Than a production 489 housing
Anybody using a nodular 8.75 rear with a brake?

This oughta be good

Been running the Dr Diff unit for 2+ years and it is awesome imo and a bit heavier but beefier with forged caps and stout adjusters.........of course my stock unit lasted 16+ years...........

Years ago i tore up a 489 case the first weekend out with a combo that made decent steam( at that time 10.40 in a 3350 pound car) after running high 10’s for several years with the previous combo and no issues. Should mention this is all footbrake.
Just wondering if its worth spending 1000 or so on a new 3rd member with spool and the nodular to footbrake race something thats going to be making more steam than currently next season
A Dana would be a bunch more than that, and welding brackets and this and that

I was told years ago that all of the early 8 3/4 third members, probably those made before the 489 came out where cast steel which is a whole bunch stronger than either cast grey iron or cast nodular iron
If I was you and insisted on running a 8 3/4 third member instead of a Dana 60 I would look for and buy a 742 case and add a steel cap with studs on the drivers side

I ran a stock 742 forever as you know Cab and these new nodular units are better than the all mighty 742..........

Do they have more pinion support than stock cases?

The biggest issue was most guys didnt put in a solid spacer
in the 489 case.. the 742 has one

Ok I will say it, Do not waste more money on an 8 3/4, PERIOD

Do the Dana and don't look back. A bit more money now but cheaper in the long run.

It seems to me, after decades of these discussions, the venerable 8.75 might be the best engineering design ever, in that when loaded beyond its design strength, EVERYTHING fails at nearly once, meaning from an engineering stand point, NOTHING is over designed/overweight/over cost.

All that means is, if you like playing wacko o mole, you are in the right place, keep reading, keep adding band aids..

It you are at or near the limits of a 8.75, that last poster is your guy.

Been driving racing my 9-second Dart forever and JUST replaced the "stock" pumpkin 2+ years ago that had stock caps bolts etc. Too many wives tales but then again, some people are puttin them in the wrong application so you need to know where the cut off point is...........

A Dana would be a bunch more than that

Not that much if you sell the 8-3/4 while it's still good.

Several years ago my S-60 was $1940 shipped to my work (we have a dock) and I reused the brakes off my 8 3/4. My 8 3/4 was fresh, new bearings, gears, rebuilt clutch type sure grip and Moser bbp axles, I got $700 out of it with no brakes.

Here's the unit I got from Dr Diff a couple years ago.

Replaced this. Sure looks stronger, but who knows. I always heard it was the pinion size that was the weakest point. I was mainly just changing ratio, but figured I'd make it strong as poss while I was at it.

The weak point in the 8 3/4 is the bearing caps.

I thought it was the lack of a rear pinion support...

Usually the left cap cracks and breaks into two or more pieces and sometimes it will break the passenger side cap at the same time
OP, pick your poison, pay more now for a Dana 60 or pay for one later
I had three different 742 8 3/4 pumpkins as well as several 741 and 489 cases with solid spacer instead of the crush sleeve, I cracked the outer tips on the ring gear teeth on all of them and ended up bending the heck out of unbraced housing due launching the car hard for a lot of passes(200+) before it bent badly enough to break the welds off of the ladder bar mounts Luckily it broke them on the starting line, not going into 2nd or 3rd gear It broke a bunch of other drive line parts before bending the housing
Looking back now I should have put a Dana 60 on it to start with, but I didn't