3.55 vs 3.73

[Matt13]

Rebuilding the 8 3/4 - 742 case I picked up on the cheap. This is going into my 73 Barracuda, a/t that has the weaker 741 in it now. Also adding a sure grip unit I picked up. I probably will never take the Barracuda onto the freeway, or if so, very briefly. Question is, would 3.73 gears be too low or would a 3.55 be more streetable. Opinions?

[Skid Row]

Small blocks like a little more gear. How big of tire are you running?

[dodj]

No hwy concerns?  3.73
Or 3.91 even better.

[Burdar]

that has the weaker 741 in it now.

I think Dr Diff would argue that the 741 is stronger them most give it credit for.  The 741 pinion gear is the only one without a 90 degree stress riser.  I'm putting a 741 in mine simply because I found an inexpensive case to use.  I don't have any strength concerns by using it.  Oh, and I went with the 3.73... The two are so close in ratio I figured the gas mileage wouldn't be that much different but the 3.73 would probably make for a little more fun driving.

[mopartaz]

Depends what you consider "streetable" I used to drive my dart around with 3.91's and a 10 inch converter, manual valve body 727-yeah it revved a little higher, but i also used to run it at the track, If i were to go to a show a long ways away i would throw in the 3.23's. I had a few center sections set up at the time so i could swap them out. You can always adjust a little with tire size. Or get a gear vendors overdrive and have the best of both.

[Matt13]

Small blocks like a little more gear. How big of tire are you running?

255/70/15's

[kawahonda]

3250 RPM w/ 235/15s w/ 3.73 @ 65 MPH. Sounds high, but it's dead quiet. Not an "ideal" highway gear, but it's pretty good. IMO, 65 MPH is a "max" cruising speed for me. With 255s, you get another 150ish RPM of buffer space.