Ready for rear end install with Caltracs, advice

[Donny]

Never taken a rear end out and put one back in, nor swapped out rear suspensions.

Have a rebuilt 8.75 rear end with disc brakes and and Caltracs.

Any tips and MUST do stuff or important order of operations to consider. I didn't see anything in the How to Articles on this.

TIA.

 

[whitepunkonnitro]

I'm probably the only one who is going to tell you this, but Caltracs on an 8.75 is a very bad idea.
The sheet metal housing is intended to work with a pinion snubber. The center has zero support without one.
Low HP, street tires, very light car and you'll get away with it for a while.
Hook that thing with any sort of anger and you will have problems!
BTW..back bracing is only a partial fix. Does nothing to strengthen the center section mounting flange

 

[straightlinespeed]

I'm probably the only one who is going to tell you this, but Caltracs on an 8.75 is a very bad idea.
The sheet metal housing is intended to work with a pinion snubber. The center has zero support without one.
Low HP, street tires, very light car and you'll get away with it for a while.
Hook that thing with any sort of anger and you will have problems!
BTW..back bracing is only a partial fix. Does nothing to strengthen the center section mounting flange

Tony, I've got to ask.. I know a lot of guys that drag race 8.75's with Caltracs. None have had any problems. My brother being one of them with his 66 Barracuda 273 in the stock class. He is pushing somewhere in the 550-600 HP range and it hooks up great. Just for discussion can you please elaborate on this.

 

[Donny]

Tony, I've got to ask.. I know a lot of guys that drag race 8.75's with Caltracs. None have had any problems. My brother being one of them with his 66 Barracuda 273 in the stock class. He is pushing somewhere in the 550-600 HP range and it hooks up great. Just for discussion can you please elaborate on this.

Yeah I know a few guys running 600+ motors that still use 8.75 and have had no issues with Caltracs.

 

[whitepunkonnitro]

Yes, I realize that people run these bars on 8.75s all the the time, and most get away with it.
Lighter car, soft converter, not dead hooking. Lots of factors come into play.
But, consider this. High horsepower, big tire cars that still use the 8.75 along with ladder bars or 4 link always have the housing braced. The sheet steel design was never intended to absorb counter rotational forces.
Go back 50 years ago, and the fastest Funny Cars in the world were putting 1500-1800 horsepower through these things with completely unmodified housings, and a pinion snubber.

 

[DavidLee]

So many stock eliminator guys and SS are running caltracs with un-braced housings and having no problems what so ever.

 

[famous bob]

Yes, I realize that people run these bars on 8.75s all the the time, and most get away with it.
Lighter car, soft converter, not dead hooking. Lots of factors come into play.
But, consider this. High horsepower, big tire cars that still use the 8.75 along with ladder bars or 4 link always have the housing braced. The sheet steel design was never intended to absorb counter rotational forces.
Go back 50 years ago, and the fastest Funny Cars in the world were putting 1500-1800 horsepower through these things with completely unmodified housings, and a pinion snubber.

I never saw a funny car that was a contender , running an 8 3/4, most back then were runing bigger rear ends. A lot of the hard hitters were running the quick change .

 

[whitepunkonnitro]

I never saw a funny car that was a contender , running an 8 3/4, most back then were runing bigger rear ends. A lot of the hard hitters were running the quick change .

You have your era's confused. 65-66 Match Bash cars ran 8.75s and leafs/snubber almost exclusively.
Things like QCs didn't show up in Funny Cars until 69 or so, and even then there were still a good number of cars using the 8.75.
In T/F, the 8.75 hung around until 73/74.
BTW, most 8.75s used in dragsters were open rears. SGs and Spools didn't become the thing until around 72

 

[yellow rose]

You have your era's confused. 65-66 Match Bash cars ran 8.75s and leafs/snubber almost exclusively.
Things like QCs didn't show up in Funny Cars until 69 or so, and even then there were still a good number of cars using the 8.75.
In T/F, the 8.75 hung around until 73/74.
BTW, most 8.75s used in dragsters were open rears. SGs and Spools didn't become the thing until around 72

I remember many cars using 8.75's into,the early 80's. Those would have been local guys match racing but they were still burning fuel.