krisner89

Hi all. Trying to get my camaro engine makeover done for this spring. Ill be running a 400-450 hp 350. 600hp all together with nitrous. th350 short tail with B&M th350 conversion bracket. 10-bolt 7.5 ring gear(stock) with 4.10 auburn posi. Getting frame ties so that's covered. I'm just trying to make sure rest of car will handle it. Have several things Im not sure about.

1. Will that B&M torque arm bracket handle that kind of power. Does not seem very strong when I installed it. (I have a edlebrock torque arm)

2.Rear end is a problem. Its got the gear I need. Don't know about strength. Will a TA housing cover help or should I scrap the whole thing. Don't have $2,000+ to dump into a better rear end. Getting 10-inch wide drag radials

3.Was looking at hawksthirdgen extreme duty driveshaft. What u-joint size is on a stock rear. Is it a 1350.

Any other weak spots I missed or other routes I should take let me know.

big gear head

Run that rear end until you break it, which you probably will pretty quickly. Then spend the money on a better one. You don't have much choice but to spend the money on a better rear end. The stock u joint is a 3R, not a 1310, 1330 or 1350.

Night rider327

iTrader: (13)

There is a lot of things you need to address. Been there, done that with my 1988 camaro.

Your rear end will break for sure, but not until you get good traction. I broke 2 before I went to the ford 9" rear.

Do not waste money on the 7.5/7.625" rear end. I made that mistake. I added a power trax lock rite locker, new bearings, seals, yukon axles, TA alum. cover, etc. The rear still broke once I started hooking. It last 4 years or so with the car just spinning, pulling 1.9 to 2.2 60' times.

Got suspension took care of and rear end didn't last long once I started hitting 1.6's 60' times.

The B&M torque arm plate is fine, but your torque arm leaves alot on the table. The edelbrock one is not the greatest. I run the saddle mounted jegster adjustable short TQ arm on mine.

I really do recommend a better adjustable torque arm thats crossmember or saddle mounted. They just work better to plant the tires, plus you can adjust the pinion angle

You need a roll bar/cage. You will need at least a 8 point roll bar to be track legal with that kinda power. I have a S&W 10 point cage with swing out door bars in mine.

You need suspension work. Add LCA brackets to rear end, adjustable LCAs, adjustable pandhard, adjustable shocks with out those items your just gonna spin the tires. You can get away with out the adjustable ones but to me for the price diff, they are well worth it to fine tune your suspension.

I also use air lift drag bags in my rear springs.

Stock U joint size is 3R or 3RN as some calls it. It's a pretty decent size U joint.
I ran 1330 up front (th-400) conversion U joint to 3R driveshaft and 3R rear joint for years. No prob. Just put in good U joints. I use solid body neapco brute force U joints and have never broke 1.

krisner89

ok thanks guys. Ill get good u-joints (mine are probly 30+ years old) and run it as is without drag radials and nitrous for this spring. Start saving up for a new rear

Looking at spohn's options. Any good or bad things on there rears? 8.8, 9-inch, 12-bolt. Any others reputable company's?

big gear head

Mark Williams makes a very good 12 bolt rear end for the 3rd gen. Also the Strange S60 is very strong and not as expensive as some of the others.

Night rider327

iTrader: (13)

Like BHG pointed out. MW, and strange are both great.

For me the ford 9" had more advantages over the 12 bolt or S60.

The way I done it cheaper was buy ordering the Moser ford 9" bolt in housing and axle package, then buying my third member elsewhere.

The housing/axles/bearings, studs was $1090 shipped.
I bought my third member from valley springs custom diff for $735 and that was an iron case third member, new motive gear set and a used nascar take out locker installed.

cosmick

3R is also called the Saginaw 44. Another option is the Ford 8.8", as I'm doing, and several others have done. Just not the Explorer version. The 31-spline aspect is appealing, but the extra mass is insane. Plus the width is wrong, the offset is a problem, et cetera. I chose one from a '99-'04 Mustang GT for the overall width. And I do have the Explorer version swapped under my S-10.
Once you change to 31-spline and get a stronger diff than the Explorer 31-spline, the thing is good to 600 HP on drag slicks, in a 3500# car, with no other upgrades needed. Still cheaper than a 9-inch, and similar strength. Finding the 4.10:1 gears is easy, most any 4x4 F150 from the mid '90s should have them, early Explorers had them.
If you go this route, get the Mustang housing, then get the 4.10:1 gears, then swap them in before buying the thing with no carrier. Take the Mustang shafts partly for ordering 31-spline with the GM pattern, and partly because those Mustang disc brakes should prove adequate, just get new rotors redrilled, or drill yourself, if you have a drillpress. I tried redrilling my Explorer axles and drums by hand, it isn't as easy as it should be.