What other rear ends will work with my Dart?

-
M

MoparMark67

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2010
Messages
67
Reaction score
0
Location
Los Angeles
I have a 67 Dart. I would like to swap out the rear end. What other rear ends will fit? Doesn't have to be a Mopar Rear end. I would like Posi and a larger lug pattern as I have the smaller 5 lug 4 1/4 I believe. I am looking for maybe a Chevy lug pattern of 4 3/4.

A mopar rear would be great too if anyone has good suggestions.

Thanks,
Mark
 
The only thing other than an 8 3/4 or an 8 1/4 rear end out of an A-body that will bolt up would be a 9" out of a 57-59 Ford, it's a bolt in other than the drive shaft will need to be shortened. Some will tell you to use a B-body rear but that is the hack way of doing it, it also puts the leaf springs in a bind.

DO NOT try and use a Chevy rear, they're not as strong as an 8 3/4 or a 9" Ford and I don't think there is any that will bolt up anyway.
 
My 67 Dart originally had the 7.25 rear end, and many years ago we put in a 8.75 with a 489 case and it has been great! The 8.75 rear ends are great rears ends, and the centre chunk is easy to swap. Went from a 3.23 open to 3.55 sure grip quickly.


Mark
 
Stick with a Mopar rear (8 3/4 or 8 1/4) end but I hear a ford 8.8 inch out of a Maverick or somthing will bolt right up. They are also pretty plentifull from what I hear.
 
Ford explorer 8.8 will fit if the drivers side is cut to the passenger side length. I am in the process of putting one in my dart. The rear that i got was a 3.73 limited slip, and it has the big 5 on 4.5 bolt pattern
 
mopardrt said:
so only a 57-59 nine inch ford will fit
Click to expand...

It's the only rear that is a direct bolt in other than a Mopar A-body rear. The only mod needed is the drive shaft which also needs to be shortened if your going from a 7 1/4 to an 8 3/4 or 8 1/4. They also sell a Ford to Mopar u-joint.

The Maverick/Comet rear is a little wider but can be used if you want an 8"
 
Well I'm having a hard time finding any Mopar A-body rear ends out here. What do you guys think of the Moser 8 3/4 rear from Summit racing?

-Mark
 
MoparMark67 said:
Well I'm having a hard time finding any Mopar A-body rear ends out here. What do you guys think of the Moser 8 3/4 rear from Summit racing?

-Mark
Click to expand...

I think anything made by Moser is a great product. My buddy bought a fab9 for his car. Nice.
 
Blownfish said:
The only thing other than an 8 3/4 or an 8 1/4 rear end out of an A-body that will bolt up would be a 9" out of a 57-59 Ford, it's a bolt in other than the drive shaft will need to be shortened. Some will tell you to use a B-body rear but that is the hack way of doing it, it also puts the leaf springs in a bind.

DO NOT try and use a Chevy rear, they're not as strong as an 8 3/4 or a 9" Ford and I don't think there is any that will bolt up anyway.
Click to expand...

I have to disagree with you here. If the spring perches on the b body rear are moved in half an inch on each side it's a direct bolt in with wheels with proper offset. More do it yourself types can reweld perches than can shorten and balance driveshafts.And it stays all mopar.
 
daredevil said:
I have to disagree with you here. If the spring perches on the b body rear are moved in half an inch on each side it's a direct bolt in with wheels with proper offset. More do it yourself types can reweld perches than can shorten and balance driveshafts.And it stays all mopar.
Click to expand...

I agree with daredevil on this one...Putting a B-body rear in an A-body is far from a hack job...In fact I have a '68 B-body rear in my 68 cuda, all I did was cut off the spring perches and move them in 1/2" each side. Bolted in perfectly...And the wheels I used are 17x8 with 5.75" of backspace...

Cheers bud
 
daredevil said:
I have to disagree with you here. If the spring perches on the b body rear are moved in half an inch on each side it's a direct bolt in with wheels with proper offset. More do it yourself types can reweld perches than can shorten and balance driveshafts.And it stays all mopar.
Click to expand...

mopardude318 said:
I agree with daredevil on this one...Putting a B-body rear in an A-body is far from a hack job...In fact I have a '68 B-body rear in my 68 cuda, all I did was cut off the spring perches and move them in 1/2" each side. Bolted in perfectly...And the wheels I used are 17x8 with 5.75" of backspace...

Cheers bud
Click to expand...

First off, if you have to move the perches and reweld them it is not a "direct" bolt in. The drive shaft will have to be cut no matter what, if you are going from a 7 1/4" to an 8 3/4", 8 1/4" or a 9" Ford, all four of them take a different length drive shaft. The 57-59 Ford rear is a "direct" bolt in, no welding needed, it even excepts your original e-brake cables.

The B-body rear housing is 2 1/2" wider than the A-body rear, (I have both sitting side by side behind the garage) and if you have a 67-69 Cuda or a Duster/Demon body style then you can move the perches in and use the B-body rear without too much trouble, but if you have an early A or a Dart (MoparMark has a Dart) then it leaves you with very little tire/wheel clearance and practically no wheel options, the extra money you spend on having special wheels made could be used to buy the correct rear and have less work involved and leaves you with more wheel options.

I've seen numerous people on this site post the B-body rear end option and say to just push the springs out to make it work, that is a hack job way of doing it, I've only seen one or two post where people actually suggest to move the perches in which would be fine in a Duster/Demon or a 67-69 Cuda but not a Dart unless you really like the goofy look of the wheels you will have to run.

It is just my opinion but if you try and shove a rear that is that much wider in a car with hardly no wheel clearance to start with just to save the extra money to buy the correct one, that to me is a hack job. I could see that when we were 18 but as an adult.
 
Blownfish said:
First off, if you have to move the perches and reweld them it is not a "direct" bolt in. The drive shaft will have to be cut no matter what, if you are going from a 7 1/4" to an 8 3/4", 8 1/4" or a 9" Ford, all four of them take a different length drive shaft. The 57-59 Ford rear is a "direct" bolt in, no welding needed, it even excepts your original e-brake cables.

The B-body rear housing is 2 1/2" wider than the A-body rear, (I have both sitting side by side behind the garage) and if you have a 67-69 Cuda or a Duster/Demon body style then you can move the perches in and use the B-body rear without too much trouble, but if you have an early A or a Dart (MoparMark has a Dart) then it leaves you with very little tire/wheel clearance and practically no wheel options, the extra money you spend on having special wheels made could be used to buy the correct rear and have less work involved and leaves you with more wheel options.

I've seen numerous people on this site post the B-body rear end option and say to just push the springs out to make it work, that is a hack job way of doing it, I've only seen one or two post where people actually suggest to move the perches in which would be fine in a Duster/Demon or a 67-69 Cuda but not a Dart unless you really like the goofy look of the wheels you will have to run.

It is just my opinion but if you try and shove a rear that is that much wider in a car with hardly no wheel clearance to start with just to save the extra money to buy the correct one, that to me is a hack job. I could see that when we were 18 but as an adult.
Click to expand...

Very well.

Then put a Dana in it. Here's my 70 Dart :D:D:D BOOO YAAAAAAAHH!!!!!!!

eqwhp2.jpg
 
72dart_swinger said:
Ford explorer 8.8 will fit if the drivers side is cut to the passenger side length. I am in the process of putting one in my dart. The rear that i got was a 3.73 limited slip, and it has the big 5 on 4.5 bolt pattern
Click to expand...

I thought the length was correct on this rear end and most come with Disc Brakes?
 
All depends what you are going to run for horse power torque ect. ,I had a 75 duster back in the mid eighties , that would run high 11,s , i just had a 8 1/4 with 4.30 gears .I bet the car about 350 h.p can not remember having a problem
 
I had a 98 explorer , axles are different lengths at least on the 4x4 . for the offset of the transfer case if i remember . 8 3/4 is a great diff , I never blew one and had a 440 and a very heavy foot . had a few chev 10 bolts and dodge 7 1/4 blow to pieces
Add the fact changing the pumpkin is a breeze so if you like have a few with different gear sets for changing situations
 
belmateo said:
I thought the length was correct on this rear end and most come with Disc Brakes?
Click to expand...

The center section is offset to one side. You have to cut somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 to 2.5 inches off of it to center everything. The later models come with disc brakes, the one I got had drums on it.
 
72dart_swinger said:
The center section is offset to one side. You have to cut somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 to 2.5 inches off of it to center everything. The later models come with disc brakes, the one I got had drums on it.
Click to expand...

I went this way with the 8.8 in my Dart, if you can find a ranger 8.8 it's the right width already and the center isn't offset.

On another note if you have a mild motor, 300hp or less on street radials I bet a 7.5" would hold up fine - they're much stronger than 7.25 chrysler rears, V8 mustangs came with 7.5's from 79-85 and they hold up ok until you put slicks on them.
 
MoparJoe20 said:
I went this way with the 8.8 in my Dart, if you can find a ranger 8.8 it's the right width already and the center isn't offset.

On another note if you have a mild motor, 300hp or less on street radials I bet a 7.5" would hold up fine - they're much stronger than 7.25 chrysler rears, V8 mustangs came with 7.5's from 79-85 and they hold up ok until you put slicks on them.
Click to expand...

Hey MoparJoe20.
What year Ranger and did it have Disc Brakes?
 
64-66 Mustang/Falcon & 75-80 Grenada/Monarch use the same 5 bolt pattern and spring perch spacing as the A-body. Supposedly, 64-65 Comets would work, but I can't verify it. These cars had 8.8 as well as 9" rear gears. Some of the early I-6 cars had four bolt wheels, so don't get giddy until you check it out.

The "brass ring" of these rears is the 77-80 Lincoln Versailles. Not only do they have the right bolt pattern and spring perch spacing, but they also had disk brakes. Production numbers are very small, so good luck finding one.
 
belmateo said:
Hey MoparJoe20.
What year Ranger and did it have Disc Brakes?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if rangers ever got rear disc brakes, I cut down a 97 explorer rear for my car, after the swap I measured the 8.8 in my Dad's 98 Ranger and it's about 57.5" wide and the center isn't offset.

The hard part about getting a ranger rear is finding a 4.0 5 speed truck with a good gear and a trac lok in the salvage yard, every explorer has an 8.8 and 8 out of 10 have a trac lok and 3.55/3.73 or 4.10's.
 
2 Darts said:
64-66 Mustang/Falcon & 75-80 Grenada/Monarch use the same 5 bolt pattern and spring perch spacing as the A-body. Supposedly, 64-65 Comets would work, but I can't verify it. These cars had 8.8 as well as 9" rear gears. Some of the early I-6 cars had four bolt wheels, so don't get giddy until you check it out.

The "brass ring" of these rears is the 77-80 Lincoln Versailles. Not only do they have the right bolt pattern and spring perch spacing, but they also had disk brakes. Production numbers are very small, so good luck finding one.
Click to expand...

Most of the early V8 fords had 8" rears, the 9" that came in them stock wasn't great either, it had small axle bearings, 28 spline axles, etc.

The 8" is decent, I knew of someone running one in a valiant and it worked fine, if you're putting out any power run a 3.70 or taller gear, 4.10's and 4.62's have a really small pinion gear and it will snap off the stem if you abuse it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top