Rear Gear Set Availability
 

Due to a 200 4R swap in my 67 Tempest wagon, I am wanting to change my gear ratio. My car has the original 8.2 axle with 3.55 gear set. I am wanting to go to a 3.90 or 4.11 by calculation for optimum performance behind my OHC 6. I have heard and read that a lot of the aftermarket gear sets make noise, even when set up properly. I want to try and avoid a noisy set, but not sure if that is possible. What ratios are available, and what brand and vendor does everyone recommend?
Thanks in advance for your input.

The lower first gear on the 200-4R already has a nice overall ratio with the 3.55.

Another thing to consider is that that while the engine is operating at a lower RPM, the 3.90 or 4.11 pinion gears will be hauling at higher cruising speeds. Going to be a lot of heat generated in the pumpkin on extended runs, and even if the rearend is quiet at first, I wonder if there might be accelerated wear? I would be inclined to stop at the 3.73 ratio.

I've had pretty good results with Yukon, mixed results with U.S. Gear, and bad results with the no-name ebay units that we tried.

X2 Lots of people miss that heat in the rear center section when they try to run around with 4.11/4.33/4.56 type gears with tall tires on the street. The really large tires (20" crap) seem to lower the temp to livable numbers.

Tom V.

My 230 does not have a lot of torque to pull the wagon through any type of hill with the 3.55's. (A 400 or 455 and the 3.55 would be a perfect gear) Are 3.73's available for the BOP axle? I appreciate all the input guys!

I'm going to a 200R in the next couple of months and have 3.42s. I'll have the 2800-3000 stall that Art Carr sells the crap out of, and the rest of the tranny has all of his high performance parts as well. I've got a 469 that has put 385ft lbs to the wheels without tuning with my TH350. Hopfully that is enough torque to make up for .10-.20 points of gear ratio.