hey, just a quick question. ive got a bird with an L98 under the hood, 700r4, and 3.23 posi 10 bolt. plans are to do heads, and cam to the 350, when it blows up a few years down the road, replace with a 383. street car, street tires, never seen the track. i still want to have fun with the car, though. is a 9" or 12 bolt worth it? or should i just build a stronger 10 bolt? i sont want to worry about blowing it up if i ever do launch the thing and it hooks, car will never be more then 450 horsies at the wheels.

with less than 450 hp and a similar tq i personally would build the stock one up. The 12 bolt and 9" rears are very pricey and i read a thread on here once about beefing up the stock rear but i don't remember seeing a number for max power it can handle after the mods.

found it: https://www.thirdgen.org/beefinguprear

I ran a beefed up 10 bolt into the 11's with no problems at over 500 HP however by the time you're done beefing it up, you still have a tiny ring and pinion which will always be the weak link.

When I finally installed a transmission with a transbrake, I also installed a 9" under the car.

To beef up a 10 bolt properly, it could cost you up to $1000. For about $1000 you can buy a direct bolt in 9" housing with axles. Just add your own center section and brakes. A complete assembly will be closer to $2500 depending what options you get.

thanks guys, yeah ill probably just build up the 10 bolt in time, being that its not a race car, and will never have a transbrake on it, and i highly doubt ill have slicks. and i dont think ill be at 500hp into the 11's, so its probly a better option for me. i appreciate your advice a lot

I wanted to know the same thing I will be running a 383sbc that makes 440hp and whant a 150hp shot on that. I know i ask a lot but want a stock look.

I have a stock gm 10 bolt.
My best is 11.53 @ 117.

I welded the axle tubes and have a diff cover.
I have 3.73's

The gm 10 bolts dont' get enough credit. If you set the gears properly, you'll be fine.

If you are not running slicks, the 10bolt will be fine.

I am now in the same boat. New motor is 400+ lb/ft tq, the trans has been upgraded, 3" driveshaft....so now the axle is the weakest link. Maybe upgrading the stock unit is the way to go...stupid thinking...wish it was a cut and dry decision.

i broke 4 ten bolts and 1 nine bolt, and decided it wasn't worth it anymore and bought a moser 9". Besides a rear girdle I wouldn't put a dime into a 10 bolt and just start saving for a 9" swap if you need it. No reason to spend $1000 on a ten bolt to still have it be weak.

ditto, two exploded 7.5s to my credit...

Upgrade to SOMETHING, my choice is a DANA (44 or 60) but everyone has an opinion.

There is a GOOD reason that the TTA and the Firehawk used a 44 instead of the 7.5...

So the 3gen TTA and the FIREHAWK had dana 44's I would love to get my hands on one of those.


Ok I found it and am thinking about getting a DANA 44 but anyone know how much power it handles?

I dont know about dana rear ends but I 4wheel alot and in a chevy truck a dana 44 aint any stronger than a chevy 10 bolt, actually they are about the same...I swapped in a dana 60 and a 14bolt FF rear in my 4x4 rig. If I was going to do my rear end in my TA I would go ford 9" all day long and never look back.

LB9GTA, are you running slicks with that rear? i ask b/c a thread on here shows an 800 dollar setup on how to build a stronger 10 bolt, but with the gears, it will be closer to 1000. i think 373s are the best all around gear in a tranny w/overdrive.how much power does the engine make? and if you drive on the highway, how is it with the 373's?

here's my opinion, you drag and beat the crap out of your car with slick with over 400ft/lbs/tq then get a different rear end. If not stick with a 10 bolt and beef it up. 9" rears are expensive and 12 bolts eat power. I'm a street driver so a 9" or 12 is just not really needed if i had a 383.

The difference here being that your 10 bolt is an 8.5" ring gear model and ours are the 7.5...

As a veteran 4 wheeler myself, I have also run the 60/14 (full floater) combo with great results. We are talking apples and oranges here.

A ford 9" isn't the end all-beat all of rear ends. It's nice if you're gonna pull the pumpkin alot...

If there were an 8.5 direct bolt in axle, that's all we would need. A Dana 44 is a smidge better than that.

A Dana 60 is seriously better and the guys that run them here report no adverse affects due to weight. Some actually like the extra unsprung weight back there.

10 bolt with street tires, automatic, stock stall? no problem
10 bolt with slicks, automatic, stock stall? Should be ok
10 bolt with slicks, automatic, bigger stall? probably not
10 bolt with slicks, manual trans? NOOO

This is my experience. i broke three sets of axles, and one pinion gear in a 10 bolt. hope this helps.

I had a built 350 making about 375 HP, the T5 and 7.5 with 2.73s have lived through 5k clutch dumps @ the track with slicks for some reason. I think i have angels watching out for me, i have a 383 now and they are holding fine this far on the street, i have killed a 02 firehawk the other day so i think i am pushing atleast over 350 RWHP. I hope for 400 RWHP, i dont think i should be running so good for a high *** gear. But, i have a T56 that is going in and i am scoring a DANA 44 for 400$!!!!

All TTA's came with a 9 bolt with 3:27's

True. It was only the Firehawks that came with the D44.

If you're staying stock, and on a budget, build up a ten bolt. If you get a good starter, it shouldn't need much more than a little maintenance and it's good to go. Don't dump funds into a lost cause. GM made plenty of 10 bolts for 82-02, keep looking. Good things to look for:
89+ had PBR disc brakes, which actually work, unlike the Delco Moraine iron caliper brakes.
90+ became the 7.75" rearend, and got an upgraded spline count and IIRC, a slightly better posi.
98+ have a Zexel Torsen posi, which is pretty sweet, and can be swapped into any other 7.5" or 7.75" 10 bolt, as long as your axle spline count is okay.

If you have a larger budget, and are even contemplating a 12 bolt or a 9", get a strange Dana 60. Me and Stephen 87 have talked about this before, and he believes the 9" is a better deal due to 20# less weight, and I think the D60 is better because it has less gear leeching (the 9"s pinion gear contacts the ring gear at a higher point, which causes it to leech more power, while the D60's pinion contacts the ring at a lower location, making it easier to turn) and the weight is right over your rear tires for traction.

Either one should last you longer than the body of your car, though, and would be a good choice in the long run. A major benefit of the 9" is that removable third member and quick gear ratio changing, which very few rears have (I do believe there is at least one other rear other than the 9"...)

bassaxwards there bud, a 9" eats more power than a 12-bolt. A 12-bolt is about 12% loss to the wheels, a Dana 60 is around 15%, a 9" is around 18%. The 9" has a very low pinion height in relation to the ring gear, thus it has a higher helix angle, thus requireing more power to turn. A factory dana 60 is very heavy, but the new strange S60 is much lighter. A decent 12-bolt will support a car well into the 8's and is the lightest and easiest to turn of the three.

A "built" 7.5 10-bolt will support a car into the 10's IF you go no lower(numerically higher) than a 3.73 rear gear. Any lower has too small of a pinion gear, thus tolerating less flex, but creating more flex, thus it is the death of itself. You need a good axles, a decent carrier, good gears with proper set-up and a girdle cover. Fully welded axles tubes are also a must. - I ran solidly into the 11's on my 7.5" 10-bolt with 3.73 gears and a 5-speed, and it took 5k+ clutch drop doing so, but on 17" drag radials, thus controlled spin, not hooked. 1.66-1.69 short times.

I need to go to about a 4.56 gear, so mine is coming out and I will have a custom 8.8 ford when I get my new chassis done.

9" eats the most at like, 12%, 12 bolt and the 10 bolt is about 7-8%, and the S60 is 5%, from what I've read

Yes, I use BFG drag radials. Dont' spend a whole lot on a 10bolt.
The 3.73's on the highway at 110kph is about 2300-2500.
I have a 3200-3500 stall.
Once my diff blows, I'm going with a moser 12 bolt or a ford 9", whichever is cheaper at the time.

yeah, different sources have different numbers, but I've heard that range myself as well. The actual numbers are also dependent on the gear ratio used. The S60 is supposedly less drop than a stock 60 because of the lighter internals. Being the largest ring gear of the bunch, it should eat the least power as the pinion would have more leverage for a given gear ratio.