Back end questions
Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 12:24 pm
Hello Jim,
I just cruised through your website (jdrace.com) and recognized your name from the posts you have made on the FGMCC site and felt like I'd found someone I can trust to give me some good information about my old 71 MC.
A few years ago I inherited the Monte my "old maid/school teacher" auntie. She bought it off the lot new; it had 54K miles ont it when I got it(I swear this is true). It is a stock 350 w/o air and no bells on whistles to speak of. It has the 350 th transmission, with an open differential, I think. (When it is up on the lift and in neutral, you turn one wheel one direction and the other wheel turns the opposite direction.)
I never had my own car growing up and always envied the "car guys" at school or my neighborhood. So, since getting the Monte, I have tried to do a few simple things to increase the performance like install headers, a HEI, Eldelbrock Performer manifold and 600 cfm carb, and the usual dress up stuff. Plus I have a mild cam and plan to install either Vortec or aluminum heads in the future.
My next project is to change the gears in the rear end, and this is
where I am totally in the dark. I hear so much about posi's, limited
slips, lockers, Eatons, Detroits, etc., that I am in no real position to decide what to do, and I don't want to get taken by some "fly by night" outfit who are not experts. That's where you come in. You know differentials, and you know Montes.
Here's what I want: Better performance from a stop. I don't want to smoke the tires to the rims, but getting a good squeak is always a rush, and it make the grandkids giggle. I hardly ever take this car on the highway. It is mostly for around the town cruising and taking the family for rides. I do not now what gears are in it, although it sure seems to cruise effortlessly at 65-70. I do know is that it is a 10 bolt, as I have
counted the bolts! Beyond that, this is all Greek to me.
I kind of like the idea of posi-traction where I can get both wheels working for me, but have no idea if it is possible or reasonably affordable to get better gears, posi, etc. all in the same package, and what is the best set up given a mildly upgraded 350 and my current transmission?
Thanks for your help, Jim. Good luck with the website. It is well done!
George Knight
I just cruised through your website (jdrace.com) and recognized your name from the posts you have made on the FGMCC site and felt like I'd found someone I can trust to give me some good information about my old 71 MC.
A few years ago I inherited the Monte my "old maid/school teacher" auntie. She bought it off the lot new; it had 54K miles ont it when I got it(I swear this is true). It is a stock 350 w/o air and no bells on whistles to speak of. It has the 350 th transmission, with an open differential, I think. (When it is up on the lift and in neutral, you turn one wheel one direction and the other wheel turns the opposite direction.)
I never had my own car growing up and always envied the "car guys" at school or my neighborhood. So, since getting the Monte, I have tried to do a few simple things to increase the performance like install headers, a HEI, Eldelbrock Performer manifold and 600 cfm carb, and the usual dress up stuff. Plus I have a mild cam and plan to install either Vortec or aluminum heads in the future.
My next project is to change the gears in the rear end, and this is
where I am totally in the dark. I hear so much about posi's, limited
slips, lockers, Eatons, Detroits, etc., that I am in no real position to decide what to do, and I don't want to get taken by some "fly by night" outfit who are not experts. That's where you come in. You know differentials, and you know Montes.
Here's what I want: Better performance from a stop. I don't want to smoke the tires to the rims, but getting a good squeak is always a rush, and it make the grandkids giggle. I hardly ever take this car on the highway. It is mostly for around the town cruising and taking the family for rides. I do not now what gears are in it, although it sure seems to cruise effortlessly at 65-70. I do know is that it is a 10 bolt, as I have
counted the bolts! Beyond that, this is all Greek to me.
I kind of like the idea of posi-traction where I can get both wheels working for me, but have no idea if it is possible or reasonably affordable to get better gears, posi, etc. all in the same package, and what is the best set up given a mildly upgraded 350 and my current transmission?
Thanks for your help, Jim. Good luck with the website. It is well done!
George Knight