billion or so fords in the junkyards.....

We had a guy in town running a 55 Chevy which had a 426 Wedge and T-Flite swapped into it, It was fun when people would look under the hood and get that blank look on thier face. Chevy people didn't like it and Mopar people was the same way.
At the drags there were two fast 65-66 Novas that would beat all comers and then ran for top dog between thierselves, checking them out in the pits they had transplanted 426 Hemis in the engine compartments, another fast car if anyone here remembers Fremont Drags there was two cars one was called 350 powered Volvo? named The Orange crate and the other was a Ford Cortina with a BB dodge stuffed into it. I lost a trophy to a Model A that was running a 440, anyhow it was always interesting seeing the mixed brands.

Now since I rambled on (sorry guys those were good times) I've got a question has anyone tried using a Dana from a 90's Ramcharger the one I'm thinking about is the 5 lug.
I have a 8 3/4 under my BEE now with 3:55 limited slip the Dana is running 3:54 Limited slip which I can change to 4:10 If I can't do it I still have a Ford 9'' I can use :grin: just kidding,This car will stay all mopar.:yes:

Generally speaking, the truck Danas don't have any accommodation for a pinion snubber. Also (I think) the spring perches are on top rather than on bottom. That isn't much of a problem since they'll have to be moved for spring alignment anyway. It might also be to wide for the car.

All that said, people DO use the truck Danas. They just need the tweaks

69 runner said:

Generally speaking, the truck Danas don't have any accommodation for a pinion snubber. Also (I think) the spring perches are on top rather than on bottom. That isn't much of a problem since they'll have to be moved for spring alignment anyway. It might also be to wide for the car.

All that said, people DO use the truck Danas. They just need the tweaks

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I am cutting up a truck Dana... I couldn't care less about the pinion snubber. I can't justify buying a "new" one for $1700. Don't get me wrong they are nice, just too much for me.
I think I measured 56" or so from inside wheel to inside wheel to cut down my Dana. A friend of mine who has done this for years is helping me. If the ones that he builds can stand up to the 800 plus HP he runs, than my puny little 550HP should be just fine.
:yes:

Use it and abuse it!!!!!

5.7 hemi said:

This has got to be my biggest most untolerable part of building a mopar. Some yahoo or famous name(foose,strope,etc) builds an unbelievable mopar only to put ford 9 inch in the rear. I just want to slap the taste out of their mouth when they do that.

I can put up with the alterkation,rms or cap front suspension, but under no circumstance should there be a 9 inch in the rear. If the 8 3/4 isn't good enough for them then use a dana 60 or go for the trick moser 8 3/4 fabbed housing with your choice of centers 741,742,489. Am i wrong or does this bother anyone else???:edgy:

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Chip Foose bugs me in general. We would most definitely fight about design details IF he were to rebuild a car of mine.

I'd have to agree with the "donk" wheels as my biggest gripe.

Aside from that (and this may get me into trouble) I hate baby diaper cars (trailer queens!) It's great that folks have the time and money to make the perfect show car, but in my opinion these cars were meant to be driven...and fast! Where's the fun in just looking at 'em?

5.7, just to let you know, I am cutting the entire rear frame off of my '35 Ply coupe project (complete with 9"/4-link) and am replacing it with an 8 3/4"/new 4-link. Of course, I am doing this just because you started this thread and want to keep you happy. ;)

I just posted the below info in another thread with a poll about for aftermarket wheels vs. standard.

I HATE the look of steel wheels with "bottle caps" on old performance car as well as the donk wheels.

It is just my OPINION, but I think that at the very least our old cars should be kept with an appearance of the original look or day two with period correct wheels etc. I don't mind a car with current suspension upgrades and some luxury add ons as long as it is done without an "in your face" aftermarket look. Things like power windows and door locks which use the use the original window cranks for the switches. After all, if you want to customize your old car to modernize it's look, why not just buy an new Challenger, Mustang or Camaro.

Young guys in the hobby have a mis-conception that was born out of others restoring their cars per the broadcast sheet, which often called for the base wheels and "bottle caps." That is what we called the center only hub caps back in the day.

What the young guys fail to realize is that the buyers of these cars new ordered them this way (which was standard and cost nothing extra) because they intended to soon take their new car to the wheel shop and put aftermarket wheels (such as Torque Thrusts) on the car along with headers, intake, carb etc. if it was a performance model. Hub caps and full wheel covers were considered the look of your "dad or mom's car." The ony time you saw a young guy keep a set of wheel covers was in the case of the "simulated mag wheel" that was often seen on 66-67 Chargers.

The young guys in the day couldn't get those steel wheels and bottle caps off of the car quick enough. Us old timers that were around in those days still LAUGH at these cars with the standard equipped wheels. The whole idea was to IMPROVE the look of the car and it's performance.

Now remember, this is coming from a guy that owns a 1969 Six pack Super Bee that came from the factory with black steel painted wheels and chrome lug nuts. The factory did this to keep the cost down and also mimic the look of a stock car at the drag strip which required hub caps to be removed. They added the chrome lug nuts just to spiff it up a little. People are surprise today to learn that MOST of these six pack cars also got after marker wheels, because the guys restoring them are going for the "as factory delivered" look. Many also consider it to be an "all business" look. I have a set of them for my car with redlines that I will use at the drag strip for F.A.S.T. type racing. I also have a set of the chrome styled steel road wheels that were an option on the 1968 Mopars. I may some day buy a set of Torque Thrust Ds for it as well.

mr.belvedere said:

I run a 9" under my GTX with ladder bars. 9" diffs are strong, dependable, plentiful, and easy to get parts for. Not to mention the extra pinion bearing. And no, I haven't seen many 8.75's come apart, but I've seen even fewer 9" come apart. And to be honest, I've seen alot more Dana 60's fail. Anyway, how many 8.75's or Dana's do you see under Ford or GM muscle cars?

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that extra pinion bearing makes all the difference in the world imo...
i have an 8inch from a maverick in my 69 dart and i would say 90% of the "mopar" guys look under there and cant even tell its not a 8 3/4..
but it was cheap it bolted right in and works great so far...
i am good with just about any cross breeding as long as a small block chevy is not involved ....

as long as a small block chevy in a mopar i have no objecton in a ford