I am using a Chevy 454/T400 in the next "Modified" project. Will a Ford 8" rear end hold up with this motor in such a light weight car? Fred
Its my understanding that an 8" ford rear is good up to like 300 or 400 horespower. How much stomp is going to come out of that 454?
it'll hold up find as long as you aren't going to run super sticky, massively wide slicks on the rear. With the light weight, you'll just go up in smoke. As long as you're spinning, the rear end won't care about the horsepower. It's the bite that might cause you problems.
The 8" is an underrated rear - it's stronger than a 10-bolt by a reasonable amount. It should do fine as long as you're not holeshotting w/sticky tires - in a lightweight car, you'll do more smoke & tire damage...
I've known a lot of Mustang guys that have killed the 8", even with a mild 289. You can run it, but don't be surprised if it grenades after a while. You'll probably snap a shaft, or munch the spider gears. When it does, don't bother fixing it. Pick up a 9" out of a 70's vehicle that is a close fit for your car, or have a housing made. Find one out of a bigger car, and you'll get the 31 spline setup at the same time. There's so much aftermarket for the 9", it's mind boggling. If you need/want a high zoot housing, look at Sunray, Diamond or Currie. They can all 3 make a housing that will bolt into your car like it was meant to come with it. those manufacturers are listed in order of preference.
Don't do it. If you can't find a nine-inch for 150 bucks, keep looking. There's tons of them out there. Dave http://www.roadsters.com/
if you're looking for grenade proof, get an early 70's dana 60 car rear. Might as well make sure it's never gonna break
Again, how hard are you going to run that thing? I've had an 8" behind my 289 for several years now. The only problem I've had with it is that it recently lost a pinion seal....but its 42 years old, so that is to be expected. Granted the 289 isn't pumping out the power of a 454..... but hell, is that a dedicated drag strip terror? If it is, then go with the 9". If its not, I'd think an 8" would do you well. Just my opinion. My 8" has taken 7 years of personal abuse from two different engines. Its the original rearend and its still holding up fine....
The biggest problem with the 8" or a 10 bolt for that matter is launching without loading the rear end. The shock of just jumping on it will lunch any rear even the beloved 9". A properly set up 8 is fine...
lakesmod... I'm running a 8" rear out of a maverick in my old A model with a tunnel rammed 289 big obnoxious cam, blah blah yada yada, that makes decent power and it hooks up pretty hard and I've never (knock on wood) had a ounce of trouble out of it, and i stand on her quite often. I guess its one of those kinda things... ask 10 people and get 10 opinions.
True, a big enough launch w/ enough traction & power will kill any rear end, but the 8" & 9" are stronger in this regard because of their third pinion bearing that helps limit deflection during shock loading. That's why an 8" is stronger than a 10-bolt any day. Yeah, I've seen 8" killed with 289, I've also seen 9" killed with V6, so as zman says, you can kill anything under the right circumstances. With a 454, I would err toward the 9", but if this is a lightweight street car w/street tires, I think an 8" will live just fine behind it...
If your car is just for the street, the 8'' you can get away with...if you break that on the street, then what ever you were doing should have been done at the dragstrip, if its going to be a street/strip car then by all means I would go with a 9'' or an old 57-64 Pontiac rearend, if its dedicated strictly drag, then bigger is better......really how fast should you be driving on the street anyways, their are alot of cars out their that have big blocks even big bad Hemi's in them, that have the look but can not walk the walk....the time slip at the dragstrip does not lie, but is the reality............question is , to pose or not to pose...you need to build it for your intentive purpose and even think ahead, you may want to race it down the line or not.....Littleman....I forgot to add...budget can dictate what you use alot, so you can use the 8'' to get you going and when you score a deal later on a 9'' swap it out later....
I will add agreement with mostof the opinions here. 8-inch can survive on street tires, will break with slicks and/or good traction behind a 454's torque. It may live for a while but will eventually give problems. The axles will not break, the 8-inch 28 spline axles are same as 9-inch 28 spline axles. It is the third member that will break.
I have a 64 fairlane with the stock 8'' in it ,It doe's have a Currie, center with limited slip and 3.55..351W with about 400H.P.& toploader..15in.wheels.. at the top of second gear while really getin it..it starts to single wing...my two cents...
Haha! That's why they're called limited slip (Traction-Lok)! If you need reliable traction at both wheels, get a locker-type (Detroit, ARB, etc.) The T-Lok (and GM/MOPAR counterparts) are good when new, but eventually peter out...
I'm running a 454/400 turbo with a Ford 8" in my coupe. I've done a few hard launches and it's held up without any problems. It was a used 8" when I installed it and the only thing I did before installation was install new axle seals. I'd say go ahead and use it.
TINGLER right they can handle about 300 to 400 HP. after that your asking for trouble. The 9 inch is a better choice. I raced alot of fords and I broke alot of 8 incher.
The funny thing is, most 9" rears use the SAME spiders and 28 spline axles as the 8". If you ever popped an axle on an 8", chances are you would have done the same with most common 9-inchers. The difference is, when you get to that level of power, the 9" offers some options to upgrade some crucial areas for more strength, like 31 spline axles.
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