rearend upgrade

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badbarracuda

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I'm looking to upgrade my A-body Barracuda 8 3/4 rearend to either a Dana 60 or Ford 9 inch what is the best model year for each I don't know much about either but I want one with the most readily available parts and choice of gears?
 
Explorer 8.8's are cheap, plentyful, and more than capable for most power levels.
my bad I see you are wanting to upgrade your 83/4. You must be pushing some serious power. I always thought a good stock unit was good for up to 450-500hp. What's wrong with the 83/4 thats in it now? If you already have it I would invest it that rear end.
 
To actually (partially) answer your question....

The DANA is super excellent. It will handle hp and torque into the 4 digit zone. After market parts are good.

The Ford 9 has the edge because it has a larger aftermarket support. And to be a little more fair, the Ford 9 you would install is a bit (LOL if not highly) modified from the OEM set up.
 
This is just my opinion, but for a street car, assuming you are not using a spool, I would go with the dana 60. The 9in is tough as anything with a spool, but by design, the posi units, in a 9in. are weaker then the dana 60.
 
I'm looking to upgrade my A-body Barracuda 8 3/4 rearend to either a Dana 60 or Ford 9 inch what is the best model year for each I don't know much about either but I want one with the most readily available parts and choice of gears?

although the Dana 60 is nice you are limited to what 5 gear ratios to chose from and if you have to do a gear change it takes time under the car not on the bench

go with the 9 inch Ford --- gear ratios from 2.50 -7.50 in increments of 10 -- lots of support as far as parts availability --- and you have the option of having one or more extra cases with different gear ratios set up and a change out is simple and fast . just choose the right parts and you will never look back -- you can even have the 9 inch housing and axles built with 8-3/4 hosing ends if you want to keep your current brake parts.
go with an aftermarket case (Strange or Moser),, 35 spline axles --- posi units (for street use) are available for 35 spline axles and spools for racing
do it once and do it right.
 
I am also on the fence.
I have a good 8 3/4 setup with 4:30 gears and sure grip (Detroit trutrac) I have a spare chunk with 3.55 but needs a new suregrip. I Blew the splines out of the nitro suregrip unit.
I have in the back corner a dana 60 that needs a sure grip unit but I have 4.10 gears for it. Plus i need axles for it.
I will probably get another suregrip unit for the 3.55s for a long trip to visit family someday up north. (8 hr drive)
But of the 8.75 ever breaks again I am going with dana

I run a 340 stroker with about 550 to 600 horse and an od passon 4 speed
 
Care to share what prompted the upgrade from a great axle to a monsterous one?

I can’t be the only one who is curious. :D
 
Care to share what prompted the upgrade from a great axle to a monsterous one?

I can’t be the only one who is curious. :D
I like the dana 60 myself, but if u want to change gears back and forth the 9" will be better for you.
 
I sold my 8 3/4 to my cousin, he needed it for his Dart/360/727 combo and I didn’t want to start breaking parts with my 470, just being cautious there. The Dana I completely did myself from cutting/narrowing/welding with a jig/setting up the gears. I have 1k in it and got 800 for the 8 3/4. For me, the Dana was a no brainer, I wouldn’t run a ferd in my car (personal preference), so the Dana it was.

Get a Dana, by once, cry once.
 
A stock Ford 9" is not an upgrade. You will need to upgrade quite a few parts in it to make it stronger than a 8-3/4. The Dana right out of the box is much stronger, although not cheap. In the end if you build a 9" to be as strong as a stock Dana you will probably have just as much money in it.
 
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