CHRRRIS

I'm a bolt-on only car and can't make traction for ****.. Don't want DR's since my Z is my Daily Driver. List of planned upgrades in order goes Built tranny > Rear end > Heads/Cam or Spray.

Granted, it will take a long while before I can get through that list, but I don't have the kind of cash to bust a 10 bolt at a random time then get it back on the road in a timely manner..

It's the same in the Jeep world; you're better off building for strength and then for performance.

Bad Blue WS6

iTrader: (41)

i would also consider new LCA's PH bar, TA,etc with the rear,, do it all and be done with it.

Black FormulaLs1

iTrader: (10)

i have personally blown up 1 set of richmond 3:73's and 1 set of motive 3:73's and 2 auburn pro series differentials...ON 315/35/17 summitomos...please for the love of god atleast get a 12 bolt moser/strange/ an SD60 if you can afford it and wait 5 weeks for them to build it..that way whatever else you do, however much your plans for the car change the rear end wont leave you hangin...

the gears were while the car was bone stock...the diffs were after i did headers and TB....

StuntmanMike

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, I have the same mentality.

Get the heads first, and immediately start saving for the rear.

The stocker could last longer than you think, and for all that time you could be enjoying the extra power from the new heads.

Either that or keep saving, and just do the whole thing all at once.

Just my .02.

squale iii

gears did it....once you change them in the 10 bolt it's doomed

squale iii

Ford 8.8 modded to work on an fbody...

squale iii

I'm ordering AFR 205's tonight... LOL. After that i'll save for the 8.8 and stay on street tires and 50 mph rolls till that gets ordered haha

99LS6SS

iTrader: (4)

If my motor wouldnt have blown which led me to having to buy another one, I would have went with the midwest fab 9in first, then started moding for performance

squale iii

i'm already at 404whp, what's another 50 or so whp lol. My car took a goddamn 250 wet shot when it was boltons and took it like a champ! (accident, don't ask) haha

cody161

iTrader: (18)

GEEZ a 250 shot on a stock bottom end!!! yea that was a slight accident lol. when i had my LT1 car it mad 335 rwhp and i broke a bone stock ten bolt on the street with street tires. needless to say now i have a cam only LS1 car with a moser 9", no breaking the rearend this time.

Black 99 Bird

iTrader: (31)

Just my opinion. I would stay away from the 8.8. They are good rears, but almost impossible to get the torque arm mount right. Do heavy research either way. I considered a 8.8 before I bought my current rear (12bolt) and heard great stories about 8.8s from years ago. After contacting some of the guys that were running 8.8s 3-5 years ago to see how they were holding up they all said the same thing. The torque arm mount is hard to get right, and had given up the fight.

Shop around, you might be able to find a 12 bolt cheaper than you think. I paid $1600 for mine, and it came with a custom 3.5" driveshaft. I sold my factory rear and driveshaft for $375. So I was only out $1225.

Bad Blue WS6

iTrader: (41)

I bought my Moser 12 bolt used, 1600 as well i went out and bought all new bearings for it. When you go to auto zone, napa, etc,, and ask for Moser parts,,they look at ya funny,, but then i discovered that all the parts i needed to buy for my Moser 12 bolt are Ford 8.8 parts. (bearings) My BMR TA bolts up fine, but it is hard to get a 19mm tool up there...

mrnorm_hemicide

iTrader: (17)

Lol, this is why I got out of the 4th gen game, they just didn't come with the right stuff from the factory for racing. The 4L60e has a terrible gear spread, its got too many points for failure, and transbraking one is pretty expensive. The 7.5" 10-bolt is simply Investing a single dollar in one imho is a waste of money. They can and will break even when built. So right there plan on $1800-2300 for a 12-bolt or a 9". If you've got a 6-spd you're pretty set trans-wise with a good clutch. Drag racing an 4th gen f-body, especially an ls1 is big dollars for the performance, personally.

The old cars came with th350/400s, larger diameter r&p gears, cheaper to build $-hp. The only downside is that a carbed sbc or bbc with a th400 or a glide and a 4.11 gear will not be anywhere near the dd the 4th gen cars are.

mrnorm_hemicide

iTrader: (17)

Its always best to do mods in small incremets. First, if there is an issue with the car not running right afterwards, it'll be a helluva lot easier to trace it back to a single mod, like a cam swap, then a whole bunch like a h/c/i/e and converter swap all at once. Second, you want to get comfortable driving the car a little bit at a time. To go from a bolt-on only car to all the sudden having a h/c stroker with a big stall and spray (for example) is gonna be like jumping from a honda to a ferrari, big difference. That's why even if you have the money to do all the mods that are in your plans at once, its best not to. Do one particular thing, like a cam swap and a converter to support it, get it dyno'd and drive it to get firmiliar with the setup. Then add heads, rinse and repeat. Then add a shortblock, etc. etc. just my $.02

allenwesley

i would say to do the rear end first, because you dont wana start making power and not be able to use it... im building my street car backwards in the since im making sure I’ve got a good tranny, a good rear, and a good chassis... then start messing with the motor to make it faster...

mrnorm_hemicide

iTrader: (17)

I agree. I'd do all rear suspension mods first (lca's, phb, t/a, sfc's), that way you'll be able to hook reliably. Then do the rear end, cause a built trans with a stall will just hasten the puking of a 10-bolt. Then do the trans and finally start making hp, cause at that point it won't really matter how much cam or spray u throw at the drivetrain, it'll probably take more than u can dish out.

corvet786c

iTrader: (6)

I went the other way and bought heads. I like having power first and deal with consequences last? But I am broke now trying to save for a rear end though ha ha ha ha ha.

squale iii

...... Anybody want to start betting how much longer the rear end is going to last? I'm staying on 275 street tires haha.

squale iii

Did you have to get bigger injectors and a new fuel pump for 440rwhp?!? I may need one of those soon...

INMY01TA

iTrader: (1)

Do the rear 1st. Head and cam car with a 10 bolt is lame.