Last night leaving work, my co-worker goaded me into laying down some rubber in the parking lot. One wheel spun all the way through first gear, and all of a sudden I knew why the car runs fast enough for et's in the 15's but only puts up numbers in the 16's.
At this point, I don't think I am going to spend big bucks to change the rear on this car. I am tired of the major projects, and I don't want to spend the money right now. I just want to drive it for awhile.
But it did get me to thinking that there is probably a serious reduction in ET available here. And, maybe I should at least think about the options. This car had an 8 1/4" sure grip in it at one time, and I swapped it out to put into my 360 Dart (now sold). I paid a mere $350 for it at a local junk yard, in 1995, and thought I was paying a bloody fortune at the time. But it worked like a charm. I drove it through all the winters of the late 90's and early 0's and it went through snow as effectively as a front drive car. And then I restored the car, and don't even drive it in the rain any more.
The rear that is in it now is an open 8 1/4" of about 2.5 ratio. This fits well with the ultra low first gear in the Mustang T-5. If I kept this tranny, I would not want anything lower than 2.5 or thereabouts. Some day I might put a Termec in with a taller 1st gear.
So now that I am thinking sure grip, are there more common, and maybe cheaper options available out there? I looked at retail market stuff and not only are the choices of carrier, pumpkin, axle housing and axle size and style bewildering to the uninitiated, they are very expensive.
What about Mustang rears? Is there a common Ford rear that is strong, available with posi-traction, or what ever they call it, and cheap that will fit? This might be a reasonable winter project if the price is right.
What are the considerations here? There is axle tube size, flange to flange measurements, perch spread, and U-joint style.
Everything is working so well with this car now, except for the peg leg launches, that I would not break into a major change at this point unless everything just seemed to fall into my lap. The right part, at the right price might push me over the edge.
What rear are most slant racers running?
Sam
|
