An a body 8 1/4 will bolt in
She's gettin a Ford 9".OK rusty, after this thread resurrection, you better put a Dana in vixen to go with the new heavy duty gear drive /6 you're building.
66 dart 4 speed od transmission 225slant 2.92 diff 7 1/4. Plenty of pull and torque in 1st gear, take off is fine up to 30 mph with the 3.09 1st gear. It will squeal the right side 235 60 14 tire to death but The car has no balls from 2nd-4th gears. It's ok but it just lacks. The rpm's are slow to reach 4500. Heavy slow crank? But I think if the diff gear were lower, it would help. And the transmission is just not geared right. I know it's a truck,van transmission but its now a 66 dart transmission and I want this thing to scoot a little bit better.
It's not a higway car. Just a light to light around town car.
Dutra duals?The exhaust is another huge hurdle to overcome. Making mods like 2 barrel or four barrel carburetors will do very little without modifying the exhaust in "some" fashion. This includes at least porting the stock manifold and opening up the outlet, or going straight to headers. So many people fail to do that and then wonder why all of their mods didn't add much. The stock manifold only has a 1 7/8 outlet. That's no good for any kind of performance. The slant 6 responds better to a complete approach, rather than piece mealing it.
Don't even consider a spool for the street in any rear. A limited slip unit OK, but not a spool.. Maybe a spool for the 7 1/4 would make me feel more comfortable.
Back in the 70s, my drag car builder didn't recommend a spool even in drag cars. I saw a well known pro stock break an axle right at the starting line and took a hard left turn off the side of the track.Don't even consider a spool for the street in any rear. A limited slip unit OK, but not a spool.
Those work, although not "my" favorite choice. They are nice though, especially since Aussie Speed bought the rights and actually finishes them.Dutra duals?
Not all old Dakotas were 7-1/4. Most around here were 8&1/4. All the way from 87 and up.Old Dakotas IIRC are 7.25s and AFAIK the guts swap over. They are cone-types easily repaired.
I still have one 7.25 SureGrip kicking around too.From a 67 Barracuda 273 as I recall.
I would agree. Unless there is a higher performance option in the future? The Dana with today's upgraded axles and spool units can handle darn near anything your A-body can throw at it. And even if an over kill for a 225. It will be noticed if sale of car is also in some future scenario.Dude, an 8 1/4 will do everything you want, has a billion parts available, was built since the dawn of time, and isn't so heavy.
Putting a Dana behind anything less than anything with a trans brake or a BB/Hemi is foolish.
ESPECIALLY in a street car. Ditch the unsprung weight and steer clear of more than you need.
If you are installing a dana 60 for resale value keep in mind that the increase in resale value will not cover the cost of building a custom dana 60.All good information. I too agree the dana would be a selling point. My concern would be the gas tank. I might be able to adjust it.
hell I'd keep it under 200. with an A body 8 1/4 housing and a used sure grip center section from a ubiquitous jeep xj 8 1/4 with 3.55's. I've done it a few times fir less than 100 bucks.True. I definitely am trying to minimize the cost. Keep it below 2k what ever I decide.
That's true. On a direct replacement. But if you are having to replace? You can subtract the smaller unit cost that you already had to pay. Thus I believe the Dana would pay some dividends in the end.If you are installing a dana 60 for resale value keep in mind that the increase in resale value will not cover the cost of building a custom dana 60.
Jeep guys run into this a lot.