Sure grip 7 1/4 strenght?

RustyRatRod said
In short, yall play around with your little 7.25s. I'll be wavin at you when I drive by in something with an 8.750, or 8.25.

I'm not backin off my opinion. Yall do what you want, but the FACT is that stock slant six cars BROKE 7.25 rear ends. They are weak, sure grip or not and I don't give a rat's *** who tells you some who shot john about how long they ran one behind ten thousand horse power for 150 years, the FACT is if you run a 7.25 behind pretty much anything with any semblance of power, you may end up walking. "I" am not going to ever stand up and tell somebody on here or anywhere else how "good" a 7.25 is or that they should run one. Because they SUCK.

Some may say something REALLY stupid like "the rear tires break loose so the rear end will hold up". Lemmie clue you in on something. Ever heard of spider gears? Got any idea how fast they turn? The answer is REAL FAST. And here's a little physics lesson for you. The smaller the diameter of a gear, the faster it's spinnin. Get me? Here's some more physics for you. Even if it's a sure grip, the axles CAN spin independently of each other. Got any idea how fast ONE SIDE axle and spider gears turn? That's right, follow along with me. There are two axles so that means if only one is spinning, it's spinning TWICE as fast as both together. Yeah. It's COOKIN. And on that TINY LITTLE cross shaft that the spider gears ride on building up all that heat.

The 7.25 is the smallest most fragile rear end from Mopar. They will tear up if you sneeze on them good. Just because some few got lucky doesn't mean it will always happen. But believe what you want and good luck with that. lol

I'll put it like this. If ALL I had was a 7.25 under my car, I would wait until I swapped it out before I drove the thing. Simply because I don't like walkin.

I'm not saying to put a 7 1/4 in any car. I am saying they are not as weak as some say. I ran mine because the NHRA rules said I had to. Then when the rules changed to allow a better rear, I just stayed with the 7 1/4. When I found an "afforable" 8 3/4, I swapped to that. Then I built a "low buck" car, which didn't allow spending more then $500 just for a rear, so the well used 7 1/4 went in. When the sure grip clutches started slipping, rather then put new clutches in the 7 1/4 I built a 8 3/4 and installed it, as security, since I no longer had to meet my budget restraints.

In my opinion, it is a matter of money, whether to keep the 7 1/4 or up grade to something better. I personally can't see spending the kind of money for a stock "A" body 8 3/4 that most people want to charge. Plus parts (axles, brake drums, etc) are getting hard to find.

I like a "dropout" center, because I drag race, but I would probably use a 8 3/4 from a bigger vehicle (cheaper) and have it cut down to fit an "A" body, or maybe a 8 inch Ford (almost a bolt in). In a street car, or even a drag car, where gears are not going to be changed, consider a 8 1/4.

PS: My 7 1/4 always had slicks at the track. Granted mine is a slant six, but made over 350 ftlbs of torque, 8 inch converter, and would 60 foot in the 1.8 to 1.90 range. Since I put the 8 3/4 in I am now about 400 ftlbs of torque, and 60 foot in the 1.72-1.79 range at over 3200 lbs.