12 bolt vs Dana 60

[Mike Pearson]

Originally Posted by Ed McLawhorn Jr.

Been thinking about taking very heavy dana out and replacing with 12 bolt. Its known the Dana is bullet proof and takes more energy to rotate than 12 bolt. Car is a 283 ss/gt auto in 3430lb wagon with a 6:20 gear and 30" radial tire. There was a 12 bolt with 6:14 and 28.5" bias tire dad ran in the car in the 80's before rules changed on heads. Besides more hp to run dana, I'm looking at the difference in weight. With dana, I'm pretty much locked into one gt class due to not getting light enough. Would the oem 12 bolt hold up or do I need to think more about an aftermarket housing and is a good 6:14 still available? Thanks.

With good parts you should be able to get a couple of seasons on.a R&P. One of my friends ran a 12 bolt in his GT car. 350 295/313 combo at 3100 and would get 2 seasons on a 5.96.