What the heck is up with 8-3/4" rearends?

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MileHighDart

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Just feel like ranting a little.

Over the years I've watched 8-3/4's go from $300 for a complete unit that you could bolt in your car and drive, to $500, to $800, and finally to people asking $1000 for a complete rear. And not a rebuilt one, just a complete one.

I realize they are not making any more of these, but what the heck, they aren't made of gold !

Ok, rant off.
 
I agree!! I paid $650 for a rebuilt 3:23 Sure Grip chunk. It's ridiculous!
 
The thing is, if you are building a performance Mopar, it is pretty much a given that you need an 8-3/4 (ignoring the Pro Street guys and their Danas). But probably less than 20% of A-bodies came with these rear ends. For everyone else who wants one, the only place it can come from is some other guy's car. So you have to make it worth his while. The Sure-Grip ones are also pretty expensive to rebuild, so that factors into the price.
 
for the Duster/Demon/Dart Sport crowd... the 65-70 B-body ones are plentiful and cheap and work well.

My friend bought a 3.23 sure grip with the clutch type posi 1965 model one with brakes complete for $400. Not bad at all.

The A-body ones are stupid money especially when you get into LBP conversions.
 
I picked one up, less then a year ago for 300 dollars
Open 3.we gears, drum to drum...and 8 lug nuts
 
I picked up an 8 1/4 out of a 71 duster for $100.00, heck ! my car is going to be about 3.200 lbs and street driven, new sure grip for under $100.00, sure a 8 3/4 is stronger, but these things are under big Ramchargers and truck, I should be fine.
 
I got my 8 3/4 housing bare for $100, I found a 3.91 coner SG pig out of a 69 A100 Van at pick-a-part, I hid it in a Ford van until 1/2 price day came around the following weekend because I knew no one would be looking in there :) Axles were $50 used at a small swap meet. forgot where I got the 10 brakes..If I were to do it again, I would just do an 8.8 with 2 short side axles.
 
pishta said:
I got my 8 3/4 housing bare for $100, I found a 3.91 coner SG pig out of a 69 A100 Van at pick-a-part, I hid it in a Ford van until 1/2 price day came around the following weekend because I knew no one would be looking in there :) Axles were $50 used at a small swap meet. forgot where I got the 10 brakes..If I were to do it again, I would just do an 8.8 with 2 short side axles.
Click to expand...

Thank you, another reason for me to look into one, 8.8 are everywhere it seems :coffee2:
 
Prices for all rear ends are high. I also have a Jeep Wrangler and it is not uncommon to pay that much for a dana44. I am lucky enough that I bought my a body rear end from a wrecking yard in 1992 for 125 brake to brake. It still resides in my 67 Dart. My 69 Dart and 68 Satellite were both born with 8 3/4 rear ends. the limited slip iny satellite came out of a 1973 Dodge Van I used to own. The 3.9 to 1 gears came out if a 1965 A 100 I found in the wrecking yard 15 years ago.
 
The market has changed with these cars plain and simple.... Everyone thinks what they own is worth a pot of gold and everything they want to buy is worth a lump of coal. You can't have it both ways so that is exactly why threads like this get started....

You either accept the terms of the game or make the game work for you. Go the 8.8 route and save yourself a bundle. When you go to sell the car or whatever may happen down the road just realize that it is not Penestar equipment and there could be a consequence for the realistic price you would ask for the car....

I personally hate that this has happened to Automotive Enthusiast. We have all sold ourselves to the devil in regards to things like this. I just purchased a set of seats off Ebay and I have literally lost sleep over what I paid. But I know what I want and the deal is done. I am as guilty as the next person.....

JW
 
I've pulled 3 complete C-body 8 3/4's out of the local picknpull yards in the last 2 years. Paid $160 for each one, housing, axles, center chunk and brakes included. Granted they're all open chunks with 2.76 or 2.94 gears, but two of them were 742's. Bought a jig to shorten housings, problem solved.

And goldduster318 is right on about the Dusters/demons/dart sports. I have a 68-70 B body 8 3/4 in my Duster, works especially well with the backspacing that's found on most modern rims (17/18" rims). I paid $200 for the housing and axles, and the 741 with 3.55's was $80 out of a D100 at picknpull. Works great! :thumbup:
 
Don't see much here in kc that's older than the '80's, any more. Even neon stuff is getting hard to find. The ***** about pick n pull yards is the sheer VOLUME that they move. Not like the old days when Marion Kinney had the same 300 cars in his yard, for at least a decade straight.
 
Imagine what's it's like down here in Australia.
I've got my date correct 8 3/4 set aside and put a s60 in it from strange, landed for cheaper than I could rebuild the 8 3/4 myself.
 
Doesn't everybody have a few 8 3/4" axles laying around???
 
yes, when scrape prices went sky high, the yards retired and c rushed everything, or the ones staying in business crushed everything older than 90's stuff.

like the other guy said. alternatives. get a wider ( cheap) 8 3/4 cut it all done, weld on new perches! or get a 65-70 b body rear, just a little wider, weld on new perches, whammo. AND you have a real mopar rear. if you sell the car, WILL make a difference to majority of lookers. find the 8 1/4 plenty strong for vast majority of us.

why A bodies 8 3/4 so high???? yes limited production, BUT look at all the thousands of people that have got the hots for A bodies. I remember back in the 90's when a REAL 340 A body car, you could hardly GIVE it away! fact! times change!
 
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