I ran and still (at least temporarily)run a DANA 36 in my 1985 vette with a 383 that makes about 475 flywheel hp BEFORE I hit the nitrous....if I don,t use slicks and only street tires the traction (or lack of it) acts like a fuze that tends to prevent the full torque loads from impacting the rear suspension, but I don,t do hard launches either, I baby the car off the line and play catch-up in the mid and far track, the few times Ive run slicks Ive twisted off u-joints and half shafts rather quickly and Im sure the rear is marginal,but the dana 36 has held up so far, but even the dana 44 is MARGINAL (but obviously better) in my opinion.
In my big block 1968 vette I destroyed the stock rear the first time I used slicks, I installed a custom fitted dana 60 live axle and tubbed the rear, adding a 4 link suspension on that car, it cost me a small fortune but with a 13.7:1 cpr 496 BBC I didn,t really have a choice.
Im on a pension so moneys darn tight but eventually Ill install a similar engine and a 4L80E trans in my 1985 vette and a similar rear suspension
you might find HOOVERS MODS INTERESTING
http://www.myphotosonline.biz/albums/ph ... FInstalled
http://www.strangeengineering.net/websi ... stallation
but keep in mind hes using a ford 9" which is lighter in weight and lower in strength than a dana 60
the dodge viper uses a dana 44 with its v10, so its obvious its can be built to handle abuse,
if your willing to dump a pile of money into, the parts and machining and heat treating you can build a nice solid dana 44 but once you start looking at the cost vs strength , it becomes rather obvious that theres other routes you can look into, if your car is used mostly for drag racing and street use where a standard live rear axle will work, as an option.
all you need to do is place a dana 60 rear gears, and axle and differential housing, next to a dana 44 to see its basically a waste of time building a dana 44 if a dana 60 can be used , due to the very obvious differance in component sizesdana 44 /vs dana 60 u-joints (most all the other parts are at a similar ratio in size) example the 10 bolt ring gears 8.5" vs 9.75" for the dana 60
DANA 36 vs DANA 44
The C-4 Dana 36 was the only axle available in 1984 Corvettes. In 1985, Chevrolet brought out the Dana 44 which was similar to the 80-82 Corvette axle, but not interchangeable. The Dana 44 axle is considerably stronger, but not indestructible. The Dana 36 and the Dana 44 (44's in some autos and all manuals) axles were used through 1996.
http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/cc ... to_01.html
The Dana 44 is much larger than the D36. The 44 has a larger, "beefier" carrier/components to handle larger (lower) ring and pinions, and increased torque.
603967 GM 44 REAR 1980 CORVETTE
605172 GM 36 REAR 1984 CORVETTE
605180 GM 36 REAR 1984 CORVETTE
605220 GM 44 REAR 1985-87 CORVETTE
605239 GM 36 REAR 1984-86 CORVETTE
605260 GM 36 REAR 1985-87 CORVETTE
605321 GM 36 REAR 1988-90 CORVETTE
605322 GM 44 REAR 1989 1/2-90 CORVETTE
605365 GM 44 REAR 1988-89 CORVETTE
605417 GM 44 REAR 1990-90 1/2 CORVETTE
605490 GM 36 REAR 1990 1/2-96 1/2 CORVETTE
605491 GM 44 REAR 1990-96 1/2 CORVETTE
605492 GM 44 REAR 1990 1/2 CORVETTE
http://www.mirrockcorvette.com/corvette-parts-guide-wheels.html
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...nk-to-some-c4-corvette-wheel-tech-info.12099/
Look at the size difference, especially at the case above the yokes:
Dana 36
Dana 44
And visit
ikerds.com
Who were kind enough to supply the pics...
another option
http://www.azzatochips.com/C4_Suspensions.html
a good visual example of why you might want to upgrade the drive train in a corvette before installing that killer 700 hp plus stroker engine
I had a 1969 camaro with a stock 12 bolt rear that I twisted into scrap behind a 13.7:1 compression 496 big block with crower stack injection, and a tubed rear with slicks, back in the 1970s, I spent what at the time was a huge amount of cash on having it rebuilt with new axles bearings brakes and posi, new gears etc. it lasted about a year, I found a dana 60 with aftermarket axles, gears and bearings for sale locally and purchased it from a guy that had wrecked his hemi cuda, I changed the mount brackets for the springs and drive shaft and raced the car for 5 more years with zero issues and the guy I sold the camaro too had raced it for 20 plus more years without breaking anything.
now as far as I'm concerned thats proof that the dana 60 is a stronger platform than the 12 bolt differential.
http://www.strangeengineering.net/m...rac-lock-35-s-t-axles-leaf-spring-mounts.html
when it came time to put a stronger rear differential in my 1968 corvette I had several far more knowledgeable older friends help me fabricate a 4 link rear suspension and find and modify a similar DANA 60 rear for that car and I raced that with ZERO problems for several years
In my big block 1968 vette I destroyed the stock rear the first time I used slicks, I installed a custom fitted dana 60 live axle and tubbed the rear, adding a 4 link suspension on that car, it cost me a small fortune but with a 13.7:1 cpr 496 BBC I didn,t really have a choice.
Im on a pension so moneys darn tight but eventually Ill install a similar engine and a 4L80E trans in my 1985 vette and a similar rear suspension
you might find HOOVERS MODS INTERESTING
http://www.myphotosonline.biz/albums/ph ... FInstalled
http://www.strangeengineering.net/websi ... stallation
but keep in mind hes using a ford 9" which is lighter in weight and lower in strength than a dana 60
the dodge viper uses a dana 44 with its v10, so its obvious its can be built to handle abuse,
if your willing to dump a pile of money into, the parts and machining and heat treating you can build a nice solid dana 44 but once you start looking at the cost vs strength , it becomes rather obvious that theres other routes you can look into, if your car is used mostly for drag racing and street use where a standard live rear axle will work, as an option.
all you need to do is place a dana 60 rear gears, and axle and differential housing, next to a dana 44 to see its basically a waste of time building a dana 44 if a dana 60 can be used , due to the very obvious differance in component sizesdana 44 /vs dana 60 u-joints (most all the other parts are at a similar ratio in size) example the 10 bolt ring gears 8.5" vs 9.75" for the dana 60
DANA 36 vs DANA 44
The C-4 Dana 36 was the only axle available in 1984 Corvettes. In 1985, Chevrolet brought out the Dana 44 which was similar to the 80-82 Corvette axle, but not interchangeable. The Dana 44 axle is considerably stronger, but not indestructible. The Dana 36 and the Dana 44 (44's in some autos and all manuals) axles were used through 1996.
http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/cc ... to_01.html
The Dana 44 is much larger than the D36. The 44 has a larger, "beefier" carrier/components to handle larger (lower) ring and pinions, and increased torque.
603967 GM 44 REAR 1980 CORVETTE
605172 GM 36 REAR 1984 CORVETTE
605180 GM 36 REAR 1984 CORVETTE
605220 GM 44 REAR 1985-87 CORVETTE
605239 GM 36 REAR 1984-86 CORVETTE
605260 GM 36 REAR 1985-87 CORVETTE
605321 GM 36 REAR 1988-90 CORVETTE
605322 GM 44 REAR 1989 1/2-90 CORVETTE
605365 GM 44 REAR 1988-89 CORVETTE
605417 GM 44 REAR 1990-90 1/2 CORVETTE
605490 GM 36 REAR 1990 1/2-96 1/2 CORVETTE
605491 GM 44 REAR 1990-96 1/2 CORVETTE
605492 GM 44 REAR 1990 1/2 CORVETTE
http://www.mirrockcorvette.com/corvette-parts-guide-wheels.html
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...nk-to-some-c4-corvette-wheel-tech-info.12099/
Look at the size difference, especially at the case above the yokes:
Dana 36
Dana 44
And visit
ikerds.com
Who were kind enough to supply the pics...
another option
http://www.azzatochips.com/C4_Suspensions.html
a good visual example of why you might want to upgrade the drive train in a corvette before installing that killer 700 hp plus stroker engine
I had a 1969 camaro with a stock 12 bolt rear that I twisted into scrap behind a 13.7:1 compression 496 big block with crower stack injection, and a tubed rear with slicks, back in the 1970s, I spent what at the time was a huge amount of cash on having it rebuilt with new axles bearings brakes and posi, new gears etc. it lasted about a year, I found a dana 60 with aftermarket axles, gears and bearings for sale locally and purchased it from a guy that had wrecked his hemi cuda, I changed the mount brackets for the springs and drive shaft and raced the car for 5 more years with zero issues and the guy I sold the camaro too had raced it for 20 plus more years without breaking anything.
now as far as I'm concerned thats proof that the dana 60 is a stronger platform than the 12 bolt differential.
http://www.strangeengineering.net/m...rac-lock-35-s-t-axles-leaf-spring-mounts.html
when it came time to put a stronger rear differential in my 1968 corvette I had several far more knowledgeable older friends help me fabricate a 4 link rear suspension and find and modify a similar DANA 60 rear for that car and I raced that with ZERO problems for several years
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