Guys with 8 1/4 Rear Ends

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XfbodyX

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This is about as cheap as it gets for a chrome cover. $22 shipped.

Make Waves Triple Plated Chrome Mopar 8-1/4" Ring Gear Differential Cover #18409 | eBay

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I myself am not either to a point, I like new stuff and day 2 type stuff. I recently snagged a set of the old nos DC chrome valve covers because they were new and priced right and since a few mopars came with chrome I thought what the heck.

Funny thing is, I dont even have a plan use for this cover here, but its a decent part cheap and one day I will use it.
 
I wonder about the "make offer" thing on Ebay. The offer is never accepted, only the buy it now price. Even if, like you, you offer a buck less than the asking price, it's declined. Only an observation.
 
I have had many "make an offer" deals on eBay. In some cases, as much as 25% below the buy it now price. I have had just as many rejected, at close to the buy it now price. Depends on who is selling.
 
Aspen --
I'm with Kkrit on this one.
I've usually offer about 30% less and am almost always rejected.
But the 20 to 25% range I get accepted about half the time.

But then, most of my stuff is electronics or computer parts.

JW
 
Some of these replies confuse the hell out of me, although nothing new. Granted a 8 1/4 is not the highest performance rear end I dont understand the chrome hate. Its 2019 and its hard to find chrome parts and its costly to have things chromed.

So are chrome bumpers a bad thing? Id hate to think I just spent $1300 and 8 months to have a pair rechromed when I could of painted them black for $30 and got all the props involved with painted bumpers, not.

My fastest car has a chrome cover on the S60, am I fuckin up there? Actually it was cheaper then an oem steel that would of needed paint.

Yes, way back people would put chrome on most anything but 90% of the ad on-s back then were chrome, ya wanted a aftermarket air cleaner, most were chrome, wanted after market valve covers, poof 90% were chrome. Wanted a cool fuel filter, it was chrome.

To me all the modern aluminum offering dont look right because what did people put on there car, chrome. Ummmm so if one uses aluminum it must be ok, who paints aluminum heads, or an aluminum intake? Well no one, that would be silly and look too stock but every car with al heads and al intake is not a speed demon.

Keep a stock underhood and people bitch, Ahhhh "They all look the same" Boring.

So what are our choices?
Stock? Everything looks alike, socialist engine bays?
Aluminum add ons? Most of which we didnt have way back.
The SEMA Chip Foose look? )Everyone loves that, right?

Lets hammer every car thats got coated flashy headers, no matter how practical they are, we should be using flat black steel. One could make a long long list of things people do to a car that dont make it faster but many do it.

Im not really grumpy over the chrome comments, its just the first ive heard of chrome bashing in a while. Why cant people just be happy our old cars are around?

I never judged a cars potential or lack of it by how it looked good or bad flashy or not, I looked at two things, the rear tires and secondary the exhaust system as good indicators on what a car would really do.

I messed up again last week and bought a chrome oil pan because it was $40 cheaper then an oem steel unit.
 
My main complaints with chrome are that some times it is a bitch to get a good seal, because a lot of sealants and gaskets won't grip it (pisses me off to have to scuff it) Aftermarket companies chrome plate cheap shit parts and jacking the price way up.
 
Back in the ‘80’s I hated (wait, I can’t use that word – "hate speech"), correction, disliked working on cars that were chromed up. It wasn’t the extra parts chromed as much as trying to get things back to a working condition afterwards (think of a bunch of monkeys working under the hood of a car for a while). It wasn't the chrome's fault but the installers.

Chrome does take a bit more work to get to seal correctly (gaskets rarely work, silicon works well if texture is roughed up some, . . . and clean). Chrome parts are easy to clean. Poor quality chrome is subject to rust and painful finger cuts. I guess there is pros and cons to most things in life. Having a working PCV valve system helps a lot on oil leaks – if that system got re-installed after installing aftermarket valve covers. I could go on.

Personally, I would rather spend my money elsewhere – but hey, if a chrome part costs less money than I would definitely think twice first.


I have a different opinion to painting aluminum engine parts. If I kept car garaged and only drove on warm/hot and dry days, I see no problem leaving aluminum bare. If you drive in the elements every day, I think paint is the way to go, for corrosion looks worse than paint does and harder to clean after corrosion appears. Also, I’m one of those if you open the hood, you will have no clue what’s under the hood. My goal in life is to make that big block look like a computer controlled 318 at first, second and maybe even third glance (now, if I could do something with the spark plug wires . . . ).

What I don’t like is working on is whatever plating this has on it:
Milodon 31580.jpg

Paint doesn’t want to stick to it well and it’s a pain to strip down. If you can get paint to stick, it doesn’t look right, afterwards (to me).
BudW
 
Milodons "gold" plating is really damn tough, and very few paints and primers stick well to it. I think it must be some kinda heavy industrial coating for harsh environments.

Most of the under hood chrome I dealt with was that cheap shit that every Chevy or Mustang had on it.
 
You just need to sand it well then prime it, I use epoxy then paint. I sand them with 120 grit on a DA before installing and paint as an assembly. I like having the primer under the bolt heads.
 
Milidon uses anodizing and is a good base to scuff up and paint like OI posted if thats what one wants.

I understand some of the views on chrome, on one project I was gonna use oem valve covers but they would not clear the roller rockers and so vs spending approx 150 on the al cover spacers they sell on ebay I got a old pair of DC chrome covers that are a hair taller and not baffeled like oem that reduces room even further.

For some reason ive never had any trouble sealing anything, lucky I guess.

I dont like the thin AL vlave covers due to the nosie, steel is ok and the heavy cast aluminum are really great at noise reduction and seal well but dont seem to do well on aftermarket combos, it sucks cutting the top lip off a $300 set of covers just to use them and then they are commited to that motor more or less.
 
That's why you need a big block, Harlan Sharps fit under stock covers.
 
I have a set but wont use them on a street motor, ive the comp pro magnums for this deal I refered to. In not sure the HS would even fit under a stock small block with the baffel in it, but I guess it could be removed to see.
 
Late to the party ... but
XfbodyX

' ...socialist engine bays...'

10 points for great rant
and 1,000 points for best phrase (which I plan to use on the tractor forum ) ....
:)

JW
 
Poke.
Hum, a tractor forum. I would guess things are a tad slower, there?
BudW
 
Our local antique tractor pull/gathering died about 5 years ago, lack of interest. Really just too many old folks into them have died off. Even our local cornfed kids have no interest in them. Ive got one tractor right now stuck in two gears and its blocking a car in, that should be fun. OR I could just CHROME IT then it would move.
 
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