Need more help on 66 Dart

[duaneparks]

Does anyone know of a good transmission/rearend shop in Houston or the surrounding area?



Turns out the rearend in my little 66 Dart needs a rebuild and I have neither the tools nor the experience to do it right.



Thanks!



Duane

 

[tpuig]

From a Mopar lovin' friend of mine in Houston...



"The only one I've used is McAfee Transmission and Axle, 5723 Jensen Drive, 713-695-4502 They did my Pontiac's rear axle several years ago and did a good job. "



Hope this helps.

TP

 

[duaneparks]

From a Mopar lovin' friend of mine in Houston...



"The only one I've used is McAfee Transmission and Axle, 5723 Jensen Drive, 713-695-4502 They did my Pontiac's rear axle several years ago and did a good job. "

I called them today and I believe they're who I will use. Just wanted to get other opinions.



Thanks!!!



Duane

 

[Shrimpy]

Duane, sorry this is late I just saw this thread. Try Pyle Brothers in Baytown Texas. They do lots of trucks and race cars. Have not heard a bad word about them.



Jim

 

[moparguy]

FWIT, I would not even consider for a second spending money to rebuild a 7. 25 rear end, which in all probility is what your Dart has. Shop around for a 8. 75 rear (size of ring gear). If unable to find a 8. 75, consider a later model 8. 25.



Either is much stronger than the little 7 1/4 rear.



Good luck, RJR



PS, you may already know this, if so sorry for the waste of band width, but my recomendations require the purchase of a complete rear end assembly. Best bet is to find a A-body car and buy the complete housing with gears. For piece of mind you could have a shop check it out prior to installation.

 

[duaneparks]

FWIT, I would not even consider for a second spending money to rebuild a 7. 25 rear end, which in all probility is what your Dart has. Shop around for a 8. 75 rear (size of ring gear). If unable to find a 8. 75, consider a later model 8. 25.



Either is much stronger than the little 7 1/4 rear.



Good luck, RJR

QUOTE]



I would really like to go with the beefier rearend and am exploring options right now. If I can find a useable 8. 25 or 8. 75 that would be my preference, or even a D60, but it would more than likely need to be narrowed.



It all boils down to cost right now since I'd like to get the car driveable first then decide if I want to do a drivetrain swap to a 360/727 in the future or simply keep it as original as possible.



Duane

 

[duaneparks]

Duane, sorry this is late I just saw this thread. Try Pyle Brothers in Baytown Texas. They do lots of trucks and race cars. Have not heard a bad word about them.



Jim

I called Pyle Brothers and liked what they had to say... I really just need to decide WHAT I'm going to do with this Dart...



I exchanged an email with another list member who is going to check and see if he has anything he may be willing to sell. Holding off doing anything until I hear back from him on that too.



Duane

 

[Hohn]

FWIT, I would not even consider for a second spending money to rebuild a 7. 25 rear end, which in all probility is what your Dart has. Shop around for a 8. 75 rear (size of ring gear). If unable to find a 8. 75, consider a later model 8. 25.

Either is much stronger than the little 7 1/4 rear.

Good luck, RJR

PS, you may already know this, if so sorry for the waste of band width, but my recomendations require the purchase of a complete rear end assembly. Best bet is to find a A-body car and buy the complete housing with gears. For piece of mind you could have a shop check it out prior to installation.

Agreed. Unless you MUST have the originality, rebuilding that tiny rear is a waste of $$ imho. Especially when other, better rearends are so cheap and easy to swap in.

Try to find a late (-489 casting) 8 3/4 as they have a lot of gear ratios available. Have fun with the crush sleeve!

Justin

 

[jrobinson2]

The wheel bolt circle is different on the early A body cars, might want to change the front to the larger circle at the same time, it makes things a little more complicated but is a much better setup.



Jared

 

[duaneparks]

I've looked into enlarging the bolt pattern both front and rear, and will do so if I go with a beefier rearend. Thanks everyone for the info. I am searching for an 8. 25 or an 8. 75 that I can use, but if I don't find one here pretty quick, think I'm going to try to rebuild the 7. 25 for now but continue searching.



Thanks guys!



Duane

 

[moparguy]

Duane, you likely already know this, but your Dart's axles have left hand wheel threads on left side of the car, rights on the passanger side. Unless they've been changed on the drivers side. Back in the day, many wheel studs were twisted off by the unknowing or just ingorant station jockeys.

 

[duaneparks]

Reverse threads... yep it's got them. I will warn anyone who is going to lay a wrench on the wheels or driveline about that. Thanks for the heads up!



Duane