8 3/4 741 housing

[mopar44075]

whats wrong with the 8 3/4 741 housing?will it handle a bigblock with close to 500hp?

[Jim_Lusk]

The 741 is the weakest of the 8-3/4 third members, but it is still strong. I've got a 489 here with 3.23 gears that could be available.

[mopar44075]

thanks but im looking for between 4.10 and 4.56.

[oldkimmer]

.................no problem, thats all they had when the mighty Max Wedge and Hemi 1st ruled the dragstrip.........my 11.001 440 duster pulls a 1.34 60 ft on a 4.10 factory set of gears for at least 20 years.....kim.........

[d55dave]

There is nothing wrong with the 741. I personally have 2 buddies with them in 500plus hp race cars with no issues. As you may know, the difference in the housings is the pinion gear stem diameter. It isn't the pinion stem that fails in an 8 3/4, I have never heard of a pinion stem breaking.....

My 2 cents

[mopar44075]

is there a quick way to tell what gears are in there? im gonna go to the junk yard and pull a few out im looking for some 4 .10 gears,there is a big new yorker out there hopfully it has what i need,vans might have 4.10 gears?

[oldkimmer]

.................Trucks and vans from 57-71 usually have 3.55 or 3.91 gears, a few had 4.10s.....big chryslers has 2.76 and 3.23s....good luck searching..........kim......

[Capt_Jack]

is there a quick way to tell what gears are in there?

kinda. you can at least ballpark it. raise the car, turn the wheel one full rotation and count how many rotations the drive shaft makes. you can usually guess the actual ratio based on close observation.

just over 3, prob 3.23's
just over 4, prob 4.10's
etc etc

if its an open (non limited slip) carrier, you will either want to hold the opposite tire still or leave it on the ground to keep it from rotating. LS rear, you'll want both off the ground and just watch the driveshaft.

I usually make chalk marks on the wheel and shaft to make things easier to guesstimate.

[ucdcrush]

The highest I've ever seen has been 3.91. Not saying 4.10 dont exist somewhere for the 741, but the chances of finding them seem slim.

[mopar44075]

i found a mid 60's /6 4 speed dodge truck with an 8 3/4 3.9 gears,how much differant are the drum brakes on back compared to a reg set u would put on a large bolt pattern swap?im thinking about taking it all and having it shortened to a body length if the price is right.