Quote: this is for Monte_Smith- I've got a 68 Dart. Its a chassis car with ladder bar suspension. Dana 60 rear, 4.56 gears, all Moser internals. 32 x 14.5w slicks. The passenger rear is squatted down about 1 to 1.5" just sitting there. The car weighs 2835 with me in it. 9.28@143.35and a 1.31 60' If the spring on that passenger shock is't bad, is my housing bent?
No.......that's not the way they bend. Your car is sitting crooked because of your corner weights, bent chassis, tab in the wrong spot, or something similar...But probably just the corner weights are not right.
Where the hell is Elvis??????
This is what we need not going back and forth with BS. Monte would it be possible to go list some car setups and so on to find out the limits of the Dana. What power level would a nine be better off? I have many 8 3/4 rears that I was going to use but after a couple of years watching this site and my car becoming a paper weight, I have decided to use purchase a Dana. Keep in mind my car will be leaf springs and auto and MAY with luck dip into the nines. As you stated the Dana would be sufficient for 99 percent of the people on this board. But I'm confused on some things. Elvis runs hard and has a Dana correct? If so why is his lasting Thanks for your input. Matt
As I said when this thread first started.........RADIALS is why I suggested that a DANA was NOT the best choice for the car in question. Radials DEAD HOOK, they do NOT spin. Something that dead hooks the tire bends and breaks parts. Most cars with slicks NEVER dead hook. They are always slightly slipping the tire and that is actually what you want. This is also the reason that some 8.75 are MORE likely to break in an under powered, over tired car, than something with more steam. When you DEAD STICK the tire, something else HAS to give. It if is not the tires, you WILL find the weak link.
As far as DANA vs 8.75?........other than a stronger center section, a DANA is NO better than an 8.75. The axles tubes themselves can actually bend easier in a stock DANA. They both have mild steel tubes and the tubes are not as solid on a DANA because they are just pressed in the center and an 8.75 is a banjo housing. A backbraced 8.75 is a MUCH stronger setup than a stock DANA, from a bending tubes standpoint, but the center section is weaker. I think the Strange DANA housings may have thicker tubes than stock, but not sure
So when to use a Ford vs a DANA?..........if you have a car with enough ass to bend tubes, it is EASIER to properly brace a Ford housing than a DANA, plus you get the convenience of the drop out center.
There is no "one size fits all" scenario here, as to what the proper rear is. Boils down to what you are going to do and what your preferences are. A DANA is "good enough" for most on this board from a strength standpoint, so that leaves it to personal preference. I am one of those who will never put a DANA under anything I own other than a truck. If the 8.75 won't cut it under my streeter, it gets a Ford. Any race car I have, will have a Ford. Not because a DANA is a bad rear, it is because I just don't like them. They are heavy and gear swaps are a pain. I will spend the extra for the convenience of the Ford and never look back. Am I advocating everybody do the same.................... NO. Use whatever you like, just realize a DANA is not the automatic answer every time, nor is the Ford.
