72 Demon slanty-to-340 Resto

72bluNblu said
Hey, no offense meant. I just posted my experience, and I honestly haven't seen an A-body 8.25. Like ever. They only came in the 73+ cars, and the vast majority of those had /6's and 7.25's. Even the ones with 318's had 7.25's a lot of the time, I know my '74 Dart parts car did.

But I have seen plenty of 8 3/4's. I have like 5 pickNpull yards within about 30 minutes of me though. I actually stopped pulling 8 3/4's because I have a bunch, couple of C-body 8 3/4's, a sweptline era truck 8 3/4 (for my satellite with an 8.25), and a couple of B-body 8 3/4's that I bought online and had shipped to me. Neither of those cost more than $250, even bought online and shipped. So, you don't necessarily need to find one local as long as you're willing to use a B-body housing.

The 8.8's get used because they're strong enough, and Explorers of the right era are easy to find in most local salvage yards. So, you can get them cheap, they usually have decent gears (lots have the 3.73 and a limited slip), and they come with disk brakes. So you can't beat the price, I mean, I could get a complete 8.8 from pickNpull for under $200 most of the time. And if you can weld you can shorten them. But again, you don't even need to shorten them for a Demon if you don't mind running slightly higher offset wheels. So basically if you have some mechanical skills the 8.8 is a great way to cheaply install a rear end that won't blow up, has disk brakes already, and usually doesn't even need a gear change or limited slip added. If of course you can get over the Ford thing. :p

My Ford stigma is justified, even if it comes off as silly. Only one Ford we've had is worth it's weight in scrap metal, that's my daily driver ranger. I daily it cuz it gets a solid 28mpg, even though that 4cyl is gutless on the highway or any kind of hill. It's also a sliding hazard in the winter. Regardless, I give it props, not just being reliable but for being the ONLY Ford that hasn't turned into a pit of problems and expense.

My friend and his dad are Chevy guys, whereas I'm a mopar guy. We both have our preferences, but the thing we can agree on is, as far as functionality is concerned, Ford stuff comes dead last on our list.

moparmat2000 said
No offense taken. Different demographics. Where i live its the middle of nowhere. Pick n pull yards 30 mins away?? Whats that lol. The nice ones w crushed stone and the cars all sitting on welded rim jackstands. Yep i seen those in car craft magazine when Steve Magnante does his junkyard crawl articles. Been to one in dallas once. They had the crushed stone and jackstands. Pricing printouts, pay $1, sign a waiver and your in. Niiice. I felt like i went to heaven in that place. Problem is its 3 hours away from me. Thats the closest place i could find like that. The local places know they got you over a barrel so to speak. So you buy local, or drive your *** off spending 6 hours on the road, plus fuel in your pickup, hunt the junkyard hoping theres something there, wrench it out, get it for a cheap price, or pay the man locally.

Case in point locally 10 mins away at the 10 acre place i can get an xploder 8.8 in a sport trak which come standard w a locker. Its a 4.10 ratio. They want $350 cash no tax, and i have to remove it myself. That means enlist a car buddy and buy em lunch, and prepare to get filthy on red dirt for a few hours. Or go to dallas, spending 6 hours on the road round trip, plus gas, hopefully find find the rear, get less filthy on the crushed stone removing it. Pay $180 for it plus 8.25% sales tax, and a $40 core fee because i dont have one to return. So $234 plus fuel, buy car buddy a breakfast and a lunch for going on this odessy and helping out, plus a whole day used up. Either way it costs.

I'm 30 minutes just outside of town (hence the nearest junkyard, so when they screw me around they waste time and gas money for me). Like you I live in the boonies, outside of a tiny town that's a halfway-stop between slightly-larger towns. My Ranger gets 28 on the highway luckily so it isn't too bad I guess. If I were to try any of the yards in Salem or Portland it'd be a day-trip because I'd call ahead then check every single one until I found what I was looking for. 30 minutes into town "local" or an hour to Salem or Portland. The difference here is at the end of the day I'd be covered in darker dirt and not red dirt. I also have a few friends with enough mechanical comprehension to help out in return for a six pack.