I have had a couple of cars in the past with locked rear ends, and all would make the tires squall alittle during turning.. Being that my 75 is going to be mostly for the street, was wondering what the great Maverick/Comet world had to say on the issue.. Would like to have an affordable locked rear end without the eating of tires while turning.. Any suggestions as far as after market??
The cheapest way to lock the rear wheels together is with a mini-spool, but you will get tires that squeal during turns. In my opinion, these are not designed for street use. The next most cheapest (but not as cheap as a spool) way to not have tires squealing through turns (but have two wheel peel) is to buy a clutch-type limited slip differential, like a Trac Loc (either new or used). This is not locked, though. They are "open" during normal driving and then apply torque to both wheels during hard acceleration using clutches, so it is a smoother, friction based engagement. To get a full locking rear AND not have tires squealing means to buy a locking type differential, but they can be expensive unless you get a deal somewhere. They are essentialy "open" during normal driving and "lock-up" during hard acceleration. No friction here, just opposing notched plates that aggressively engage each other during high torque situations.
Option 2 listed above is the best for a street driven car, it will have the best manners while still driving both tires. A little hunting on ebay and you can find one for a fair price.
I've seen the Traction Loc's as low as $270 for an 8" rear end application. Quality is always the question at this price, however.
Were traction loc units optional in 8 inch rears from the factory back then in vans or trucks? - I was lucky enough to find one for my 9 inch rear out of a 6 cylinder E-200 van in a junk yard and it also came with 4.11 gears
I know they are rare as hens teeth on the used market and are in high demand for street rods. The vast majority of the ones I have seen are open although I did buy a 3.55 8" posi center section back in the 70's that was allegedly out of a Mustang.
Ford traction lock diffs are "locked" untill you turn a corner....Then they unlock... Most "Posi's" are like this with the exception of GMs' gov lok set up... To answer the question though....You can run posi/trac lok on the street just fine without the inside tire chirping in corners. Spools and welded spider gears cause the chirping in corners since they dont have a "Differential" to allow the inside tire to turn more slowly than the outside tire.
That's just the info I was looking for..I really appreciate the info.. Was at odds with myself on which way to go, and now I know..
