the transmission i have ready to put in my charger has a reverse manual valve body, and also a trans brake.
the car has the original 8 3/4 rear under it with 3.91 gears and the original drive shaft with the vibration ring at the front yoke.
should i even consider hooking up the trans brake ?
rear tire size has not been decided on yet, but something around a 12.50 x 29 is being considered.
my gut feeling is not to use the brake until the rear and driveshaft have been upgraded.
the converter is a 4200 stall unit, so it should work ok foot braking it ?
what say the people that are way smarter than this old dummy ?
TIA !

There great, but never use one w/o a trans shield or aftermarket axles. Eventually you'll need to beef it up

my long range [?] plans call for either an aftermarket housing or dana, aftermarket axles for sure, and a new driveshaft.
definitely a trans blanket or shield. [i like my footies. ]

hook it up, BUT I would not use it until a D60 & good large ujoint shaft. our cars are very heavy

You may find out you need the brake hooked up to have reverse. My Griner I have to push the brake button to back up.

I have a brake in mine. Year ago I broke the ring gear at the hit footbraking it. Tore every tooth off.
Installed new Moser center section with nodular case, billet adjusters.
Raced it last year off the foot, no issues.
Next offseason going to buy S60, then I will use the brake. Don’t dare right now, and am making couple engine upgrades this current offseason. Hoping to get one more season out of this new 3rd member off the foot.
Kinda bass ackwards to what I should be doing..rear should have come first

Heck, even at 3000 lbs, I wouldn't trans-brake an 8.75.
A Dana 60 means one less thing for me to worry about, and I prefer to keep the car off the wall.
I put a Dana 60 in my BB '64 Savoy wagon, even though it was a foot-brake car.
My foot-brake Duster (368" SB/CRT 904/5.38 D60/3000 lbs) hit the tires hard enough running low 10s (6000 stall) that I don't think an 8.75 would have lasted but a few passes.

Hahaha!

Transbrake in front of an 8 3/4..

Hahahahahaahah.

Are you really feeling lucky
AKA I wouldn't use the brake with the parts you have now

We broke three 8 3/4 ring gears foot braking a low 10 second 73 Road Runner. We put a Dana in and no issues since. An 8 3/4 lived 250+ passes behind my 600hp 3050 lb Duster with a brake. The weight is a big factor.

How much power?

Slicks are easier than radials but I broke *a lot* of stuff with a 4 speed in my 68 Charger. Multiple 8 3/4 centersections, axles, driveshaft… and it didn’t make much power.

A soft converter and slicks will help but it’s still asking for trouble.

My current C body is making 600-ish on nitrous, weighs 4300 and I’m footbraking it. I fully expect to break an 8 3/4 this coming season just because of the weight so I’m already saving for a 9” or Dana.

30+ years ago, I made this mod, a cap over the cap. Mark Williams hadn't started making his billet caps yet, so this was my fix for the trans brake destruction. Years later it still works but the gears themselves are now the weak link. Get about 10 seasons before they finally let go & you have to replace.

Some guys have good luck running a 8 3/4, I didn't. My 408 shucked the teeth off the ring gear on the second pass it hooked up foot braking. At the time my Dart weighed 3260 and went 1.38 60'. My fix was an S-60, no band aids or worrying if it's going to do it again.

what i kind of figured, DON'T use it until i get a better [dana] drivetrain.
looks like i need to save a bit more before i go out to play...........

Are you sure you don't want to have the experience of breaking drivetrain parts in your car
They are easier to sell when they are not broken

Transbrake vs 8-3/4….. transbrake wins every time.

Here's what I've found over the years.

1: 8 & 3/4" rears break.
2: You can still bust a Dana with just a footbrake.
3: Softer "Pro Gears" will help.
4: Dana parts and rear ratios are getting harder to find.
5: 9" based rears built to your spec are available as a virtual bolt in.

You can see where I'm going with this. I have a similar list for 727's - TH400's.

I friend of mine is running one in a Vega, yes a Vega granted it's not heavy, but he uses a T brake and it's a big tire car.mid 9's. He modified the housing with big bolts to support the bearing caps. Hundreds of passes. Gear change when needed.

The 8 3/4 may win a battle or two, but the trans brake will win the war! LOL

You can see where I'm going with this. I have a similar list for 727's - TH400's.
^^^^Maybe you should start another thread on this^^^I'm all ears



As for the 8.75 I've run them for at least 40 years on transbreak with a best 60' of 1.27 @ 3350lbs.But I'm no weekend warrior either.