Looking for options on my SBM powered Rocky in case I can't get the 8 3/4 4.10 I'm still hoping to get from another Moparts member. I sent a PM saying I've got to get this thing done in the good spring weather while I can still string together a little bit of time. The engineering company I'm working for is closing theri Charlotte office and I'm not hgoing to commute 80 miles to their Greenville office...It's my great fortune (thank you God and my guardian ) I've been offered a slightly better paying position with a new engfineering company so I'm hoping to actually have a couple weeks off in between to on MY OWN STUFF!!

8 3/4 is an obvious choice....however due to the car being light ~2800 pounds and modestly powered (~425hp) I'm looking for alternative options that fall into the ~55-56" flange to flange, 4 1/2" bolt pattern where 4.10 gears and Sure-grip/posis are plentiful.

Right now I'm thinking about Dana $$'s from 80's jeeps, and A body 8 1/4 and a friend even suggested an 8.8 or even an old 8" ford out of an early mustang...what other options are out there?

I'd love to run a 44 if I could find one the 8 3/4 of course is a great choice but maybe a bit heavier than I really need for an 11 second bracket car. Some guys I know swap in the rears from Toyota and mitsu 1/2 tons (look a lot like an 8 3/4) and the gearing/posis are available due to the 4 x 4 popoularity..

First choice would be an 8 3/4 (preferably A body width) but my second choice is leaning toward a 44....

Mopar 8.75 or Ford 8.8

8.8" Fords. They are plenty strong enough same bolt pattern and are plentiful. One from an Explorer will get you disk brakes and is about the same length.

The only downsid about the 8.8's is they need the C clip eliminator kit

Another excellent choice is a 9 1/4 rear you can find them any where cheap and plenty strong.

I have a Dana 44 out of a old International Scout that is real narrow. I think it is a 4.88 posi as well as I can remember. It was in a 73 Cuda that I bought a long time ago and it worked fine but was geared too low. The only bad thing about it is that it has those big nuts that hold the drums on.

Dana 44's with 4.09 posis and 4 1/2" BP drum brakes are (allegedly) fairly commonly found in 80's and early 90 model Jeep Cherokee sports and Commanche pick-ups...that's kind of what I was thinking about anyway.

11 second bracket car...sounds like you'll be using sticky tires then.

I was going to suggest the 8.25 from the Dakota's if you were NOT going to use sticky tires.

I swapped a big block into my dakota making 535 lb torque and 505 hp, with a 5 spd manual transmission, and I've put 3,000 miles on it with an 8.25 axle I kept street tires on it and it lived just fine. I pulled it out to upgrade to a 9.25 since I wanted to take this to a track and shoot for 12s. guys running these trucks with a 100% stock 9.25 have them into the 11s with boost and nitrous, and these trucks weigh at least 4,000 lbs. (mine is 4200 with the big bock)

so, if you kept street tires on it, an 8.25 wouldn't be a bad choice for a small block making around 400 crank Hp.

width wise, IIRC explorers are closer to 60" wide

a ranger 8.8 is in the 57" ballpark.

another one not to overlook is the 8.5" ring gear 10 bolt GM, your bolt pattern will be wrong though (4.75") if you could find one in 4.3L S-10. there's a number of Impala SS guys who have them (it's the stock rear) in their 11-12 second beasts....

An 8.8 ford is plenty strong. The 8.8 Explorer rear has disk brakes, but there is not a C clip eliminator kit for that setup that I know of. The calipers will hold the axle in the even of an axle failure though. A friend has an Explorer 8.8 in a 2900# chevy blazer that runs 5.70's in the 1/8 w/ a big block. I know of a high 4/low 5 sec grudge mustang nitrous car around here that had an 8.8 under it for years. Obviously they do have C clip eliminators for the mustang rears.
Why not just cut down an 8 3/4 housing and have some axles made for it? CHIP

Mustang 8.8 would be the best bang for your buck. Cheap and very plentyful at the yards, plus tons of upgrade parts available for it. If it isn't the right width, the explorer 8.8 would also be a good one. And like said, disc brakes would stop the axle from sliding out if you ever do snap a c-clip. I wouldn't even bother with a c-clip eliminator in that case.

Gen2 Ranger (89-92) with a 4.0L will have an 8.8 that is 56.6" wms to wms. Later trucks get wider and an Explorer axle is several inches.

4x4 versions will more than likely have a trac-lok and 3.73 to 4.10 gears. Axles are 28 spline just like Mustangs.

Spring pads will be on the top of the axle.

Maybe a Salisbury rear out of a 73 or later long wheelbase Land Rover. They have 4.7 gears and are a Dana built under license in theUK. The outside dimension on the one in our 109 and also on the one we are putting under Michelle's short wheelbase Rover look to be the same as the Strange 60 I put under the RR. I have not pulled the rear cover to measure the ring gear diameter. Unfortunately, they are usually not limited slip. Also, the hubs are fully floating. Pretty much bulletproof though.

Wise,

All good selections mentioned, but your BEST bang for your buck is the almost direct bolt-in famed 9" rearend you can pull out from under any late model 70's-early 80's Lincoln Versailles or Ford Granada , also stock with disc brakes for the liking. It will EASILY take the kinda power you're looking at putting to it. I put a million low 10-sec nitrous passes on one many years ago without issue. Should be plenty for the taking in wrecking yards............

Wes

EB1,

You know I have a 9" Versailles rear under my Cobra Kit car... Naaah!!!

I have some experience with customers running 8 1/4s . Seem almost indestructable. Seen one behind a hot 360 in a Duster with 3.91s I was surprised it never gave a seconds trouble even with slicks.Then he put a paxton on the engine. Still no trouble and i mean years of running. My nephew in law married to my niece has a hot 383 installed in a 94 Dakota. (10 to 1s) Erson cam. 750 holley, Schumacher conversion mounts and headers , hi stall converter etc. Despite all the nonsense young lads put their cars through including tire torture also no problems. They are a betterrear then we realize i think.
Don

All of the explorer 8.8s have 31 spline axles. I have run one in my jeep for close to 4 years now and its held up well. I probably only have 250HP but my gear ratio is 45:1 when off the pavement. Not sure how much they wiegh, the 8.8 housing was heavier than the complete dana 35 that came out of my jeep. The 97+ Jeep Cherokees came with 29 spline 8.25 axles which was an upgrade from the earlier 27 spline units.

Dana 44s can be found in cherokees but get picked from the yards pretty quick. They can be found in 87-89 models with the 4.0 but its hit and miss, more likely in 87 than other years. If its behind a 4.0 it will have 3.55s for an auto and 3.07s for a manual trans. Those gear ratios apply to any cherokee with the 4.0 inline 6 as well.

Isuzu trooper or amigo(forgot which) came with a dana 44 with disc brakes. Most had 4.56 gears and a posi of some sort. However you get a 6 lug pattern and expensive wierd hard to find brake parts.

Thats my short list aquired from jeep stuff.

I just picked up this 8.8 out of a 99 explorer for $275.



It has 31 spline axles, trak-lok limited slip diff, 3.73 gears and disc brakes.

I plan on swapping it into my Duster, but first I'll have it narrowed (probably end up around 50") and change the housing ends to 9" style (better than c-clip eliminators as I understand it). Moving the spring perches and changing the pinion yoke will then be all thats left to do and I'll have a very strong rear end, custom set up for my car, disc brake equipped for 40% of the cost of an S60 swap and cheaper than rebuilding my current 8.75. And you could do it for less than what I plan if you wanted!

Pat

8.8 with disk brakes is a good setup for that power level.