Mopar-Man
Big Block Better Burnout
Dana 60 here. Traded an A-body 8 3/4 straight across for it. Free upgrade for me!
At what point to go Dana 60 ??????
- Thread starter duster360
- Start date
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Unconventional
Well-Known Member
JMO .. But I have witnessed an 8 3/4 withstand an injected 454 Chevrolet dragster running 7.90 index and before that it was a blown sand drag car with paddle tires
Did you build a 2004r or a 700r4?
famous bob
mopar misfit
nowhere near stock ! dragsters are very lite, which helps take the huge amounts of strain off too.
Gotcha! JW Bell. Did you do it yourself or LonnieAt extreme automatics? Thanks!
It’s actually a Reid bell. My trans builder cut off the old bell with a sawzall and grinder and did a damn good job of it. Almost looks machined. Lonnie has his setup on a mill machine with a fixture. It would cost a lot to do elsewhere having to build the fixture and all. That’s why my builder cuts them by hand.
Yea it looks machined. That’s why I asked. I’m debating over a 2004r or a gearvendors for an overdrive for my 67 Cuda. Don’t want to cut up the chassis or do a coil over conversion.
im running a 500 hp 360,4speed with 6.14 gears and have never had problems with my 8 3/4. with slicks at the track or pro street tires,had my car for 32 years
dart_68
Well-Known Member
I need to upgrade my 8.25 in my Duster. I've been looking at the S60 from Strange. The price is not bad for a complete package narrowed to my specs. I would entertain something less expensive that would hold up like an 8.8 but by the time you finish with everything needed, housing, new axles, narrowing, gears, etc. it seems the cost works out to be pretty close.
Duane
Well-Known Member
Here is a page from a book I have that explains the inherent weakness of not only the 8 3/4 but any axle of this style.
A Salisbury style axle by design is inherently much stronger because it uses the axle tubes to stabilize the bearing caps from spreading.
Read middle column near the bottom.
j par
Well-hung Member
I actually have a thread where I went through the complete building of my Dana 60.
when I got the car it had a 7 1/4 that I tossed without even driving it. I put a 4 speed in the car and put it at 8 1/4 out of a Dodge Dakota with 355 in it $100. I had a Sure Grip put in it for $200. Got my Stroker motor and raced a couple weekends and figured I had better build an eight and three quarter before this one gets blown up. So I started with a 489 case. Brand new gears brand new spool brand new bearings all set up at the most reputable shop in town. 20 passes later Kaboom the Caps blew off the back. The thing is I spent the same $1, 200 building my Dana 60 and have not worried 1 minutes since.
That was my experience....
j par
Well-hung Member
I forgot I always like to post a picture if I can..
dart_68
Well-Known Member
A friend of mine that races says that I should put a Dana in just for when I put in that 540 c.i.d. blown, alcohol injected hemi in the Duster.
famous bob
mopar misfit
Try upping that to 750ish h.p. w/14-16" slicks in a 3600 pound car and see how long it will last !
LOL, yea, it won’t...
The 8-3/4 is excellent to a point. If your applying a lot of torque to the car, it better be light as heck. You must remove one of the deadly components!
Ether less torque or less weight.
The 8-3/4 is excellent to a point. If your applying a lot of torque to the car, it better be light as heck. You must remove one of the deadly components!
Ether less torque or less weight.
j par
Well-hung Member
So does that mean you recommend this one and if yours blows that you would just build another 8 3/4?
starting from scratch I found the two to be a wash. One not any more expensive than the other. Pretty much everything being the same it cost just as much to get the ends and buy the Dana and get it shortened as it does for the housing of 8 and 3/4 and the 489 or the other two. The axles bearings gears spool or trac-lok pretty much the same price.
To the op-
People will tell you about the ease of being able to swap the gears with an 8 3/4 but seriously how often does that happen? If you're at that level of drag racing you're not asking about it here.
j par
Well-hung Member
And sand? LOL
If I started with nothing I would have built a 60. I had the 8 3/4 already in the car, so it was worth it to me to keep it.
j par
Well-hung Member
Unfortunately I fell for the the greatness awesomeness and supposedly great strengths of the8 3/4 that everybody legendarylea talks about. It only cost me $1, 200 and lost second half of a season of drag racing and the time.
famous bob
mopar misfit
Your living on borrowed time .
Talk to cass at drdiff.com. The dana60 that I got was about $200 more than an 8 3/4 after all was said and done.
Jpar, I love your cover on your diff there. Im going to have to post that up on the lunchroom computer desktop.
Jpar, I love your cover on your diff there. Im going to have to post that up on the lunchroom computer desktop.
j par
Well-hung Member
I helped a guy build his Dana also and he took my route as well. Like what you're talking about calling case and getting the parts (and advise) and getting someone to welded up with the proper jig. And go ahead and weld the tubes to the case.
Anyways he had all the welding done and his housing was ready to start building up. I came over and it had already been painted and on the back of it it said-
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I said what's that? (He had already seen mine) He said him and his wife had his young child at the park a few years ago and they were walking along and he seen this group of young teenage boys around the picnic table all with their BMX bikes laying around on the ground. When they seen them coming one boy called out there club name and said out! Something like wild cats out! And at that moment they all picked up their bikes and rode off together. He said he got a good chuckle I felt they done it on their behalf a bit and thought it was pretty cool. So.....
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!
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j par
Well-hung Member
I encourage everybody to grab a contrasting color rattle can off their Shelf Shake It Up spray a good four second blast in the cap and grab a Q-tip, roll under the back of the car and and send your personal message to the person that you're given a butt whippin too!
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