1980 MIRADA

[FLY 9999]

Looking at a /6 powered Mirada. Want to do a 440 swap. Any standard Dana 60 that is a direct bolt in? Thanks

 

[YY1]

F/M/J body axle width is very close to A body.

...but F/M/J has a much more generous wheel well, allowing you to get away with a wider one.

I'd say a 68-70 B body would probably work.

I really don't know if they put Dana's in 66/67 cars, but that would be closer.

 

[6PKRTSE]

I have always liked the Miradas and Magnums of the late 70's.

 

[Darter6]

Any standard Dana 60 that is a direct bolt in?

YY1

I'd say a 68-70 B body would probably work.

Yes. I did a 8 3/4 in a F body 70 B body using the B body shock plates. You may have to come up with shocks.
Can't remember but a Mirada may have the stud top and bottom shock. If so you can use the Mirada shock plate with some work removing the rubber inserts and welding washers in the hole to locate the spring center pin.
At one time Schumacher had engine mounts for big block in the F/M/J bodies. According to the old catalog the mounts are for the 73 up spool K frame and says 73 up A/B/F/M/J slant 6 to B/RB.

 

[YY1]

Mopar was actually too early with the J body.

They ran 80-83.

...but look like an '86-90 regal/monte carlo/gran prix

 

[multimopes]

Just for inspiration, here is my old Mirada & it was still a slant 6, lol!

 

[FLY 9999]

THANKS

 

[multimopes]

Just to further reinforce your decision & for your enjoyment; I made a half Mirada also from my old Chrysler Lebaron.

 

[YY1]

Nice red Daytona CS.

 

[multimopes]

Not to take away from this thread, but since you mentioned it. Here is my old 86 Daytona Turbo Z (2.2 5speed. The car passed 305,000 miles all original!

 

[YY1]

Does it have '85 wheels?

Mine was super fun to drive, especially in Florida with T tops (except when it rained), but I don't think it ever went a whole month without- A- having a very difficult to trace vacuum leak, B- having a hard to track down electrical issue, or C- having a shifter linkage problem or broken fork...sometimes more than one or even all three at a time.

 

[multimopes]

Not sure about the wheels, I thought they were available from 84 thru 86. They were on it when I bought used with 82,000 miles on it. It was my daily driver for about 8 years. The only thing I replaced was the shifter cable and brake pads/shoes and tires. Car got about 32 mpg which was 10 mpg better than driving one of old slant 6 cars. My daughters cat used to like to sleep curled up on the rear deck, cradled in the corner of the spoiler.

 

[YY1]

Hmm.

Best I got (even with a high amount of highway commuting) was about 22 average, just a tad better than my 318 67 Coronet.

 

[Darter6]

Those were good cars. I had several in the 80-90's

 

[Detective D]

Looking at a /6 powered Mirada. Want to do a 440 swap. Any standard Dana 60 that is a direct bolt in? Thanks

Instead of fabircating a Dana 60 to fit in, why not look for a bolt in 9.25"? I think Mopar put them into certain cars in the F/J/M class like police dippys with limited slip factory.
Unless you are going wild on a 440 build, you will not break it. And I mean really wild, and then taking it to the strip with drag slicks.

This forum doesn;t talk about the 9.25's much as they really were only in the late cars like the Cordoba and magnum, or the 2/4 door versions of Coronet or things like my Police Monaco. But the 9.25" for the same platform is an actual direct bolt in where a 8.25" was, and maybe(never looked but it should) where a 7.25" was.
To my knowledge, within a generation at least, the entire brake system can swap from one to the other also. Obviously within a range of years as brakes changed over decades.

Unlimited gear choice because Chrysler made the 9.25 for decades and the guts are interchangeable.

I might be wrong, but I thought Mopar carried the spacing for the spring pads over from the late B bodies to the F/J/M cars. Again, I am certainly no expert on the last RWD cars so I might be totally wrong here. If I am right, then a Cordoba rear end would bolt in. 400BB Cordobas generally speaking had the 9.25, but likely had suboptimal gearing or an open diff.

The idea of big blocks shredding rear axles in Mopars comes from the late 60's/early 70's cars where they had silly things like 8.25's in them, and the 8.75 could be busted if enough traction and power were combined at the track. On normal street tires, a 440 doing righteous burnouts won't bust an 8.75 either, it really needs traction to prevent spin, which creates the excessive driveline strain. Thats why people smoke rears at a drag strip. The dana 60 was the answer back then. A few years later Mopar made the 9.25" to put behind big blocks.

Anyway, another option to consider as it may be easier to install then a Dana and you will have functionally a similar end result with less cost, unless you are building a true drag strip car with a stroked 440. If your /6 has an 8.25" now, a 9.25" from the same era will bolt right in, and you can even swap the entire factory brakes on as the back plates should be shared. I would check into it anyway before spending money.

edit: oh another bonus is the driveshaft length going from 8.25 to 9.25 is the same, so you don;t have to deal with that either.

 

[multimopes]

My daughters cat used to like to sleep curled up on the rear deck, cradled in the corner of the spoiler.

 

[WileERobby]

Just curious... why a Dana ? An 8 3/4 or a 9 1/4 would be just fine for such an intended swap.

 

[Darter6]

9 1/4

79 Cordoba 300 9 1/4'' Very stout.

 

[MiradaMegaCab]

79 Cordoba 300 9 1/4'' Very stout.

View attachment 1743722

Does that 9.25 bolt into a Mirada?

 

[Darter6]

As stated in a above post #15 sounds like it is the same as the Cordoba was the last of the B body cars.
Years ago I put a 71 B body 8 3/4'' in a 75 Cordoba/Charger. Dimensions were the same.
Also did a 76 and 80 Aspen installing a B body 8 3/4'' Shock pads can be changed or modified to swap eye to eye or eye to pin shocks.
Also don't count out the 8 1/4'' as they were installed in the 74 Dart/Duster 360 4 speed cars with 3.21 gears.