I'm going to put a Granada 9'' in my 65 Dart.

The axle bearing should not be moving in the housing. With the bolt-in-axle 7 1/4 the axle bearing controls the axle location/retention. It sounds like you have a bearing on the way out. I would pull the axle and see if there is play in the bearing.

Later model tapered tube 7 1/4 axles use C-clips and straight roller bearings like the 8 1/4. Those will have some axle end play normally.

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Joshua

Which ratio do you have or are you still looking? They came with 2.48:1, 2.58:1, and 2.75:1, IIRC, not exactly performance ratios. My son's Monarch (Granada in Mercury drag) had the 2.48, and you could tell. Even with a 302, it was slow.

Are you looking at a disk brake unit? Granada/Versailles Info

I have my feelers out for a 5-bolt Maverick/Mustang rear with a decent ratio - around 3 or a little higher would be good - or a decent 8 1/4" Mopar rear. I'd love the 8 3/4", but it'd cost a bit to change the bolt pattern, etc and I really don't need the extra strenght/weight.

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"When you find a big kettle of crazy, it's best not to stir it." - Pointy-haired Boss

1964 Valiant V200, 225/Pushbutton 904
BBD, CAI, HEI, LBP, AC, AM/FM/USB, EIEIO

It was originally 2.75:1, but is now 3.25:1 trac-loc.

Chevy used a 7.5 inch ten bolt axle behind the LS1 V8. The 7.5 is marginal with 400 HP for sure but many take lots of thrashing because of the posi. Something similar would be okay for a slant six. My brother's '99 Z28 still has the original 7.5 and his car runs 12s quarter mile. Clutches have failed but the little 7.5 keeps going.

I agree if the 7 1/4 had better parts available it could be a lot more robust. Fix the spider gears, carrier, pinion, axles and axle bearings and it could be a good little axle.

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Joshua