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Which rear end to purchase

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rjbsj

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Good evening, I have a 1969 Coronet that came with an 8 1/4inch rear end. Originally it had the 318 engine, I will be replacing with a 440ci probably in the neighborhood of 500hp / 727 trans. I’m assuming I will probably be needing a little bit heavier of a rear end. I’m not planning on doing any drag racing, etc. and will basically be running a little over stock size 15 inch tires. (No slicks). My question is would an 8 3/4inch rear end be enough or would y’all recommend something bigger? And a good source for the rear end.
 
Unless you have plans to upgrade your power level or run low gears with slicks and high stall converter on the regular. the 8 3/4 is plenty stout.

My 73 Charger was a 4000lb pig with 525hp and 4.10 gears that made many a pass with drag radials and my 8 3/4 never blinked.

Dana 60 is buy once and cry once no matter what you plan to do to it.
 
I noticed that you are a new member with only a couple of posts. Go to the Welcome Wagon and introduce yourself and tell us a little more about your project and post some pictures.
Welcome from Alabama.
 
rjbsj said:
Good evening, I have a 1969 Coronet that came with an 8 1/4inch rear end. Originally it had the 318 engine, I will be replacing with a 440ci probably in the neighborhood of 500hp / 727 trans. I’m assuming I will probably be needing a little bit heavier of a rear end. I’m not planning on doing any drag racing, etc. and will basically be running a little over stock size 15 inch tires. (No slicks). My question is would an 8 3/4inch rear end be enough or would y’all recommend something bigger? And a good source for the rear end.
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Power, Vehicle weight, Trans, Tires, Sure grip/spool, use and future use are the factors here.
Only one or maybe two are concerning here IMO.
I'd stay with an 8.75".

If car is likely to be sold in foreseeable future, a Dana will be much favored by a racer, or a leadfoot.

And Welcome.
 
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Strange 60 here. 620 HP, 700 pounds of torque. I agree with all above. 8 3/4 should be plenty.
Buy once, cry once is correct. Still crying over the cost of the Strange (they threw in a T-shirt and a bunch of stickers too!) but should never have to worry about it.
I have several $3,000 T-shirts.
 
With what you stipulated for use, an 8 3/4 is more than adequate.

An 8.8 Ford would be just as strong, one third the money, and everywhere, in comparison to an 8 3/4.
 
As accurate as your suggestion is above, it would complicate matters significantly for a new member that we know little about of his skillset to sort out all details to make that solution work, vs maybe a just as cost equivalent bolt in OEM 8.75 solution.
 
j-c-c-62 said:
As accurate as your suggestion is above, it would complicate matters significantly for a new member that we know little about of his skillset to sort out all details to make that solution work, vs maybe a just as cost equivalent bolt in OEM 8.75 solution.
Click to expand...
Oh I agree! 8 3/4 is the obvious correct answer.
But if budget is a concern, and the talent to solve problems is there.....
 
496 polara said:
Unless you have plans to upgrade your power level or run low gears with slicks and high stall converter on the regular. the 8 3/4 is plenty stout.

My 73 Charger was a 4000lb pig with 525hp and 4.10 gears that made many a pass with drag radials and my 8 3/4 never blinked.

Dana 60 is buy once and cry once no matter what you plan to do to it.
Click to expand...
Just curious what your 73 charger turned in the quarter.
Thx,
Glenn
 
8 3/4s housing and axles are readily available for $200. to $300.

I have them stacked up like Firewood in one of the shops.

I believe the 65 to 67 are the narrowest B housings.
 
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If it were me I'd be looking for a scrapyard Ford Explorer 8.8. Disc brake, width is close enough to work (59.5"), Bolt pattern is correct (5 x4 1/2), either 3.73 or 4.10. All 4wd 4.10 are traction lock (sure grip). They are cheap and easily as strong as an 8 3/4. With mods even stronger.
Doug
 
My vote would be for a 8.75 as well. For a similar HP/TQ I'm beefing up mine with HD (thicker) axles and stronger carrier housing from Dr Diff. Check them out here: Quality Body Shop Drivetrain Also, make sure you're getting the correct 8.75, E Bodies & 71 and later B Bodies were wider and do not fit your car.
 
dvw said:
If it were me I'd be looking for a scrapyard Ford Explorer 8.8. Disc brake, width is close enough to work (59.5"), Bolt pattern is correct (5 x4 1/2), either 3.73 or 4.10. All 4wd 4.10 are traction lock (sure grip). They are cheap and easily as strong as an 8 3/4. With mods even stronger.
Doug
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I agree. Gonna use an 8.8 behind a 454 in my 57 Chevy. But op is a new guy, and we don't know his capabilities. The right 8 3/4 WILL be expensive, but should fall in the car (almost).
 
Previous owner of my Charger actually put a 9-1/4 from a RamCharger, 4" axles with a 3" taper to the end, not sure if it was a direct fitment or some trickery was involved, but thought I'd throw that out there. Only downside I see is the 5x5 wheel pattern. Haven't been under it yet to fully inspect the installation.
 
Armyvet25 said:
Previous owner of my Charger actually put a 9-1/4 from a RamCharger, 4" axles with a 3" taper to the end, not sure if it was a direct fitment or some trickery was involved, but thought I'd throw that out there. Only downside I see is the 5x5 wheel pattern. Haven't been under it yet to fully inspect the installation.
Click to expand...
Nothing wrong with a 9 1/4 either, except most are too wide for a pre-71 b-body, and they almost never have any gear in em.
Good gears and lsd's are available.
 
The 8.8 is cheep solution as long as the bone yard on you get doesn't need work.
The 69 b axle.is.54.93 in flange to flange.
The 8.8 would need to be shortened.
Then the cost gos up.
A decent 8.75 for 69 b body is not hard to find may even find real nice one from some one doing a Dana swap.
8.75 is the easiest and cost effective IMHO.
 
yeah, I don't get everyone's fascination with the Ford 8.8, and once the Jeep crowd started to want them, good ones have become scarce, and aren't just a quick bolt on.
As far as the gear ratio's for the 9-1/4 Commonly available axle ratios were 3.21:1, 3.55:1 and 3.90:1. not a bad selection depending on what you want your car to do, and likely have smaller tires on the charger than the Ramcharger which will also improve things. not sure yet what I have, yet to check, weather is crappy, either raining constantly or freezing or both.
 
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