We needed a test car. Dave Young of Lakeland, Florida, has a 9-second Barracuda. Would the Moser 60 take the abuse? Let's just say, it laughed at us.
Beginning in the mid-'60s, if you wanted the ultimate in an indestructible, no-holds-barred rearend that would take any abuse you could throw at it, Mopar was the company that could supply what you needed-the Dana 60. Over the years, the 9 3/4-inch (Dana 60) was installed in everything from Darts to Road Runners to 'Cudas and so on. Originally, it was used only in 440 four-speed and 426 Hemi-equipped musclecars between 1966 and 1972. The Dana 60 is essentially a 3/4-ton truck axle with smaller wheel bearings and brakes. With its large 9 3/4-inch ring gear and 1 1/2-inch-diameter axle shafts, the Dana's only serious disadvantage is its weight. But what makes this rear so indestructible?
The differential utilized a plate-clutch-type Sure Grip housed within a cast-steel housing. The Dana 60 was available in two configurations: the car version and a truck (or industrial) version. The car version was equipped with a mounting point for the pinion snubber, and the truck unit was not. The truck Dana housing is rounded as opposed to flat in the snubber mounting area. For passenger-car use, a pinion snubber in this location helped to prevent the torque from forcing the rearend too far upward. Most Dana 60 assemblies you find at swap meets are usually the truck unit, which will work fine unless you are intending to use a pinion snubber.
Moser makes all of its own components for the Moser 60 rearend. We supplied the ladder-bar mounts we bought from Competition Engineering. The center housing is cast by Moser, and highly resembles the stock-car-style rear complete with the snubber mounting location holes drilled and tapped.
Local Mopar guy Dave Young has a nice-looking '68 Barracuda filled with a 500-inch-wedge engine producing somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 3/4-axle-twisting horsepower. How did we come to that deduction? Dave twisted his 8 3/4. We knew a Dana was the only logical answer, but finding one was going to take some time and effort. When we heard that Moser Engineering had recently tooled up and was building their version (called the Moser 60), our question was answered. A call to Moser confirmed the rumor, and the stuff was soon on its way to us.
But we wanted to know-what goes into building a Moser 60? We decided to get some photos and spill the beans to everyone. So follow along as we build a bigger butt.
Using the diagram on the Moser Engineering web site, we designed the rear to fit our '68 Barracuda.
So what do we think of the Moser 60? It's about time somebody did this. Finally, a Dana-style rear that can be built to put under your restored Mopar or a killer unit can be built like we did. Either way, Moser hits the nail on the head for making a rearend that anyone can use.
