7 1/4 to 8 1/4 upgrade with 2.45:1 gears
The 7 1/4 was losing fast. Oil was drooling from both axle seals...so much so, that a puddle killed the grass next to the left rear tire. Ugh. I knew it had been coming for a while. The tell tale growl in the rear..was it the carrier bearings, pinion bearing or axle bearings? Well, likely the axle bearings judging from the leaking seals.
What to do? Quick look for new bearings for the 7 1/4 showed me that it would be close to a hundred bucks and I'd be into the job for a few hours. BAH!
There was only one thing left to do. Pull an 8 1/4 out of a duster I had laying in the driveway and upgrade the Dart. Couple hours doing that...oops had to hook on with the Ramcharger to get it out from under the shell...but it came out!
Next measure driveshafts and get one cut and balanced...after triple checking and gathering up a couple donor shafts...off to the fab shop to get that done...great guys at cook brothers truck in Elmira NY...$80 and a day later..shaft in hand(Pun somewhat intended) ;)
Now what?
Dang...be nice to get it on a lift to do the job...and Ramenth from F*BO had agreed to let me use the one in the garage he runs...sweet! Now I owe him one!
Friday...show up at noon...get it on the lift and start busting knuckles. 42 year old parts. Could be a real pain. I had oiled all the bolts, nuts, brake lines and anything else that might need to the be wrenched on.
it all came apart pretty well. Not bad for an old slant six dart with 80,000+ miles.
Back together, news brakes, wheel cylinders,and some new stainless steel lines left over from another project found new homes on the 8 1/4. Ready to roll.
Oh and those 255 60 15 tires really fill the wheel wells.
Nice! No noise from the rear. Smooth. No vibrations. And it stops. Big bolt pattern all around.
And the 2.45:1 rear? Cruises at 65 real easy. Hills just makes the trans kick down to second, so not much different than the 2.94's that came out. Haven't checked fuel mileage yet...need to get a set of 215 60 15 tires mounted and put the correct speedo gear in to fix the gearing/tire size differences. Should be better.
Now some pics.
The 7 1/4 was losing fast. Oil was drooling from both axle seals...so much so, that a puddle killed the grass next to the left rear tire. Ugh. I knew it had been coming for a while. The tell tale growl in the rear..was it the carrier bearings, pinion bearing or axle bearings? Well, likely the axle bearings judging from the leaking seals.
What to do? Quick look for new bearings for the 7 1/4 showed me that it would be close to a hundred bucks and I'd be into the job for a few hours. BAH!
There was only one thing left to do. Pull an 8 1/4 out of a duster I had laying in the driveway and upgrade the Dart. Couple hours doing that...oops had to hook on with the Ramcharger to get it out from under the shell...but it came out!
Next measure driveshafts and get one cut and balanced...after triple checking and gathering up a couple donor shafts...off to the fab shop to get that done...great guys at cook brothers truck in Elmira NY...$80 and a day later..shaft in hand(Pun somewhat intended) ;)
Now what?
Dang...be nice to get it on a lift to do the job...and Ramenth from F*BO had agreed to let me use the one in the garage he runs...sweet! Now I owe him one!
Friday...show up at noon...get it on the lift and start busting knuckles. 42 year old parts. Could be a real pain. I had oiled all the bolts, nuts, brake lines and anything else that might need to the be wrenched on.
it all came apart pretty well. Not bad for an old slant six dart with 80,000+ miles.
Back together, news brakes, wheel cylinders,and some new stainless steel lines left over from another project found new homes on the 8 1/4. Ready to roll.
Oh and those 255 60 15 tires really fill the wheel wells.
Nice! No noise from the rear. Smooth. No vibrations. And it stops. Big bolt pattern all around.
And the 2.45:1 rear? Cruises at 65 real easy. Hills just makes the trans kick down to second, so not much different than the 2.94's that came out. Haven't checked fuel mileage yet...need to get a set of 215 60 15 tires mounted and put the correct speedo gear in to fix the gearing/tire size differences. Should be better.
Now some pics.
