DANA 44 still exist??
07-22-2003, 04:54 AM
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DANA 44 still exist?? I don't have problems with my Dif. yet but i'm sure I will one day. Everybody talks about Ford (I hate that word)9 inch or 12 bolt Chevy. In the 80's I had an 87 IROC Z with a DANA 44 rear end. Do they still exist?? Any leads? 
07-22-2003, 09:33 AM
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Re: DANA 44 still exist?? your best bet for a D44 (excellent choice by the way) would be to locate a used one from a third gen and have the axle tubes lengthened to fit your fourth gen. The problem will be finding one. Your other choice would be to just find a D44 and transfer your brackets to it, get the axle length taken care of and cob some type of TA mount.
07-22-2003, 02:24 PM
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Re: DANA 44 still exist?? Well if I remember correctly its a 8.5 in dif. that was offered as a replacement for the weak 3rd Gen. Camaros (82-91). Quite capable of handling in excess of 500 rwhp. On my IROC Z I ran a forced induction B&M blower with an estimated 420 rwhp with no problem. They were a direct bolt in. 
07-22-2003, 02:30 PM
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Re: DANA 44 still exist?? The Dana 44 was the factory 3rd gen rear in the 1989 Turbo T/A Pace car. Summit racing had a "blow out" on them for like $659.00 about 5 years ago (by the time I called, they were gone). I've not seen one since. But if you are going "bone yard shopping", you must find an '89 pace car with the 3.8 liter turbo to get the rear (if it is still there).
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07-23-2003, 07:12 AM
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Re: DANA 44 still exist?? You'll need abs and possibly traction control "parts" added to the rear. This makes it pretty much out of the question as a 4th gen swap. That, and the fact that I doubt you'll ever find one of the rears. Unless someone starts making a conversion (with jeep axles or something), I don't expect to be running a dana anytime soon. And, since the 8.8 swap is getting started, I suspect that will eliminate anyone from starting on a dana swap. Just my thoughts.
07-23-2003, 10:25 AM
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Re: DANA 44 still exist??
The Dana 44 was the factory 3rd gen rear in the 1989 Turbo T/A Pace car. Summit racing had a "blow out" on them for like $659.00 about 5 years ago (by the time I called, they were gone). I've not seen one since. But if you are going "bone yard shopping", you must find an '89 pace car with the 3.8 liter turbo to get the rear (if it is still there).
07-25-2003, 09:25 AM
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Re: DANA 44 still exist??
The Dana 44 was the factory 3rd gen rear in the 1989 Turbo T/A Pace car. Summit racing had a "blow out" on them for like $659.00 about 5 years ago (by the time I called, they were gone). I've not seen one since. But if you are going "bone yard shopping", you must find an '89 pace car with the 3.8 liter turbo to get the rear (if it is still there).
I have a Dana 44 in my car, pretty sure the ring gear is 8.5 and my axles are 30 spline. We'll see how much power it can take through my twin turbo sbc.
Probably what will help make it live is i'm not going to use a transbrake.
As for putting one in your 4thgen, the only problem you are going to have is the backing plate issue for the brakes and also there will be no ABS or Traction control.
In all honestly, i planned on getting a 8.8 setup from that guy Craig @ Extreme Chassis i believe because you can get one setup for about $1600. A good dana 44 can run you very close to that if the seller knows what he has. Only reason i didn't go with the 8.8 is because i got the dana @ a very fair price
edit:
you are also going to have to run wheel adaptors to run your stock rims since each side is about 2" shorter. BUT the good thing about that is that now you can run rims with less backspacing
07-26-2003, 12:05 AM
#16
Re: DANA 44 still exist??
The cars were fitted with brakes from the 1LE showroom stock package, and also received a Dana 44-based rear axle assembly
I noticed that it did say "Dana 44 based". I never caught that before. I thought it was a true dana in that car, but it appears that I am (or very well may be) incorrect. I never thought of the 9 bolt as "Dana 44 based", but I guess it could be. Interesting....
07-26-2003, 02:31 PM
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Re: DANA 44 still exist?? head over to www.turbobuick.com and ask the turbo transam guys and ask them if you really want to get to the bottom of it
07-27-2003, 01:23 PM
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Re: DANA 44 still exist?? Trackbird...you too. I called Summit when I seen the clearance in their thin brochure...by the time I called they were all gone. I would've bought 2-3 if I could have. Excellant choice the Dana 44 is, but good luck finding one.
08-01-2003, 03:49 PM
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Re: DANA 44 still exist?? You can try talking to this guy Richard Pryor.. He's active in the CamaroMustangChallenge community and builds alot of roadrace cars..
I've asked him about it, and this is what he told me:
"the Dana 44 is much lighter than the 9" and has a better pinion angle...cost is around $3000..."
Ouch.. unless you really care for the weight, might as well go for a 12 or 9"
I've asked him about it, and this is what he told me:
"the Dana 44 is much lighter than the 9" and has a better pinion angle...cost is around $3000..."
Ouch.. unless you really care for the weight, might as well go for a 12 or 9"
