purplehazeRS91

Im looking to swap the axle for something stronger, being on the otherside of the pond to most u guys means im pretty much limited to what happens to pop up. Spotted a 9.25" chrysler axle and wonder assuming its the right length its going to fit up to the driveshaft, pinion angles etc? Any ideas havent seen anyone try this before.....

AlkyIROC

It's no different than trying to swap in an other non third or fourth gen diff. Providing the width is correct, the hardest part is finding some way to attach the torque arm. All the other mounting hardware can be cut off a 10 bolt and welded onto the foreign diff but a torque arm mount can be difficult to fabricate. There's also brakes and wheel bolt pattern that will be different.

A 9-1/4" diff can be very big. Sounds like a truck diff. The popular choice for a Dodge diff is the 8-3/4".

If you feel you have enough power that you need a stronger diff, it can still be cheaper to just buy a bolt in aftermarket diff. By the time you're done fabricating and modifying some other diff, it can cost you a lot more.

big gear head

Lots of modifications and fabrication work involved.

purplehazeRS91

Seems its a c-clip axle and theres no option for eliminators soo il go with a dana 60 from a truck which wont have them. Think it only has 16 spline axles but il swap all that for 30/35 splines and a decent lsd, its 30 years old anyhow. I can get the fabrication done, sure its a challenge but i like that. Spotted a dana 60 for like $75 so id have to be mad not to get it, right?!!

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

not if it cost a couple grand for fab, parts to make it fit, and a rebuild parts to replace and beef up all the 30 year old worn out crap. You would be better off buy a bolt in stranges60.

I really hope your not putting this behind a 305tbi, a little overkill and will make you slower.

purplehazeRS91

Well i can see ur very supportive of aftermarket companies, personally i think most of them are slightly on the expensive side. Even the "wonderbar" for like £50, hmm bit of tube and some scrap metal plus a few inches of weld wont cost me that, no where near. If u have the tools/skill to do it, why waste money for others to do it?! I recon if ur buying a car to race and u let others do most the work for u then u have more money than sense.

big gear head

Be careful when buying a Dana 60. Many of them have spun the left differential bearing and worn into the housing. This requires reparing the housing before it can be used. The truck Dana will also have floating axles, which meas that the housing ends will have to be replaced with car ends of some kind. Custom axles will be a must. Then there is all of the fabrication work to get it in the Camaro. If you enjoy a good challenge then this is for you. I think I'd go with a set of ladder bars or after market triangulated 4 link instead of trying to get the torque arm to work.

purplehazeRS91

Thanks for the advice, wasnt aware of that problem with them. Il take the risk on it, since its probably been in the small islands of uk for ages doing low miles and sat in a field for many a year. Yeah it has floating axles so id have to put car ends on it, probably shorten the tubes as well. Spring perches/control arm brackets wont be much effort to put on, torque arm il make a bracket that bolts to the cover and loops around the front of the pumpkin. Also going to convert it to disc brakes, sure i can find some calipers and plates to go on there. Il be putting alot of consideration into the design and alignment, dont want this to happen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxRX1RqJ1yY

That has to be sooo embarrassing and possibly expensive too. Dont suppose the poor soul is from this board?!

In case anyone else is thinking of using an donor dana 60 here is some info:

http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/t...ild/index.html

big gear head

The ladder bar brackets broke off of that one. I was a DOD aircraft certified welder for 9 1/2 years and I have a habit of looking at other people's welds. I've seen a lot of stuff that shouldn't be allowed to run, and I'm sure that this was the case with the Camaro in that video. The ladder bar brackets were probably just barely stuck to the axle tubes and finally let go. What is really scary is the stuff that is running around on the street. These people are on the same road as my wife and kids, and that bothers me a lot. They are willing to take the chance of killing themselves, but I'm not willing to take the chance of them killing my family.

purplehazeRS91

Ah thats a bugger, love the expression on the guys face, its totally priceless!!
Sounds like u certainly know ur stuff, im only relatively junior in the welding stakes so il probably be getting a shop im friendly with to do the important welds since they have certification. Though i dont know, thicker it is easier is to weld right? Ive a lovely old 400A mig that would do the job a treat.
Well they do say a small amount of knowledege is dangerous, surely vehicles are checked every year? Ive never seen checks carried out at the track i go to, maybe they bother for the classes, hopefully. Though the odd explosion from time to time keeps the audienace captivated! Happens suprisingly frequent when those rotary guys make a few passes! LOL

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

just think about it for a minute, lets take the wonderbar for instance. Sure, its about 2' of tubing and some flat stock. Cut the plates to size, mark and drill holes, weld together, powdercoat. Ok, about 5 bux in materials, 25 or so to powdercoat. thats 30 bux let say, and you already have the welder and supplies. Now what is you time worth? I can guarantee that it will take more than an hour to make it, not to mention bring it to the powder coater and back. I know my time is worth a lot more than 20 bux and hour. Its just not worth making your own.

I understand this is not true with everything, especially if its a custom application. But some things are just so cheap that its not worth you time to even mess with trying to make them. Sure i have everything i need to make a wonderbar, but i would never consider doing it just because of how cheap they really are.

As for the dana 60, what you want to do is A LOT of work, Even if the housing is the exact length that you need, which i can almost guarantee you its not, you still have to swap all the brackets, which requires some skill to locate properly and properly weld on. Then you have to make a torque arm bracket. that is the killer. If the hosing was steel, not so bad, but its cast, which requires special prep and welding procedures to weld on, do it wrong, and the welds will fail and you will end up like the guy in the video you posted.

If you really have to do this, by all mean go for it, i wont stop you. Im just trying to save you some money on the long run.

Im getting the impression you live in the uk, so im sure shipping of a part like this is tough and $$$$. I would talk to this shop you mentioned and see if they will even do the work and what they will charge before you start buying things.

-Phil

purplehazeRS91

Well shipping is very expensive for an axle, and then theres 20% tax on anything over a few peanuts from the states. So for most things its cheaper for me, all i pay is material price, thats all. I dont loose money over time it takes, i work on my car when im not at work?! Do u loose money for making bits for ur car???? Thats like saying why bother to cook, for the time it takes im loosing money, i could just go for a takeaway! Maybe you should think about that...

Anyhow lets not argue, i recon that parts will be way under $1000 for sure, and lets see i think its $2000+ plus shipping plus 20% tax, for aftermarket so yeah its cheaper. Thats mostly since my labour costs are 0, even the chinese cant compete with that!! Il post some pics once its all done

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

im not trying to argue, just trying to help. This topic comes up here a lot, and people just dont realize the kind of work involved. 1k for parts seem kinda optimist, especially once you start looking at custom axles, posi unit, unless you get lucky and the axle has someting useful in it, possible custom housing ends if you cant modify what you have to work with whatever brakes you decide to use.

20% tax, ouch! I guess that can really put a dent in your wallet.

I look forward to pics if this happens, should be an interesting build.

-Phil