New S60 for the Coronet

I still have a few parts to round up for the swap but I'm getting closer. I've been using a factory '68 B body Dana 60 under my Coronet for the past 30 years. It has worked just fine but I figured it was time to step up to the newer stuff so I got together with DoctorDiff to order a new combo.

This one is narrowed just a small amount, has the billet pinion yoke, 3.23 gears, helical differential, Baer rotors and the Mustang calipers. I need to bend up the brake lines yet and then figure out the e brake setup. Hopefully everything else lines up properly so I can drop it back on the ground.

Sweet, You could drive cross country with that set up.

Very nice. Are those 3.23 gears available from Strange??? Don't see them on their website or on Dr. Diff's.

Looks sweet. I want one!

Doctor Diff has tooled up the 3.23 gears but they aren't available yet. I have the first prototype set in this rearend so I'm the guinea pig. If they whine and howl then it will be back to the drawing board. If they work great then he'll put them on the website and start taking orders. Might be another 3 or 4 months until they are available on the website.

Awesome, thanks Andy.

Yeah I'm working on making the car more of a driver than it has been. I have the Doug Nash 5 speed in it so the first four gears are roughly 4:1 and then 5th is the 3.23. So it pulls hard in the first four and then I can kick it into 5th for freeway cruising.

That looks like a nice stout piece for sure............

Very cool!

The MoPig has a new Strange S60 under it now, but it's totally Plain Jane compared to the new one for the AndyMobile.

VEry kool Andy, keep us posted on those 3.23s.

Amen to that...a 3.23 in a Dana would keep me from switching to a 9" Ford in the little turbo Dakota

Any weight comparison to the original Dana 60?

I intend to weigh both but I don't have those numbers yet.

My notes are not in front of me, but as far as aftermarket 60's go, the Strange unit that I ordered through Dr Diff was 2 lbs lighter than the Moser housing of the same size.

The factory units may be either heavier or lighter. If lighter, I would suspect that there aren't as many reinforcement welds on the axle tubes and or gussets like the new units have. Weld beads can add up the weight quite fast fellas. but I could be wrong.

Do you know about the pick up truck Dana 61 with 3.30 and 3.07 gears in them?
I know of two in a local scrap yard that I should own now
Time to act now instead of talking

Looks great buddy.

Also looks expensive, but I'm thinking a complete, real B body Dana with legible BOM numbers would probably pay you back most of the way for that nice looking new axle. It'd be really cool to break even and help out someone doing a resto at the same time.

The Dana 60 I have is really clean and good shape so I'm sure I'll be able to get a good price for it. I don't need a numbers correct Dana in my car so you're correct, sending it down the road to someone who needs one is a good thing to do.

210lbs!!

You might have just made his phone go crazy.

Very Cool Andy! I love my Strange S60 3.73 gears Detroit Locker.

The brake line routing is pretty on that one Mopardude but I prefer to run my brake lines on the body so I can just hang the calipers when I need to pull the rear. That way I never need to open the brake system to make chassis changes
Gus

Got the old Dana 60 pulled out and the new S60 installed. Weather was nice so I took it out for a drive today. The new rear end is nice and quiet, the S-Trac seems to work just fine. It doesn't make any noise going around corners but tightens up when I jump on it. The 3.23 gears seem like a good match for my engine and transmission. I had to shift out of first fairly quickly with the 3.54 gears but the 3.23 lets me extend that just a bit more. The rear discs aren't bedded in yet so stopping power isn't up to par yet. That will just take a little bit of time to get the brakes dialed in.

Looks good Andy that 3.23 should work perfect with the super low gear in the 5-speed. Mine has a 3.27 low gear and I had 4.56 gears in the rear when I first installed it. I never did the math but I was shifting right after the tree. If Cass ends up making a run of the 3.23 gears I'm sure he will sell all of them.
Gus

Looks nice Andy please keep us posted on the gears too

4.56 with a 3.27 first gear is a 15:1 starting line ratio! That is the same as running a 5.60 rear gear with a standard 2.66 first gear.

The 3.23 rear gear seems to be a very good match for the Doug Nash 5 speed box. It is still a 10.56 starting line ratio which is the same as having a 3.97 rear gear with a 2.66 first gear. So it comes out of the hole just like a normal four speed car would with 4.0 gears, but then I have 3.23 gears when I shift into 5th out on the freeway. My rear tires are 28 inch diameter so it rolls pretty well down the freeway.

Looks excellent Andy!

I hope you Devcon the plug weld holes from tubes to the housing. Mine developed an oil leak sitting in the crate. And figured it was a pinion oil seal. Nope, further investigation revealed all 8 plug welds had developed crater cracks from different cooling times from the differing materials. Tried re welding......unsuccessful. Filled them with Devcon, smoothed them over and never looked back. Another couple of guys over here have experienced the same thing with their S60 housings. Awesome product and great service though.

Side adjusters in a dana is just the best thing ever.

You aren't kidding the last 2 gear sets I done are the old factory deal. Not bad with a spool but that Powerlock is freakin heavy changing shims. I haven't had the opportunity to change gears on the new S60. I should trade my 68 housing in on a Strange S60 Maybe with a set of 3.23 gears.
Gus

I've been driving the car whenever the weather is decent and the new 3.23 gears seem to work just fine. No noise that I can hear. The car goes down the road nice but still has move than enough juice to spin the tires at will.

I screwed the prop valve all the way in (max rear brake force) and that helped with the brakes but it still isn't perfect. I think I'll need to swap in a MC with a smaller bore size to get the line pressure up to work with the four wheel disc brakes.

Gday Andy,
I love your book on Wedge engines
I am building a 68' Dodge dart with all Mopar running gear this time, last time it was on the road it had a Furd 9"
With the persuasion of a local buddy he's convinced mem into building a Dana S60 with all the fruit.

I seem to be having contact pattern issues where there appears to be too much contact on the heel & toe of of the ring gear set

If i shim out the pinion bearing it becomes too deep

If u reduce it becomes too shallow (see pics).....
unlike all other gears i have set up this will not give me a perfect oval shape in the centre of the drive side.

From what i can tell the gear sets are not ground as well as a Dana Spicer.

Cass Esslicks "Dr Diff" 3.23 gear set and

Any input is greatly appreciated

That's a nice piece.

The pinion is too far away. I would try a 0.005" thicker pinion depth shim and run another contact pattern.

Any update on the 3.23 gears?

Kevin

I've been driving the car for four years now. No noise or any problems with the 3.23 gears.

Good to know as I have a set going into my Dana this winter, That is unless I put a 9" back under it

Gus

Are they in production? I don't see them on Dr Diff's site.

Kevin

The first production run of 3.23 Dana 60 gears is sold out, but I have 200 sets on order. They should be back in stock this spring.

Have you thought of changing the rear tires to a taller set like 6 or more inches in circumference (2 to 4 inches taller)? If not, maybe you look into that

i'm thinking the 66-67 coronet has a somewhat limited wheel house, so it may not be able to accommodate a 2" or larger tire diameter at the ride height it now has.

Your absolutely correct on that, I had mine stretch 8 inches, five inches to the front and three to the rear, I also moved the rear end forward three inches It is in my enclosed trailer now so I can't take a picture of it but it looks stock