Just how strong is the 7 1/4 rear? I always hear that they are weak and won't live long behind a V-8, or modified /6. I know that a lot of 273 cars came equipped witht the 7 1/4. How much can you throw at it reliabley? Considering it is rebuilt and fresh? I have one in my demon that I am planning on installing 3.90's in and a spare. I am doing the weekend warrior dragstrip thing soon and the 8.75's are soooo expensive for a-bodies. Any idears??

Thanks,

Jesse

Junkyards around here (northern california Pick N'Pulls) , a rear end is a rear end, $60 drum to drum they could care less what model it is. How much can you get a 8.25" in Oregon? I have a feeling the junkyards there are trying to gouge you.

From what I've heard around here on this board is that the weak part of the 7 1/4" is the spiders, if you have a suregrip unit in it (which seem to be made of unobtanium now...) then it will take more juice before it quits.

Unless your making 2-300+ HP and continuosly launching hard on wide slicks then I would just run what you have and keep hunting for a cheap replacment in the meantime.

yes, I do believe I am getting gouged Here locally anyway, there is an all-mopar junkyard north of here but I have not dealt with them yet to see. Junkyards here aren't as cool as the one's you have dealt with, IF you can find a pre 80's mopar (unless it's a van...those things are everywhere) the owner think they have a real pot of gold on their hands. Case in point, the only 2 mopars in the immediate area of junkyards are a 75 scamp and a 69 valiant 4 door. I went down there last weekend to see if I could snag the rear out of the scamp (someone else beat me to the front disk brakes The guy wanted 160 bucks for the rear and springs. I believe he was totally hammered on crack. Anyway back to the topic at hand...if I rebuild my spare, install new bearings, gears etc and if the weak link is the spiders...how bout a mini spool, or the old "weld up the spider gears" method...but that sure kills streetability. I am not putting out that much power, just hate to get stranded at the drags cause my rear grenaded....but of course that could happen with any of them. Thanks for the response...guess I should go to CA and buy a rear Take care,

Jesse

Jesse,have you tried Wildcat wrecking? They're in your neck of the woods and seem to have a good rep. I myself haven't because of distance for shipping. If you haven't tried them,it might be worth a shot. Down here at my local jy,they wanted 250 for the rear axle from a car that was buried in dirt for the past 10 yrs,so I just had to do a lot of looking to find the parts i needed and rebuild my own.The folks here and on slantsix.com have been a big help,good luck!

He's in Roseburg, he's got a 4-5 hour drive if he keeps the speed limit to get there (he's going from the South end of the state, to the north end of the state).

And then once he get's to Wildcat, the price may still kill him (4 years ago an 8 3/4" with a 2.76 open pumpkin SBP A-body rear was $500, and an 8 1/4" with 2.45's and no brake assembly from Wildcat was $200--then they offered to sell me a 3.21 sure grip set for the 2.45 axle for another $300....)

Since Oregon is a 'truck/4x4' place, you might see if getting a Ford 9" rear is easier. I would also recommend not welding up the spiders, a buddy did this to his demo derby car and did 4 peelouts on pavement with a ford 9" rear in a '71 Galaxy...needless to say, he didn't get to start his first heat as he romped on the gas and chewed up the spiders and those chunks proceeded to wipeout most of the ring gear teeth...

-D.Idiot

Yikes! 300 to 500!?It seems we're better off going to the trouble to trade amongst ourselves.So far everyone I've dealt with through this forum has been honest and fair. It just takes a little more time and effort.cheers!

Hi all,

I snagged a ford 8" from a Maverick last sunday at the Pomona Swapmeet. It is the right size, the spring perches are in the right place, you get the big bolt pattern for free, ( I checked, and the lug nuts are even the same.) and I payed only $120 for it.

In doing a bit of research, I found out that I don't even need to mess around with the driveshaft. Here is what "Moooseman" in Las Vegas told me, I bought the new conversion U-Joint from NAPA yesterday, and I am going to give it a go this weekend.

Hope this helps.

Greg

Interesting point on the Ford rears. There are plenty of 9" rears in the boneyards locally, most out of (you guessed it) 4x4's and such. D. Idiot, your exactly right on this being 4x4 country, especially down here in the roseburg area. The 8" maverick rear has me interested, but I sure would like to keep with a removable pumpkin.... the 8's are the same as the 8.8 mustang rears, correct? With the cover instead of removeable chunk? I guess that I get a little perturbed by the state of used parts for mopars these days. Of course they have always been on the higher end of the scale...it seems anybody with a c*maro can get what they need for peanuts...we on the other hand, have to look a little harder. I went to the mopar drag races at woodburn last weekend. There was a few people selling parts and what not...nothing really I needed except for a set of factory scoops that fit my hood, they guy wanted $400 bucks!! $700 if they hood went with them. I am sure that's a good deal for someone but sheesh...and don't even get me started on Ebay...but I digress. When faced with adversity..I just gotta get creative. Anyone here done the 9" Ford swap? Oh, and let me know how the 8" swap goes, Gmader, that really peaked my interest. Thanks again everyone!!


Jesse

Hi Jesse,

The 8" has a removable pumpkin, and is not related to the 8.8. If anything, it appears to be a scaled down 9".

See this link http://www.ridgenet.net/~biesiade/Fordrears.html

Take a look, and judge for yourself if it is a route you want to try. I looked all over the Pomona swapmeet, one of the biggest in SoCal, and did not see a single Mopar rear end.

This is why I had to look for other options.

Greg

Ah yes I remember now about the 8 inch rear. I had it confused. It sounds like a great idea, probably cheaper than making a 9" work. I guess the next thing I need to figure out is if all mavericks had that rear or if they used another. Thanks again for the info...definately got me thinking!


Jesse

i wonder about the 8" stuff myself. what can you get to hop it up as far as gears and suregrips? does it have bolt in or c-clip axles? it was said that new u bolts are needed, are they a 3" tube like an 8 1/4, 8 3/4? and like said above, does anyone know if they came in all mavericks?

--chad

_________________
74 swinger slant 6, the slowest, most fun car i have ever owned.

The ford 8" came in mavericks, early V8 mustangs, and granadas in the widths we need. Some 6 cyl. mavericks had 4 lug axles. Granadas are probably the best bet as they are easiest to find and they all had 5 on 4 1/2" axles. The problem is they all had high gear ratios, 2.76 or so. Ring and pinions and posi are available, but then your spending $
Check with fordman in the "for sale" section over at fordsix.com. He was selling complete rear ends for $100.
I'm working on a narrowed ford 8.8 from an explorer. Most have 3.55 or 3.73 gears and many had trac-loc (posi). I'll try to post a picture of what I've done so far.

_________________
Franklin
'61 Valiant

This may interest someone, I was kinda impressed with it. While searching for 8" rear info, I came across a maverick/comet enthusiast site and it had information about swapping 9" rears into mavericks etc. Well, if the spacing and width on the 8" rear is the same as an a-body mopar and you get the big bolt pattern, would't the 9" out of a lincoln versailles work? The versaille was built on the granada platform which was built on the maverick 4 door platform. Get this, not only does the Versaille have a 9" but it has rear disks...might be an interesting one. Here is the link if anyone's interested http://www.geocities.com/cping3/lincolnversailles.html

Might be a good swap seeing how expensive 8 3/4's are (in my area anyways)

Take care,

Jesse

Just to add a comment about wildcat, and rears...

I have been to wildcat several times. They have a lot of excellent parts, but they know EXACTLY how much they can gouge er charge for them on the market. I had the misfortune of needing an A-body gas tank quickly... and $125 later... They wanted the same cost for a fuel sending unit that auto parts stores do! On the other hand they have some stuff that's very reasonable. They are about 12 miles from me in Carver.

About the rear end... I have a 8.25 -w- suregrip and 3.21 gears... anyone interested fire me off an email.

_________________
When in doubt, empty the magazine.
'72 Dart Swinger /6 - My Yard Dart!
'01 Ranger P/U 4x4 X-cab
We buy and sell MOPARTS & Ford Parts!!!
http://www.usironauto.com

Hey 72swing I am having trouble and can't sign in (sleddogg) but anyways I am interested in that rear...email me at coolvwbus73@yahoo.com and let me know what you want for it.

Thanks,

Jesse