On 16 12/13/06, Jim Ozolins wrote: > > My '64 Valiant has its stock rear end. I'd like to get an 8 3/4" on it some > day, when I do a four-barrel swap, but I was thinking about keeping and > rebuilding the 7 1/4" for the time being. > > Is it hard to find parts, AND can this rear be beefed-up a bit? Some > articles I've read make it sound like the 7 1/4" is a ticking time bomb, > and I want my car to be as reliable as possible, and I want to stand on the > gas from time to time, as well. > > A larger bolt pattern (4.5 instead of 4.0) would be nice, but not worth a > huge investment for now. there was a 4.5" 7-1/4" A-body rearend used between 1973 and 1976 (don't know when it started, 73 or 74 or 75).. but the axles are not swappable with the early housings.. different bearings were used.,, making them not interchangable. the 7-1/4 isn't a time bomb unless you want to break traction, do burn outs, spin tires etc... especially if you have a 3.23:1 unit,, a 2.76:1 or 2.93:1 unit is probably more likely to break because its harder to turn the wheels.,,there are no "hop-ups" that I know of. keep it lubed. Soctt Harvey liked using them for Rally Racing in A-bodies because they were lightweight and held up behind four speed slant sixes well. When he went to V8 cars in 66/67, he went to the 8-3/4" ---- Please address private mail -- mail of interest to only one person -- directly to that person. I.e., send parts/car transactions and negotiations as well as other personal messages only to the intended recipient, not to the Clubhouse public address. This practice will protect your privacy, reduce the total volume of mail and fine tune the content signal to Mopar topic. Thanks! '62 to '65 Mopar Clubhouse Discussion Guidelines: http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.org/mletiq.html. This email was sent to: arc.6265@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx . Or send an email to: 1962to1965mopars-unsubscribe@ http://www/?p=