8" Ford RE

I have a 51 Henry J w a SBC T350 and a Ford 8" installed. The SBC is a stock '72 Camaro 2 bolt 350. I want to bump up the power considerably to at or near 400 streetable HP. I am curious as to IF that 8" will handle it? I am looking at the Ford RE tag today for a ratio. But I am, sure it is a smog era so it probably quite a high ratio(low Num.) Another thing is that I want a posi if it does not have one. They hard to find for an 8"?
:confused:
Update-I was right about the ratio at least 2:73 peg leg

For a street car, it's probably going to be fine. I've put a lot of abuse to them and not broke one yet. If you're going drag racing with the car and some good hooking suspension and slicks then maybe a 9" would be a better choice. Kind of hard finding parts for an 8", too. I sold my last posi to Howard a number of years back and haven't really seen any other coming up for sale. Parts wise, you might end up better off with a 9" just because there's so many parts avaialable for them, both new and used.

The 8 inch Fords are good to about 400 hp especially if you don't put a sticky tire on them. I have an 8" in my Studebaker when I went looking for new gears and a Trac loc the 8 inch stuff is more expensive than the 9 inch and harder to find. I did find a 3rd member loaded with gears and Trac-loc on EBay.

Love the car!

Pat

You could swap to an 8.8 from a fox body Mustang or a Ford Ranger a lot of the Rangers came with posi as did Ford Explorers, the Explorers are wider however.Parts for these are EZ to come by you can find info on reading the VIN tags on a Ranger t0 determine gear ratio and if posi at The Ranger Station - Your Ultimate Ranger Resource so you can check out the local Pick N Pull for a bargain.

I agree with what has been said. I have a Ford 8 inch in my t bucket and it looks like the 46 Ford I am building will be getting one too, BUT my T is a street car with very limited traction and my 46 is going to be a driver with mild HP. Parts are more expensive for the 8 too. By the looks of your great car that thing is going to haul. Better go with a 9 IMO.
Don Jr.
P>S Great car by the way. Looks cool.

Looks will be decieving on this one. Tough look definately but more emphasis on Drivability, Drag car sound and style than actual time slips, At 4 bucks a gallon and a VERY small tank. Milage will be an issue if too strong a motor. I am thinking about 350 HP will push this little 2200-2500# car fine. I see quite a few 8" posi's on Ebay so they are out there, I'll keep hitting em until I get what I want 3:23 to 3:3?. I can only get a "15 x "8.0 TW tire under there w 4.5" BS wheels. so sticky tires are not a real issue, The tire smoke should fun tho ;D

Even some of the Pinto's (wagons, especially) had an 8" rear diff, but they did have 4 bolt axles which put lot of folks off as they didn't realize the car had anything but the usual dinky piece of junk. Most that I've seen were 3.40 ratio.