Are all Dana 44's created equal?

[dcoffield]

I hope this is the right forum for rear ends

I have a Dana 44 under the back of my '65 Studebaker Commander. I'm working on building a street performance engine for it, say mid 300hp to 400hp (not all decided yet).

It has 3.31 gears with no posi or locker or anything. With that hp I'm thinking I need both wheels turning and maybe different gears.

Can I get new guts from any Dana 44 to put in it or are there differences between car mfr's and years?

What gears would you all recommend?

[Swifster]

Contact Fairborn Studebaker and get a set of their flanged axle shafts ($495). The original Twin Traction and just about any gear set you want is available from Studebaker vendors and private owners. The Dana 44 used by Studebaker under their V-8 cars are pretty robust units and should work fine. These units have changed so much since they were introducted in the late '50's that you basically need the Studebaker pieces.

My Daytona has an open 3.07. If you want to used this primarily for the street, I'd look for a set of 3.54's or 3.73's.