chrysler 9 1/4 in an A-Body

[67Dart34dr0]

Let's back up here a bit.

Dana 35 is a decent rear end for a car. About equivalent to an 8-1/4" if I recall correctly, parts are available to toughen these up and they can be had for chump-change. So is a 44. The 44s are like most 8-3/4"s in cars. The 35s break on the trail because it is a LOT of stress for any rear.

One could be had out of a XJ cheap enough. Move the perches out 1.5" either side, and since it is a MoPar rear used with MoPar transmissions, it'd be a fairly simple swap. Lots of 'em use discs too.

For the Ford rear, probably the easiest thing would be a custom u-joint setup to convert from the Ford rear to the Chrysler trans. (swap is often done in XJs so it shouldn't be too hard to find one from a 4x4 supply place)

[BIG DOG]

If I remember correctly the 8.8 out of a Ford Exploder are 1/2 wider than the Abody 8 3/4 .Can be found with 3.73 or 4.10 gears and all or most are posi. and come with disc brakes.They also have a good aftermarket supply c clip eliminator some welding on the housing and a aluminum cover that reinforces the bearings in the diff make it a very strong unit.

[67Dart34dr0]

I'm pretty sure the perches are off on the Explorer.

Some early Mustangs have rears that will bolt right into A bodies. Early cougars are the real gold mine though. 

[frostnettenes]

A Ford rear in an A-body Mopar is about as blasphemous as dropping a smallblock Chevy into it, IMO. They fit, yes. How could you tell someone that your Duster just roasted a Mustang, when part of your car is basically a part of the one you just beat? The day I bought my '73 Duster 340, it was sitting next to a 1952 Dodge 1/2 ton in beautiful condition. I could have had either for $650. I went for the truck... until I popped the hood and saw the 283 under it. I told the guy I wouldn't buy the truck unless he yanked the engine out of it. He got offended, and I got the Duster. Some people have no problem with putting brand X stuff in their Mopes, but not I. Stick with the 9 1/4!

[67Dart34dr0]

A Chevy engine in a Dodge is much different than a Ford rear in a Dodge. Think about all the Rangers and Ford-built Mazda trucks with 318s. Ford and Dodge do have a lot of swapping, and it isn't a bad thing.

Is it any different than an early Chrysler Hemi in a Dodge? I don't really think so. (the Ford rear part, not the Chevy engine. Chevy engine bad, Ford rear good)

[frostnettenes]

It's a conviction that I hold very dearly, actually. Mopar parts should go on a Mopar. A Desoto hemi in a Diplomat is still a Mopar part in a Mopar. Although nobody cares any more for my opinion than any one else's, I always have and always will blow a car off if it's equipped with a brand x part. I detest FoMoCo and GM. If you commend putting a part from one of their vehicles into a Dodge, you are attesting to the durability and giving a thumbs-up to a competitor's product. Let us say, hypothetically, that you have a 496 in a 'Cuda, dressed to the nines, with a trans adapter and running a Powerglide. A Camaro freak sees it- he now has a bunch of laughter at your expense because he views it as NEEDING that Powerglide because it's better than a 727. My feelings on guys with Rangers dropping in 318's in them- scrap the truck, buy a Dakota. To be honest, I think the guy wanting to cut down a 9.25 should just save a little more and either get an 8.75 or splurge and get a Dana 60. He's putting the same amount of effort into the swap, and an 8.75 makes it much easier to change out gearsets if he isn't satisfied. I could never afford even a rotten '69 Coronet, let alone a pristine '69 GSS Dart, but my dedication is just the same as a millionaire's. It's probably a part of the Mopar Action versus Mopar Muscle mentalities; I have a twisted sense of humor and agree with Richard Ehrenberg- if it came from Ma, it's a treasure, if it came from Generic Motors, it's much more useful as a tree durability tester. You can't please everyone (hell, I can't even please anyone), but I wouldn't want something like that on my conscience on my deathbed.

[frostnettenes]

I just read my last response over again... I hope I'm not sounding like an arse, as I definitely don't mean to. I love my son, my wife, my music and my cars, and I guess my affection for them makes me stand up for them pretty firmly. I'm still a newbie here and sure as hell don't want to wear out my welcome yet! Just  me if you feel the need! Haha.

[flyboy01]

Part of the problem with your theory, more Dana 60 were installed in Fords that even in a Mopar, so if we use mopar only rears, then its an 8 3/4 only, so what wrong with a ford rear, what about abodyjoe, he is running ford wheels on a Mopar, some people run GM disc brakes on theri 8 3/4's. Honestly, I am a Mopar-or-no-car man myself, but so much stuff is non mopar, it hardly matters. If a mopar can kick the arse of a Mustang using an 8.8 rear end, whats the harm?

ANother thing to consider, I have been looking for an 8 3/4 A-body housing for 2 years, I have the axles, backing plates, carrier, and two sets of drums, but still no housing, since they are as rare as hen's teeth, I am starting to look and the 8.8 rears as a viable choice. Especially since it is easier than cutting down a 9 1/4 or B-body rear. And as of last check, I found a 3.73 LS 8.8 rear with brakes for $200 on Craigslist last week.

[frostnettenes]

I wouldn't say it is a theory, just personal preference and opinion. Dana doesn't belong to either company, and a cut Dana looks like a Dana. An 8.8 Ford looks like a Ford no matter how you look at it. I was lucky and had an 8.75 A-body rear given to me a few years ago (along with the '71 Scamp it came under). I know they are rare, for sure. But it's still super easy to find an old Dodge truck or van with an 8.75 and have it cut down. I'd be more than thrilled to trade the complete rear I have for a cut-down Dana 60, but then again... who wouldn't? Some people aren't as judgemental when it comes to polluting their cars with parts from other companies. As I said, my opinion isn't really that important to anyone else, but it's something I adhere to. The 8.75 will sit where it is until I get the $700+ to buy axles/gears/Sure Grip to complete it. I could very easily sell it as-is for $200, go to a junk yard and grab a 4.10 Explorer rear for the same price, spend less than $100 to get it under the car and have nearly the same result. $700 is nowhere NEAR pocket change for me... that's something I can't even afford with a six-month plan. But instead of taking the cheap way out, my car will do without for however long it will take me to save up that much to get it done the right way. Am I being a little extreme? I definitely don't think so. It's in a garage, so it's not suffering from neglect because of a technicality. If I make the call from the horizontal phone booth before it's finished, it'll be there for my son. After I join the Choir Invisible, he can throw a Yugo rear under it if he likes... but I think he'll be raised better than that. 

[67Dart34dr0]

You know my '77 came from the factory with a GM column and a GM brake booster? Lots of these cars did. I think the general stuff that is unavoidable, so be it.

I wouldn't cut down a 9-1/4", maybe move the perches but definitely wouldn't cut it down.

On the 8-3/4", search craigslist for big project car sales. They are from a thing called junkyards. Still plenty out there from $125. (just most have centralized)

MoPar parts can get hard to find, not everyone is happy side-lining the car. I'm not. I have a 8-3/4" in the Dart and an 8-1/4" in the Aspen. Both small-blocks, both Torqueflites but I'm much less worried about a Ford rear than I am about a Chevy engine in the car. Or trans. (they have both taken up some stretched reputations, both are kinda silly) The Ford rear's reputation comes fully from fact. It is cheaper to get a 9" from under a 'stang, beef it up, and swap it in place of an 7-1/4" than to get an 8-3/4" in an A-body's case. That is the only car I'd do it on. Mostly since the 8-3/4"s need to be built to really get to the point of being great. There is NO other Chrysler product I would ever do it with besides an A-body with a 7-1/4" that had to be LBP.

F-bodies can get 8-3/4"s easily enough, 8-1/4"s are fine for a fair amount of power and are dirt cheap, 9-1/4"s work great in trucks and bigger cars, but I think the 9" is a great choice for a hi-po swap from 7-1/4"

I'd probably say the 8-1/4" would be better than the 8.8", it could bridge the gap until you can get an 8-3/4" housing anyway. I can get one anyday of the week for $125 ready to go in the car.

[frostnettenes]

By the way, I've had an 8.25 in my '72 Dart (440 powered) since 1994. It lasted through numerous 12-second quarter runs (the car didn't hook up at all, which is why it's probably never grenaded), through my late teen years of running the hell out of it, and probably 20,000 miles later, still has tight clutches and makes absolutely zero noise. A lot of people who have never ran one say they aren't stout enough to hold up for long, but I'd not hesitate to run one behind another A-body with under 600 ft. lbs of torque. As for a 7.25, I killed two of them in slant six daily drivers, so I wouldn't even think about one behind a stock 340, let alone a big block.

It had totally slipped my mind about the late-70's tilt columns found mostly in Cordobas; good point. Look at it this way; while my other Dart is sitting in the garage, somebody will have an 8.8 in their Dart and on the road. I have no problem knowing that. To each their own. If I had a spare 8.75, trust me- I'd offer to sell it to anyone who needed one. Unfortunately, mine is the only one I know of anywhere near where I live. Hopefully flyboy01 finds one before going with the Fjord rear.

[67Dart34dr0]

I think new axles, a 29 spline carrier, and the right gears could make an 8-1/4" live up to serious HP.

I know of a real 340 Duster with a built 360 that has its stock 8-1/4" in it (its 340 needs a rebuild and is outta the car), seems to have held up well enough. Don't know what kinda beating its had.

[joesnow]

Everyone thinks alittle differant. But I stick by my earlier opion of not using the 9 1/4" My opion they are junk.

1st choice Dana 60 truck rear cut down ( never look back)
2nd 8 3/4" C,E,B or tuck cut down
These would fir w/o cutting

3Rd ford 9" Cougar '67,'68'69 (Tell people it ran w/ NASCAR. They use 9' Ford)
4th 8.8" ford
5Th Ford 8"  Maverick,mustang, cougar,Fairmont,Falcon, Pinto(use 5 lug axles),MustangII

I have learned life is full of comprimise.

[440GoldDuster]

Well don't mean to upset anyone being a newbie, but I've located an 8.8 out of a '97 Explorer,disc brakes, 4:10 LSD, for $100.00. I'm going to get it and try it I'll post pics when I can until then I'll be 

[loiq]

Part of the problem with your theory, more Dana 60 were installed in Fords that even in a Mopar, so if we use mopar only rears, then its an 8 3/4 only, so what wrong with a ford rear, what about abodyjoe, he is running ford wheels on a Mopar, some people run GM disc brakes on theri 8 3/4's. Honestly, I am a Mopar-or-no-car man myself, but so much stuff is non mopar, it hardly matters. If a mopar can kick the arse of a Mustang using an 8.8 rear end, whats the harm?

ANother thing to consider, I have been looking for an 8 3/4 A-body housing for 2 years, I have the axles, backing plates, carrier, and two sets of drums, but still no housing, since they are as rare as hen's teeth, I am starting to look and the 8.8 rears as a viable choice. Especially since it is easier than cutting down a 9 1/4 or B-body rear. And as of last check, I found a 3.73 LS 8.8 rear with brakes for $200 on Craigslist last week.

I just sold an early B body 8.75 for $50.