8 3/4 and a 4spd

[GTX JOHN]

I agree with Rod ......... I have never had great success with a 4 speed and
slicks with even a good 8 3/4. Now that we run two steps we are eliminating them from about everything. I have broken several 8 3/4s
before two steps even in our 318 O/SA ( Even with Pro Gears and braced
Housings ). The cost difference is not very much between the two alternatives.

[Chris DeGidio]

A good hooking car with a 4-speed will kill a 8 3/4. We used the original 8 3/4 in the Road Runner(4-speed) and killed it,went with Dana 60 car ran the same. Demon had 8 3/4 and 727,broke it too,put a Dana 60 in it and never worried again on rear end stuff.

You will spend more beefing a 8 3/4 than just going to a Dana 60 in the first place. Plus like I said,one less thing to worry about.

[House of Darts]

I was looking at my inventory and I have several 8 3/4 on the shelf. I also have a Dana 60 from a newer Ram truck. It looks a little different from one in storage that is from an older car probably a RR. Dana is a Dana by NHRA rules? No modern 9" rear for older cars vs New Drag Packs and I know you can't use the Moser sheet metal 8 3/4. Just want to make sue before going in that direction.Although I still have second thoughts and questions about using the 8 3/4. I had one in a B/A car with clutchflite and a wedge motor and it never broke.

[randy wilson]

A friend of mine put an 8 and 3/4 under his F body, ran it two years, never broke it. High 10's in the quarter at 3,100 lbs. just my experience.

[Kris]

Depends on flywheel. If it's a steel 30# it will not stand up, rip the teeth off the ring gear. Something with adjustability maybe you can make it work. Good luck

[James L Miller]

Well, as Emily Litella used to say, "Never Mind".

I'll probably use the 8-3/4" in my Dart with the 273 but will have a 904TF to cushion the blow.

[Rod Greene]

By the time you do all the 8 3/4 fixes you will realize you coulda had a Dana. But by all means put an 8 3/4 in it. If you want to clean out your 8 3/4 parts supply. Always enough money to do it over but never enough money to do it right.

[Frank Castros]

Dana, set it and forget it.

[Rory McNeil]

Gotta agree on the Dana 60. I don`t race a MoPar, but I do have a low 10, high 9 second Ford bracket car that I have been racing with a 4 speed for 17 years, with a Dana 60.From 1988 thru 1999, I ran the same car with an automatic and transbrake, using a 9" with 33 spline spool & axles.
When I switched the car over to the 4 speed Jerico, I decided my existing 9 inch was not enough, and after some researching, it was actually cheaper to sell my old 9" and build a Dana 60. The Dana has beem absolutely bulletproof for 17 years of 6000 plus RPM clutch dumps.
From what I understand about 8 3/4s is that with the lower gear ratios, the teeth on the ring gear get really short, and tend to break. I know several MoPar racers that spent a lot of time and money using, breaking, and repairing their 8 3/4s, before biting the bullet and either doing a Dana 60 or a 9" Ford (when rules allow), and I can`t recall any of them that went with a Dana not saying that they wish they would have done it years earlier. If you have a bunch of 8 3/4" stuff, I would sell it and use that money towards the Dana.

[T Ames]

Another vote for the Dana 60. You will not regret going with the Dana. The 8 ¾ might hold up in your application for a while, but the likelihood of breakage is probably good. Have a small block stocker with a Jerico, and have had zero issues since installing the Dana 60. Can’t tell you how many 8 ¾ gear sets I broke before the Dana (slow learner). Also, there’s another Class Racer thread about the efficiency of the Dana 60 vs. other axles due to its hypoid gear pressure angle – Mr. Greene alluded to that. Another bonus!