To quote from that link "First, let's dispel some of the false information that's been spread around about tapered axle 8.75" rear ends. The naysayers will claim these units are weak. This is NOT true. If these units held up behind the early '60's Max Wedge cars they sure as blazes will hold up just fine behind a stout street/strip 440 or 451 stroker"

Ask any serious MW/Hemi racer if he ever went racing without a set of replacement axle keys.

What was the cure for that issue? Hint, it was figured out long before Max Wedges were thought of.

Double keyways was the old time hot rodders fix for tapered axleshafts that like to eat the single key.

from the old flathead ford days.......... AND common to do in the 46-52 dodge and plymouth days as well. some of those flathead sixes were known to embarrass a v8 or two from the competition.

There were a lot of things that were done in the old days and were good enough for the time...mechanical drum brakes, flathead engines, buggy spring suspension, etc.

My father collected Model A Fords and we had a restored '31 Model A pickup that I drove one time from our home to a junior college in Seattle, never again. He also had a '29 Roadster, that I never drove...they were dangerous to drive and way to slow to keep up with modern traffic. I don't miss either one and they have been gone a long time.

One of the first things I did to my 1964 Polara was to install a narrowed Dana 60 rear, with a slip yoke driveline and hybrid 727 Automatic. The next year I did the Disk Brake conversion. I drove it twice to Reno for "Hot August Nights". I sometimes wish I still had that car, but a man in Chicago wanted it more.

I never had any problems with my Old cars with the early axles and we had a bunch.One was my 60 Dodge with D500 and the 61 Fury with 395 Golden Commando package.Both got hot rodded and never broke anything in the rear ends.Rocky

The first axle I saw broken at the track was a 1964 Plymouth Belevdere hardtop 426 M.W. 425 HP running in SS/DA at the NHRA Wintenationals in either 1974 or 1975, CRS, with the original axles. The left side broke on the one qualifying run on Saturday, he had won class on Friday and he got it fixed for Sunday but it did mess up the left rear 1/4 panel. Two things are needed to break drivetrain parts, HP and traction Several years later I did the same thing with my 415 HP 1963 M.W. Belevedere using a rear end out of a 1965 Plymouth B body with the later style flanged axles using the stock posi Drag racing tends to be hard on some parts

If you're going to quote my article then may I suggest you quote the whole paragraph, not just one sentence out of context.

If you had quoted the entire paragraph you would have included the next sentence: "Now, if your purpose is primarily to go racing you should probably consider a Dana 60, but for general street/strip use these units are plenty strong."

I think that pretty much says that if you're a serious racer you shouldn't use a tapered axle rear. Back in the day the vast majority of these cars saw a whole lot of street racing and the tapered axles held up just fine. Its pretty obvious you have an issue with tapered axles and that's OK. However your argument would hold more water if you didn't twist someone else's words to make your point.

Many old racers used early Olds rears.They were some of the strongest made at the time.Rocky