Hi folks, I have a dana 44 with the super viper gears out of a 95 and I'd love to use it in a C3

does the 1980-82 batwing fit the dana 44 bolt patter for the 95 dana 44 rear or are they a different case?

if it fits, can you bolt in a 1980-1982 batwing to a 68 vette with some mods? love to use this pumpkin if I can!!

 

No, No and Yes. The C3 Dana 44 and the C4 Dana 44 Share few if any Parts, and for sure not the Batwing bolt pattern. And Yes, The Iron C3 Pumpkin and the C3 Dana 44 will bolt together despite them being different manufactures and design. Well they almost bolt up, there are two bolts that don't line up. Use the Search above and you will be rewarded with lots of info on this swap.

 

As mentioned, the C3 and C4 Dana 44s differed by a fair amount, and I'm not sure why they used the same designation over again.

And, of the C4 diffs, neither the Dana 36 or Dana 44 will readily mate to the C3 batwing - as the bolt patterns differ substantially - nor will their covers one to another without adapting them.

FWIW, I've opted to mate a C3 batwing to the pre-'80 C3 hog head in my '78. This, to retain the strength of my 12-bolt IRS diff (conversion), while saving ~15# and updating to what is IMCO a superior mount versus that from 1963. An adapter mid-plate is NOT absolutely require to mate these together. However, given my lingering concerns over possible adverse effects on diff housing integrity under severe loads due those two bolts which can't otherwise be installed, I do have a mid-plate on the drawing board (literally) for this pairing. And, before anyone asks, each would require custom fitting.

Don't know if that necessarily helps you, but offered as food for thought just the same...


TSW

 

thanks guys! the c4 rear is a popular swap into the custom frames and I'm trying to do something similar without changing out the frame as mine is very nice

the c4 has a bracket welded for the dog bones coming down the frame which I realize is a completely different design but where there is a will there is a way.

if I us the right length suspension rods I'm thinking I could weld some brackets into the frame and figure out how to mount the c4 diff to the existing chassis without a batwing. there is a new rear called the hammer head which is expensive, but it's a custom dana 44 casting which is much stronger and has the C beam style mount points on both side so it can be bolted to a modified chassis

I used the banski shperical rod end high strength alum suspension arms on my ZR-1 and I was very pleased with the handling and how much better the suspension follows rough roads big improvement!! they might be able to make me up the custom length I need.

I'll do more searches and research on swapping in C4 rears into the c3

I'm also looking into something that I'm not sure has been done before, install a c5 or c6 rear cradle in the car. I understand you have to radically modify the floor around the drive shaft tunnel to get clearance for the torq tube

I'm considering a design that would use a conventional driveshaft with the modern c5 running gear which would hopefully fit the c3 body better.

to do this, a straight frame rail or tube frame design would be needed. it essentially means "back halfing" the chassis like you do for a drag car to have a tube frame rear that mounts the cradle and upper control arm mount points to have a modern c5 rear suspension

the after market frames allow for this but are 8k to get started, and this car is a mutt anyway and NOTHING matches on it so it's an ideal project car (68 covert) I'm looking to use a 4.8 turbo LS motor for this build

some of the challenges are the rear is much wider, but some flares will take care of that. and I already have some killer wheels CCW 505A

I'm discussing the feasibility with a chasiss builder on this as a winter project.

crazy??? maybe, but if done right it will be ultra cool!

 

OK so if Your going to swap in a Complete C4 Dana 44 then there is no need to use a C3 Batwing, just use the C4. As per everything being different the C4 Batwing is a couple of inch's narrower but since you don't have a late C3 You would have to Fabricate mounts anyway. If you use C4 or newer Wheels then the wider rear doesn't matter, and Yes people have narrowed the C4 rear. If your into Coil overs then the Viper could offer a bit stronger Dana 44. Its Batwing is narrower than the C4, and yes once again it will not match the bolt pattern of a C3 or 4.

 

What he said. And, don't loose sight of driveline strength and suspension geometry being more important than any bragging rights. If you're not going to make any real improvements to either of those, one can hardly justify adding complexity and/or weight.

As for C5 and up driveline kit, if you're talking about stepping up to a rear transaxle then you're going to run into issues with the C3's rear end location relative to cabin seating. One possible solution to this problem would be to opt for an inverted G50 mated to a custom torque tube, placing the gear box portion of the transaxle aft of the axle CL. Of course, an investment in such exotica only starts making sense if you're thinking about chasing a 7 minute lap around the Nordschleife.

 

Just another comment or two on this swap. C4 Dana 44's are very much in demand, or at least they have been for a number of reasons. Every Automatic C4 was sold with a weaker Dana 36, so every Automatic owner wants a 44. The Stock C4 has an issue where it bolts to the Ladder Bar, and it breaks at this point quit easily. (ZF Doc sells a Fix) As mentioned above the C4 Dana 44 has been very popular with the Resto Mod crowd, enough so that Paul Newman designs and others have produced CNC pumpkins. The Viper crowd must total there cars more often than blow up there rear ends, as they sell for less than a C4 Dana 44. The C5 and newer Rear ends are much more complicated to install in resto mods and muscle cars, and there fore also command a lower price.
I happen to be involved with this swap myself in my late C3. By that I mean I have my early C4 Dana 44 rebuilt ( Track Dogg 2 ) and ready to install. I'm working on a C6 Brake setup and other annoying life responsibility's are getting in the way of progress.

 

Yes, we can do custom length rods with no problem. Center to center distances can vary from approximately 6 inches to 4 feet, in 1/2 in increments.

There are also some additional options that I have available but have yet to get up on the website.

Feel free to contact me offline if you need anything.