Ford Convert....Please Help!!

[Doobiemon]

I have a 73 s/6 Duster and have been searching for a 360, Tranny and rearend to rebuild. Today I found what I was looking for I think, please help. A 360 out of a 75 cordoba, mfd 6/75. Vin #RP23K5G202537. Addit fender tag #'s K5X28B5END. Is this a good motor for rebuild? Tranny from same car, 14 bolts on pan, #'s on bellhousing 02-6, 727 or 904? Found a rearend out of a 72 van, 8 3/4 incn I believe. Numbers on chunk..9 on top followed by 2070741AAPW. This was the only Mopar chunk rearend in the whole damn place. This rearend is 7" wider than the one in my car now. Do they make an axle housing that will fit in my a-body without cutting down the tubes and axles? If so I might just grab the chunk and run. Could turn crank, oil looked good, pretty damn clean under valve covers. Total cost of everything, including cores and tax...$355.00. Fixing to call in work sick tomorrow!! Thanx

[dewme5]

there are A-body 8 3/4 housings. but.. the 741 is one of the weakest center sections. 489 and 742 (the last 3 numbers on the pad under the pinion, as read from the drivers side.) are the good ones.

most of the time, 727's are put behind 360's. just look at the pan. the 904 is square with a corner clipped off just a bit. the 727 is the same, but has a little hump sticking out the side on the opposite corner


_________ _________
/ | / |
| 904 | | 727 |_
|_________| |__________|

[dewme5]

alright.. that ascii diagram came out all screwed up.

this is what a 727 pan looks like

[rumblefish360]

The weakest rear (741) is behind my Cuda for 10 years now , living with some very abuse-ive shifts.

[dusterbd]

got a 741 in the duster. been there fer 30+ years. rearend hadne ever been apart in a 192,000 as near as i could tell. and 10,000 of thatr was me power shifting, street racing, and ignoring the fact that i never put any fluid or posi additive in it. when i put the new axles and bearings in, it looked perfect. just had to clean it. if this is the weakest one, i wanna see what the good ones can do!
mike

[dewme5]

well i guess then, im wrong about that.. along with mopar performance, and anybody else that wont even make a good gear set for them. its that tiny pinion..

and.. a 2 barrel 318. mopar put 8 1/4's behind them and they lived.. or they did in my 74 dart.

[Dave]

I'm going to assume that you are not making a high winding screamer out of this combo. Sure the 741 may not be the strongest center section for the 8 3/4" But it will surely work for a half decent 360. and it should last reasonably well. With this car being an automatic, and a fairly light car in the first place I'd say carry on. If this diff was in a Polara with a 400+ hp 440, a trans brake, and a lead footed maniac behind the wheel, well then....... that would be different.
There is nothing wrong with using the 360 you picked up. The only difference in 360's really is that the '71-'74 360 blocks (casting # ?????496) have about .040" thicker cylinder wall. But the newer one should be fine if it isn't hogged out a ton.
The diff housing will have to be replaced or narrowed to fit an A body. The advantage of narrowing the diff is I have heard that 8 3/4's tent to bend the axle tubes over time. They are likely bent being it is from a van. This could be straightened out if the tubes were just shortened as it would have to be re-assembled in a jig. The axle shafts will also have to be either shortened and re splined (If they are long enough)and heat treated, or replaced with shorter ones. The re-splining deal is not the strongest way to go, but again for modest output could be fine.

[rumblefish360]

Dewme5;

No, your right. An upgrade is the best thing to do. Also, the 8 1/4 is stronger than most people think it is. Not that it's gonna live a long time behind 650 Hp.