8 3/4 vs 9" cost-wise

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KramerSwinger70

KramerSwinger70

70 Dart Swinger360
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since Abody 8 3/4's are like gold an the ford 9" is so popular, would it be more cost-effective to use a 9" in my dart? just curious. it'd b nice to get an 8 3/4 just to say its all mopar drivetrain but if i can order a 9" abody length for the same or less than a used 8 3/4 wouldnt i be better off??

thoughts? has anyone used a 9"er in there abody? or am i simply barkin up the wrong tree here? :read2:
 
haha yeah no kidding. im sure i can find an abody 8 3/4 but if i want the clutch style SG w/ 3.23-3.55's...im spendin a VERY pretty penny
 
Not really the deals are there you just got to be on the look out for them. I bought a clutch style unit (just the unit from a member here for 260) I got my (spare 489) center section for 75 bucks off craigslist with 323 gears.
 
Rite-on about a-body rears being pricey but worth it over the fraud err I mean ford...getting ready to ship that sg 2day as in above post,and thats shpd price from Mo 2 Ca...getting geared up to cut down all my x-tra 8 3/4 housings into a-body size with spring perches all to factory specs,this will be bare housings,have 6 to do imediately,they will be somewhere between 225-250 depending how much machineshop ends up charging for machining ends out to tube size then welding after fitting and cutting to desired length,pm me if interested...Ken in Joplin Mo...
 
Don't rule out other vehicles that came with the 8 3/4 rearend. I saw a B body housing only for $150 at a swap meet and the guy said he would take $100 just so he wouldn't have to haul it back home! Don't forget vans, trucks and C bodies also came with that rear.
 
If you get real real lucky you might find a Ford 9" that's the right length so the price wouldn't be too bad. But that's is you get real lucky. Most likely you'll have to cut down any Ford 9" to make it fit and by the time you do that and buy axles it'll cost more than a 8-3/4 would cost you. RBDart has a good plan on cutting down longer 8-3/4 housings. If you cut them to A body length you can find axles easy and brakes from the 7-1/4, and 8-1/4 bolt up so if your rearend in the car now is one of them you can use them. No good rearend will be cheap for your car, then again their not cheap for anything. A buddy of mine just had a 9" cut down for a big block Chevy pickup and by the time he buys everything he needs he'll have over $1200 in it and it's nothing fancy. Just run of the mill HD 9" stuff.
 
Ya the deals are there I'm the one that just bought the s.g from rbdart and I got a 741 3.91 third member its going into that I got for free and all braking hardware.... Ask me how
 
Lol well I found a 8 3/4 on cl out of a dodge a 100 went and got it for 100$ he didn't know the gears and so drug it home it was a complete rear with a 741 3.91 third member I stripped it and kept everythiing and sold the bare housing for a 100$ so essentially you have to invest money to earn money. The deals are out there you just have to look, I also bought a 323 open 741 third member for 50 off of a member here
 
I'd get a B-Body rear. More plentiful, cheaper, & only a couple inches wider. From what I've heard, a 9" from a older Bronco will drop in. Spring perches in the same place.
 
I put in a 9" in mine. It's all new and was pricy, but it will never break on me. Mine was custom cut to match wheel offset for a particular look I was after. I also won't have to hunt used classifieds to pick up a part. I can just call any parts dealer and get it quickly. Food for thought for you.
 
turbofreek said:
I put in a 9" in mine. It's all new and was pricy, but it will never break on me. Mine was custom cut to match wheel offset for a particular look I was after. I also won't have to hunt used classifieds to pick up a part. I can just call any parts dealer and get it quickly. Food for thought for you.
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And this is why you go Dana, Same effect.
 
I would take a look at the dana 60 also. I have found them to be just a bit cheaper then the 9 from some vendors. I am getting my setup from Strange.
 
srduster340 said:
I'd get a B-Body rear. More plentiful, cheaper, & only a couple inches wider. From what I've heard, a 9" from a older Bronco will drop in. Spring perches in the same place.
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Only the old B-body rears are about the same width. In 69 or 70 they widened the b-body rears.
 
I just got done doing a Ford 8.8 conversion.. Total, I'm in to it about 1k. Now, if I had the tools to shorten it myself, and install the new bearings and hot tank and reinstall the differential and new axle shafts, it'd be into it just under 500.....
 
I'm in my b body rear about 550 with a s.g. powdercoated, 3.91 third member and new green bearings
 
If you were going to modify a 9 inch to fit, why not modify a 9 1/4 mopar axle to fit. These are plentiful & alot of them came with suregrips.
 
1970Duster said:
And this is why you go Dana, Same effect.
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No its not. To a point maybe, but how do you keep the axle tubes from twisting? How low can the car sit with the monster center section of a Dana? Lots of issues with tank/floor Clearence if you don't want a 4x4 muscle car.
 
turbofreek said:
No its not. To a point maybe, but how do you keep the axle tubes from twisting? How low can the car sit with the monster center section of a Dana? Lots of issues with tank/floor Clearence if you don't want a 4x4 muscle car.
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I've only seen the tubes on a Dana twist once when a guy went from a 600 rwhp to 1200+rwhp. The rear lived for over 10 years with 600 HP just fine but only the 1200 cause the tubes to twist. Anything less then that it will be just fine. You don't have to be having a 4x4 look with the Dana, RMS even sells the street lynx kit for the Dana with coilovers, you just will being running close to stock ride height.
 
Think seriously about this.

Here's what I have spent from collecting parts: (I am picky and didn't screw w/ too much used sh*t)

A-Body housing (REAL, AUTHENTIC):........................ $500.00
Moser Alloy Axles (the good ones):............................$400.00
NOS 3.23 Gears (Never Used):...................................$220.00
Eaton Tru Trac:........................................................$545.00
489 Case:...............................................................$200.00
B-Body 11x2 Brakes (Refurb plates, new everything)...$335.00
Crush Sleeve Eliminator fronm Dr. Diff..........................$30.00
Yoke.......................................................................$120.00

I still need to spend $500 on labor/bearings/seals/etc.

Total will be around $2850. I love my car and staying true is important to me.

You can save big depending on where you live (parts demand/labor cost) and if you aren't super-concerned about anything failing.

I'm spending this money so I only spend it once.

In the end, even if you knock off $500 from what I have in mind, a complete B-Body rear could potentially be had for 1/10 the cost.

Dana would be close in cost. A 9 inch... well my dad could have got me a new unit through his company for $800, but you get the point. Call me stupid, it's okay. I regret nothing.
 
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