440 with a stick and bad judgement

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mhuppertz

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Anyone have a high torque 440 with a stick and bad judgement and sticky tires out there?
Trying to make sure a Dana 60 is an absolute must. Had one from the factory in a '68 Hemi Road Runner I owned (and drove irresponsibly) in an earlier life, and it was flawless. My '69 Dart will have less horsepower, but not much less torque than the Hemi did, so it stands to reason. I have broken several 8 3/4" rears in my rambunctious past, even split the axle tube in a '74 'Cuda 360 (another of the head slapper for selling) did that with a nasty 383 I build with solid motor mounts and and a manual shift TF.
In the intervening 30 years when I got out of street cars for the sake of my marriage and son, managed to break two Dana 70's in my '93 Dodge W250 Cummins until I went Detroit Locker.

Alright, I guess I answered my own question. Need a deuce and a half Rockwell and a dump truck trans!
 
8-3/4 should be fine in a lite Dart...it'll just be spinning tires. THEN when it breaks, you can get the Dana.
I beat my fine spline 4-speed,8-3/4 340 Dart and nothing broke. Even side stepping the clutch.
And when it had slicks on it, it would bog but not spin the tires. In fact, that 8-3/4 went 11 something
with a nitrous 440.
 
abdywgn said:
8-3/4 should be fine in a lite Dart...it'll just be spinning tires. THEN when it breaks, you can get the Dana.
I beat my fine spline 4-speed,8-3/4 340 Dart and nothing broke. Even side stepping the clutch.
And when it had slicks on it, it would bog but not spin the tires. In fact, that 8-3/4 went 11 something
with a nitrous 440.
Click to expand...
Good to know, the weight does make a difference, weighs 1k less than the Hemi car did.
 
I think you are answering your own question here with your "rambunctious past" as you say. Go the Dana and save yourself some heartache.
 
mhuppertz said:
Less friction than a Dana 60, but weaker.
Click to expand...

It's a documented fact that a Ford 9" is less efficient (more friction/drag) than a Dana 60. It's probably the worst of any commonly used performance rear not only because of the ring gear/pinion relationship, but it also uses an extra pinion bearing! But it is weaker unless you start throwing more money into it than a Dana 60.
 
Go with the Dana 60, you will never regret it.
I had a '69 Super Bee 383 4 speed car that I put a warmed over '71 H.P. 440 in, and within a month, I blew the pinion bearing out of the 489 case 8 3/4'' rear end doing some burn outs.
I put in a 354 Dana 60 out of a rolled '68 GTX that my brother sold me, and didn't have a problem with it in the 20 more years that I owned the car.
That sold me on the fact that the factory was right in putting them behind all of the 440 and Hemi 4 speed cars.
And it looks damn good to boot............
 
Dana in a Dart. Nothin looks more badass.
9B3BA1C6-CBF3-4B49-A2BD-148BEA19A6F5.jpeg
 
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