70 440-six pack project

[Hotiron]

Thanks Cody,  this was the car I wanted in high school but could not get my day to co sign for me.  If memory serves me the payment was $109 per month and the insurance was $60.  My day said I could never make the $ so I had to settle for a 63 chevy Impala.  Its funny all these years later and I still am in the place wondering how I can afford to get this car restored.  What goes around comes around I guess.

[RUNCHARGER]

HotIron: I had to strip it down to bare metal everywhere. Your car looks much better than mine I think. Get aggressive with the bad spots and that will give you a feel for what you have. Dig out any lumps or bubbles and see what is going on. It could be bad work coming apart or minor problems. You have to fact it head on whatever it is as you are building a V code and don't want to do anything again. It looks like the car is pretty solid though.

[Hotiron]

Working on the 70 Cuda I have the original rear end.  I also took the rear seat out hoping to find a build seat but only found a metal tag attached to the seat.  The next item to discuss is the front grille.  I am not sure if it can be restored but hope there is some out there who have gone down the road with some input on restore or new.

[Hotiron]

The front grille is the original grille.  I am not sure if it will make a restore or if the way to go would be a new one.  For those of you that have done a restore on a front grille I would be interested in what worked for you.

[Cuda Cody]

Casting 489 rear end.  That's a good one!

[Hotiron]

It seems to be a heavy duty rear end.  When I look at the dana 60 it it does not look as beefy.  Would keeping the original  housing and putting in new rear end gears be a good way to go?

[1 Wild R/T]

It seems to be a heavy duty rear end.  When I look at the dana 60 it it does not look as beefy.  Would keeping the original  housing and putting in new rear end gears be a good way to go?

Pictures don't do a good job of showing just how beefy the Dana is..... 8.75 is a great rear end takes allot of abuse but the Dana is in a different class, it's a HD truck unit commonly in 3/4 ton trucks & back in the 60's/70's it was used in 1 ton trucks.....

Chrysler put 8.75 axles in most of their performance cars,  all the 340's/383's plus 440-4/440-6 & 426 Hemi with an automatic.... The exception was 440-4/440-6 & 426 Hemi with a 4 speed... Those got a Dana 60 standard...

[RUNCHARGER]

Yours is a good diff. and it came in your car originally. You may not even need new gears. I would have it inspected and new bearings and seals installed. Chrysler overbuilt drivetrains compared to the other manufacturers (especially GM).

[6bblgt]

IMO you need to keep your questions & restoration in one thread instead of posting the same questions in numerous threads.

If your car was originally a 440+6 4-speed 'cuda - it originally had a DANA60 rear axle

the date on the 489 center section appears to be from 10/67 & not original to any 1970 automobile
the rear seat tag shown above is from a '74 vehicle - no nylon mesh in a '70 car

[6bblgt]

 

[Hotiron]

It seems to be a heavy duty rear end.  When I look at the dana 60 it it does not look as beefy.  Would keeping the original  housing and putting in new rear end gears be a good way to go?

Pictures don't do a good job of showing just how beefy the Dana is..... 8.75 is a great rear end takes allot of abuse but the Dana is in a different class, it's a HD truck unit commonly in 3/4 ton trucks & back in the 60's/70's it was used in 1 ton trucks.....

Chrysler put 8.75 axles in most of their performance cars,  all the 340's/383's plus 440-4/440-6 & 426 Hemi with an automatic.... The exception was 440-4/440-6 & 426 Hemi with a 4 speed... Those got a Dana 60 standard...

Good to know, my car is an automatic.  That explains why I have a 8.75

[Hotiron]

IMO you need to keep your questions & restoration in one thread instead of posting the same questions in numerous threads.

If your car was originally a 440+6 4-speed 'cuda - it originally had a DANA60 rear axle

the date on the 489 center section appears to be from 10/67 & not original to any 1970 automobile
the rear seat tag shown above is from a '74 vehicle - no nylon mesh in a '70 car

Thanks for the help.  I was having trouble getting my posts to go.  I am just getting the hang of how to post on the site.  I am pretty sure this is the original rear end as I just removed it.  I am pretty sure the rear end was not touched before I acquired the car.  That explains the rear seats and why I found no build sheet.  thanks

[6bblgt]

the center section was probably changed, the silicone isn't original - if you pull it there will also be a date stamp & ratio on the ring gear
STANDARD rear gear was 3.23:1 open - it could've been changed to just about anything over the past 47+ years

you can also check the part numbers & dates stamped on the leaf springs
a '70 440+6 'cuda should have 3400024 & 3400034 leaf springs, the date is under the shock plate

these 010th day '72 & 017th day of '72 (1/10/72 & 1/17/72) are from a '72 a-body but the locations will be similar (71765 is the vendor code)

[Hotiron]

the center section was probably changed, the silicone isn't original - if you pull it there will also be a date stamp & ratio on the ring gear
STANDARD rear gear was 3.23:1 open - it could've been changed to just about anything over the past 47+ years

you can also check the part numbers & dates stamped on the leaf springs
a '70 440+6 'cuda should have 3400024 & 3400034 leaf springs, the date is under the shock plate

these 010th day '72 & 017th day of '72 (1/10/72 & 1/17/72) are from a '72 a-body but the locations will be similar (71765 is the vendor code)

I will check both tomorrow.  I did not think about the ring gear being changed.  Leaf springs should be easy to find. 

[E74cuda]

Your car is not an axle package car. Original equipment is an 8-3/4, 489 case rear with 3.23 gears. Could be a sure grip unit or open, without a sheet there is no way to 100% confirm. Also 22" radiator car 2998960. As far as I know without the axle package option your springs would be the standard 3400044 and 3400045. Same as 340 or 383hp ebodys. The 3400024 and 3400034  springs came on all 70 ebodys with the axle package option and hemi option. Dan, correct me if I'm wrong.