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what to look for in a 8 3/4

Jaysam

Jaysam

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I own a '74 satellite bone stock w/ a 318 and 3 on the tree. Im looking to upgrade the rear end and i
may have found a 8 3/4 for sale. A guy i talked with said he saw a '63 polara come into a local salvage
yard and he said "the bolts are on the front of the diff", which i would assume is the removable carrier.
Can anyone tell me if it will bolt into my '74. I dont even know if thats the rear for that car because the
guy also said it had a front brake disk conversion on it so maybe someone had plans for the car at one
time. Just wondering what i should look for, maybe a casting or something, or should i just look elsewhere.
I dont want to buy it and not have it work for my car or fit in my car. Any help or advise would be great.

Thanks, Jason
 
Check the ends of the axles. If there is a lage nut with a cotter pin in the center of the hub, It is the old style and they are a hassle. If the hub doesn't have the adjuster nut it is the later style and you should be ok. The center section will interchange anyway but it could be the small 1 3/8 pinion, and gears are hard to come by depending on the ratio you want. I used the small pinion one in my 69 Swinger 340 for years and didn't have any issues. the spring perches might be different widths as well. You'll have to do some measuring. The casting numbers on the center section could be 741 for the small pinion, 742 for the 1 3/4 or 489 for the big muther 1 7/8 pinion shaft.
 
Thanks for the info. When you say to check the ends of the axles for the large adjuster nut w/ a cotter pin in the center of the hub, are you saying the inside of the axles to where i have to remove the carrier or the outter area by the drums? Sorry for having to ask, this is all new to me.
 
You will have to check the width. I'm pretty sure that the 71-74 arenot the same as earlier models, but The Cranky one would know for sure.
 
Yeah, the later rears are wider....but need to look it up on the chart for the numbers. Someone just posted it not to long ago here. The pre 65 rears have the big nut that holds the drum onto the axle and it's a tapered fit so these rears are usually called the tapered axle rear ends and yeah, they take more effort to get the drums off and sometimes (if not always), you need the correct puller to get the drums off. 65 up have the slip fit drums and you don't have that problem. Most like to shy away from the 64 and older 8 3/4's.....but with the right tools, they are not that difficult to work on.
 
I think an early C body rear (think cheap) will work in a 73/74.

There's a new post with more correct length/width info called "begginer's guide to 8 3/4" or something.

...but you might also want to check perch width.
 
That chart is a good guide but it's not totally accurate. For example, the 68-70 B rears are a bit wider than the 66-67 rears by about 1/2" on average and I think the 65 rear are about the same as the 66-67's. I've measured 66 rears to be as much as 3/4" shorter than some 68-70 rears and even those vary. Spring perches are usually pretty accurate tho but 1/8" + or - doesn't make for a hill of beans unless you're using solid bushings.....
 
Again, sorry to have to ask , but by solid bushings do you mean polyurethane?
 
Solid would be aluminum or stl or nylon bushings that have no deflection, and also sliders would pose an issue if they are installed already and have varying perch measurement.
However i have to agree with Cranky on those charts differences
 
I wish that chart would go away. 62-70B are not the same.
71-4 B-bodies have a 47" spring perch and the 62-70 B has a 43" spring perch.

Go by this chart.
Rear end widths, drum-to-drum:
A BODY
'66-'72= 57 1/8"
B BODY
'62-'63= 58 1/2" (And '64 Max Wedge)
'64 = 60 7/8" (Exc.Max Wedge)
'65-'67= 59 1/2"
'68-'70= 60 1/8"
'71-'74= 63"
'71-'73 wagon= 64 3/8"
C BODY
'65-'69= 61.75"
'70-'71= 63.0" (Chrysler & Fury)
'70-'73= 64 3/8" (and '69 wagon)
IMPERIAL
'65-'66= 61 15/16"
'67-'69= 62 5/16"
'70-'71= 59 3/4"
'72-'73= 64 9/16"
E BODY
'70-'74= 61 5/8"
A100
'65-'70= 61 3/4"
D100
'65-'71= 63 15/16"
'72-'74= 64 3/8"
........................................
........................................
Spring perch widths (center-to-center)
A BODY
'66-73= 43"
B BODY
'62-'70= 44"
'71-'74= 47.3"
C BODY
'65-'73= 46"
E BODY
'70-'74= 46"
*
 
Thanks everybody for all the info, that will really be helpfull. I went and looked at the rearend this morning and it's the old style
with the castle nuts and the cotter pins on the ends. So i may just keep on looking for the later style for my '74 satellite. Thanks very much for all your help guys.
 
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