[Chicagogoat]

EBay isn't an indication of market value by a long shot! I year ago I was shopping for a 70 endura front bumper that were going for $1000 and one that was listed @$2900 on EBay! I ended up buying one at our biggest Pontiac swap meet for $300 and it was an excellent piece! An A-body 12 bolt can be had for $500-650 or a cool G for an F-body! If you're patient you can find better deals priced to sell @swap meets.

[b-man]

Originally Posted by Formulajones

For a cheaper alternative, Some of your performance oriented A-bodies had a form of this from the factory. My SS chevelle has a factory sheet metal version of these support bars. My fathers 69 Goat never had them, so he sourced a GM set and I installed them recently.

Had a set of repros that were sourced ages ago from the now defunct Frank's Pontiac Parts on my '64 GTO bracket car, they most certainly did the job.

[Formulajones]

Thanks B-man, I didn't even realize those things were being reproduced. My father grabbed an oem set at a local swap meet about a year ago.

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by Chicagogoat

EBay isn't an indication of market value by a long shot! I year ago I was shopping for a 70 endura front bumper that were going for $1000 and one that was listed @$2900 on EBay! I ended up buying one at our biggest Pontiac swap meet for $300 and it was an excellent piece! An A-body 12 bolt can be had for $500-650 or a cool G for an F-body! If you're patient you can find better deals priced to sell @swap meets.

The 12 bolt rears and the prices they dictate are really dependent on the axle codes. Collectors and restorers will pay big money for the right one. I have a BX code 69 Camaro 12 bolt sitting here complete that are very pricey now....if you can find another one. I have another 3.07 open 12 bolt sitting here, dime a dozen.

Finding a 12 bolt open carrier 3.07 coded housing is going to be the cheapest bet, then build what you want. I've been down this road, and the issue with that is still cost. A good Eaton is $500, ring and pinion and setup kit is another $300. If you want to stay cheap then using a C-clip non taper axle is stronger than stock, that's another $300 from Moser. Best to change axle bearings and seals while you're at it. This stuff adds up pretty quickly.
So depending on what you paid for the housing to start, you could have anywhere from $1500 to $2,000 in it....IF you set it all up yourself (no labor figured in). And it's still basically a stock 12 bolt.

Just depends on how comfortable you are throwing power at it.

I've also went down the aftermarket route. Strange 12 bolt, Eaton, 33 spline axles with 9" housing ends, stud girdle, 1350 yoke, US Gears, etc.... That set me back $3200 delivered to my door. But you also get larger diameter axle tubes, the cast center section is much beefier than an OEM GM piece with more cast in webbing and larger bearing caps for strength. They also weigh quite a bit more thanks to the extra meat.
So you can beef up an OEM 12 bolt all you want, but they still won't be as robust as the aftermarket units are. I bought one of these for a stick car I was throwing some power at that was fairly violent , and simply didn't want a stock housing under it.
Just trying to help with the price difference a bit so you know what you're getting.
But like I've said, I've thrown more than 600hp/600ft lbs. at what is basically a stock 12 bolt since 1988 in a 4100 lbs. car and it hasn't flinched. Nothing but a Moroso posi and 30 spline non taper C-clip axles. Automatic helps a lot. I don't really worry about it, and tech has never bothered to check for C-clip eliminators :shrug:

[Sirrotica]

Originally Posted by STEELCITYFIREBIRD

Quick changes aren't used much? Status quo on our DLM cars. https://www.franklandracing.com/ And made locally ...to me!

LOL, I noticed no one even replied to your question, too many drag racers that know little about a QC rear............

Most all are spools which is fine for a track car, there are posi units available. Most likely you'd never find a used posi unit. A good QC will suffice to 6-700 HP in a light car so their not the optimum for a drag car. There is also more parasitic loss due to the extra gear set in the back.

If you want a rear axle that requires little to no maintenance, the QC is probably not going to be first choice. The extra noise from the straight cut gears is probably going to be a deal breaker for a street car too.

Being that Frankland is close to you you might call or stop there, and ask their opinions on running their rears on a drag strip.

I saw a 63 Tempest wagon in the pits at Norwalk a few years ago that had a late model QC under it even had the wide 5 wheels on it. I've never seen the car since then. To my knowledge it didn't break during the weekend.

One good thing is, a used unit can usually be had for $500, or less at a circle track swap meet or racing junk.com. The reason is because when circle track racers buy an new car they usually buy it with a new QC in it, making the supply of used units fairly high.

[Sirrotica]

I forgot to add that the much lower placement of the front yoke (companion flange) could cause some problems with driveline angles. A corner type race car is looking for an advantage by lowering the heavy components as low as possible in the chassis, which a QC facilitates, drag cars not so much.

[68blackbird]

Thanks for all the info on 12 bolt upgrades. Just one part of what may need to be upgraded for a 455 making good street power in the 500hp + range.

My biggest concern is breaking an axle and wrecking the car because of it. I guess losing a driveshaft going through the lights sounds like a bad scenario to haha.

Will the strange c-clip eliminators work with factory axles? Been reading a bunch but couldn't tell.

Thanks
Rich