which rear end should i go with?

[DustinsDuster]

so i am going to need to buy a new rear end for my Duster because there is no way in hell i am going to cut up an Abody 8 3/4" rear. my original plan was to buy a Bbody 8 3/4 from a friend for a couple hundred bucks, narrow that, and build it up with 33 spline axles. well, the plan took a slight turn when that same guy called me today telling me he just picked up a 71 Dodge van to part out, and it has a Dana 60 rear (9 3/4" ring gear, yes, bigger than a Ford 9"). i could probably get both for the same price, so now i'm asking opinions, so heres the pros and cons i can think of:

Mopar 8 3/4" rear:
Pros-
1. 8 3/4" is a lot lighter, like 50-60lbs.
2. ive seen 8 3/4"s behind 9 second bigblocks with no problems.
3.is a 3rd member style rear end
4. isnt as strong as a Dana, but in a ~3000lb car, it isnt as much as an issue as in heavier cars.

cons-
1. would probably cost more to build, would have to hunt down a different center section to build that could hold the power (three different styles of center sections, and they are desirable and expensive)
2. aftermarket isnt near as plentiful as other popular front ends
3. cant hold ANYWHERE near as much power as a Dana 60

Dana 60 rear
Pros-
1. one of the toughest rear ends available
2. with Strange's "Tru-Trac" differential, and Richmond gears, Strange claims a Dana 60 can withstand 1200hp.
3. is heavier than a 8 3/4, but if you are going to have 60lb extra, right over the rear wheels is a nice place to have it.
4. aftermarket is HUGE for the Dana 60, could probably buy 35 spline Dana axles for cheaper than 33 spline 8 3/4 axles
5. probably wouldnt have to mess with the rear end for over a decade.

Cons-
1.is a lot heavier, would have to try to compensate for the weight somewhere else
2. the pinion yoke is offset in the Dana, so it would be a lot more work to narrow it and keep everything square, and would require custom axles in different lengths.
3. i would probably spend more building a Dana than the 8 3/4, but it would probably withstand 50% more power.

so what do you guys think? i have a chance to pickup both for close to the same price, and now that i have a chance at the Dana, i am starting to lean towards that road. if i am going to spend a couple years building my car, i dont want to have to worry about things. i want to build it once and just enjoy it for a while.

but yeah, i am open to suggestions, so lets hear them.

[Domestic Disturbance]

i say the dana just cuz its a big badass. itd match ur car

[DragonUSMC]

just from your pros and cons i'd say a dana. Sounds like it would be in it for the longer haul, and even after that the aftermarket support is better.

[DustinsDuster]

yeah, its probably the way i am gonna go. even better, the guy said if i want it that he would help them for me until i could get him all the money.

well, it looks like my mind's made up. Dana, here we come!

[tylers88]

i'd say the dana also because if you build a 8 3/4 and 10 years down the road you build a HUGE hp engine you dont have to put a dana in then.

[krustindumm]

http://i9.ebayimg.com/05/i/000/ab/ag/4a63_1.JPG

[DustinsDuster]

no Krustin, i think you misunderstood me. see, i want to go fast, and i dont want to have to fix the rear end every year.

[69gt4speed]

A irs weighs more than a dana 60 if it is heavy duty enough and costs lots of $$$. I like the 60 idea never had trouble with it in my old truck. Besides it's a factory dodge option.

[krustindumm]

It's a pretty tough rear end. 200mm (7.87") ring gear, good for 600+hp. Plus who else has an IRS Duster? no one.

Really though, the 8.75" sounds like the better option of the two, but what other axle options are there? Maybe those would be cheaper to start with, since you're getting a good deal, but are there other options that would be cheaper in the long run? Like maybe an axle from a newer truck that already has rear disc brakes.

As far as the modification goes, a little research tells me that there were alot of different 8.75" B-body rear axles, do you know what year it is? They changed widths and early one's had tapered axles, but are the correct width for your car. The log pattern also changed from what your car has, so you will need to get new wheels anyway, why not get a different backspacing and avoid the cost of narrowing the axle. You might end up with a low offset (fwd offset in rwd speak) but it could save a few hundred bones.

[black88gt]

who needs rear discs. go w/ the dana you'll be set for a very long time

[DustinsDuster]

It's a pretty tough rear end. 200mm (7.87") ring gear, good for 600+hp. Plus who else has an IRS Duster? no one.

Really though, the 8.75" sounds like the better option of the two, but what other axle options are there? Maybe those would be cheaper to start with, since you're getting a good deal, but are there other options that would be cheaper in the long run? Like maybe an axle from a newer truck that already has rear disc brakes.

As far as the modification goes, a little research tells me that there were alot of different 8.75" B-body rear axles, do you know what year it is? They changed widths and early one's had tapered axles, but are the correct width for your car. The log pattern also changed from what your car has, so you will need to get new wheels anyway, why not get a different backspacing and avoid the cost of narrowing the axle. You might end up with a low offset (fwd offset in rwd speak) but it could save a few hundred bones.

i dont ever plan on turning with this car, and i want to pull the front wheels easily, so an IRS is out. i plan on making around that much power on just the motor, before all the nitrous, so i dont think it'd take long to tear that rear up.

8 3/4 is a good option, takes a lot less power to turn it, and would be a lot lighter, but the way i am building my car, i dont want to have to work on it for a long while if i am going to spend this much time building it.

the early B body 8 3/4's with tapered axles are junk, and are still too wide for my car. my Duster's stock width 8 3/4 is 52" backing plate to backing plate. i have a 741 center section for my car right now, and the other 8 3/4 i was going to get has the same case, which is the weakest of the cases. i could easily find a 489 or a 742 case, but it would be a few hundred bucks just for the bare case. i could buy an aluminum aftermarker center section if i had an extra $900 or so sitting around, thats 10-20% stronger than iron and lighter.

i dont really like the look of that much offset in my wheels. i would probably need new custom axles anyway to put the rear in the car, and being from a van, the housing needs to be narrowed no matter what. i could look around for a newer truck rear, but i doubt i could find one the right width, and it would need just as much work to be as strong and durable as i need. factory disc brakes would be cool, but Wilwood aftermarket brakes are even cooler....

and Rob, the only Abody's that came with Dana 60 rears were the 4 speed Super Stock Hemi Darts and Barracudas. automatics got 8 3/4's and seemed to live fine with them. 8 3/4's were geared with 4.88's while the Dana's got 4.86's.

[Scott]

actually now that I think about it, better get a 9" just a cheap stocker, narrow it yourself, weld on your own ladder bar mounts and you can get real cheap lockers or spools for those along with cheap axles, GM metric calipers and rotors. It'll be bullet proof, look sweet, HOME MADE!! and it wont cost that much.. Hell just look on a few websites or ask around and you could probably find all those parts for dirt cheap. I know you hate ford parts so I thought I recomend this to ya :supz: brotha

[DustinsDuster]

who the fuck needs ladder bar mounts?

[Scott]

Im gonna go out on a limb here and say, "cars with ladder bars need ladder bar brackets"

[Scott]

or you could be original and use the ole mopar leafs with a pinion snubber trick :bigthumb:

[Domestic Disturbance]

hahaha LOL at the IRS suggestion

[DustinsDuster]

or you could be original and use the ole mopar leafs with a pinion snubber trick :bigthumb:

we had this conversation while drinking one night, remember? you said you thought i needed to cut something out of my car and weld something else in. i said i was going to weld in a new leafspring relocation kit, cut out the old rear floor pans and subframe connectors and weld in new ones along witha roll cage. you said that didnt count, that i needed to weld something in that wasnt stock. i told you the relocation kit, subframe connectors and roll cage werent stock. you said it didnt matter. then i said "so basically, i need to go with a 4 link or ladder bars so you'll think my car is cool?". and the argument commenced after that.

anyway, i want to stick with leafsprings and test the limits of them, see just how fast i can go with them.

[Scott]

yes I do recall part of this conversation, I remember me being frustrated thats for sure.. but hey to each his own, I just like the design and fabrication aspect of it, you can actually engineer how your car will launch, you could make your car a wheelie stander and only have to run 10's..

[DustinsDuster]

when it becomes a problem, i'll deal with it then. we'll just have to see how it works. if i had the mopar version of BHavlik's Bel Air, that would be pretty cool.