Hi everyone, ive been searching for a bit and reading. I have a 84 z28, im rebuilding a 355 to put into the car. Its going to be strip only. I have a 79 bronco with a 9" in it. Id like to take this read end and put in the car, perhaps with ladder bars to eliminate the torque arm. What do you all suggest? I dont think im going to backhalf the car, more than i want to get into atm. This will be my first drag car, any suggestions would be great. This will mostly be raced on 1/8 mile track. THanks in advance.

I forgot to add, the car has a Th350 in it right now. I have a bracket on the tailshaft of the trans that the torque arm mounts to.

 

I would say keep the torque arm, and not to put ladder bars on it. for that power level, and much higher, the torque arm works well, I would price that carefully between rebuilding the rear you have( narrowing if needed, new axles, decent brakes etc.) and possibly finding a used bolt in, or maybe even new. Also you may look for a 12bolt as that should go where you will be at pretty easily (I run a 12bolt ring and pinion and usually 60 foot in the 1.2's sometimes I even trip the 60' lights with the front tires lol. you can make third gen's hook in a car wash with the torque arm, hell i tried to do a bunout at the track last night and set the line lock and hit the gas, it pulled the front wheels up off the ground lol

 

Hmm the rear thats in there now could hold up to launching with slicks? As far as a twelve bolt goes, what can i find those in, im not very familiar with them. Is the 12 bolt swap easier than the 9" or something?

 

It depends on what your long range plans are for this car. If you're planing on racing quite a bit. Spend your money wisely. Rember when you decide to back half it later, it will be more expensive, and the money you through at it now will be gone. Used race parts don't bring much. Most of us start out wanting 400hp, then you get hooked, and the money just seems to disappear. Every time I've up graded, I've had a hard time selling my used stuff, even when there's nothing wrong with it. Stock 9" fords won't handle anymore hp than a stock 8.5 10 bolt. Maybe a little less. But the parts are easier and cheaper to get, and the ratios are great. Might be wiser to find a back half car to start with. Would defiantly be cheaper in the long run.

 

unless your a bracket racer, get a bolt in 12 bolt or 9" from moser or strange for the car that can be used with the factory suspension setup. i would not do a ladder bar setup personally, since its a ton of work and it wont be all that much cheaper in the long run, even if you get a great deal on all the ladder bar stuff used. if your a bracket racer, go ahead and back half the car, do a 4-link, and run 33x15 tires or whatever is the hugest thing you can find.
otherwise, just save up and buy a GOOD rear thats ready to rock with 33-35 spline axles and a spool.

 

FWIW, I am still running the stock rearend and cutting 1.685 short times, and pulling the left front, however I also have the car lightened up to where at the starting line it weighs 2900. The light weight will help make the rear last for a while, but even I know that the life expectancy of this rear is going to be short, so I have already started gathering parts to due a 9" swap. If you really want to stick with the stock rear there is a thread about how to beef it up to make it last longer. If you really want to go the ladder bar route though check out Stephen's web site to see the pics of his car with the bars before he tubbed it.

 

Ok well i had a thought. Any idea how much i could sell one of these 9 inch rear ends for. Jegs has the bolt in 9" kit for 1500 bucks. It uses the torque are. Would that setup be good for dragracing?

 

try posting it on craigslist, might look there or ebay to get a going price for the other rear. A 12 bolt is more efficient than a 9" but harder to swap gears so you have to be sure of your gear choice. a 12 bolt is limited on axle choices too, due to bearing size, but even 30 spline axles will take quite a bit of power