Does anyone know how much it cost around to beef up the rear end in my C3 Corvette to handle 700 horsepower

 

I have 12 bolt conversion thread 5 pages back if you wish to look.
As for cost that will be revealed in a week or two. I have seen 12 bolt setups go deep into the 8's as far as 1/4 mile times.

 

If you find out, don't tell my wife !!! I stopped counting long ago.

 

And the rear axle is my next project. I ended up just under $12k for the engine, $1400 for a new top, need some paint work, and I'm guessing I'll be about $1100 into the rear end.

Really, how you're going to use the car will make a ton of difference in the cost of the rear end. If you're planning on serious dragstrip launches, it'll be more expensive that just building a really strong rear that will work just fine as long as you don't throw some sticky tires on it and let 'er rip. Even with that you can still break parts. I've seen guys break 9 inch Ford rears too.

 

Just for street races

 

Will the front hold up if I have to replace the rear then I have to replace the front right

 

$10 per hp

 

You may be interested to learn that conspiring to commit a misdemeanor is a felony.

 

These cars were designed for 300-400hp for the most part. You're double the rating so just about everything south of the flywheel needs to be addressed if you are going to use that 700 hp to full capacity. Tom Watt owned the market on these the past 40 years but unfortunately he passed away too soon last January. His wife is still running the business though and there are still 12 bolt parts available. You can build it a few ways so you should do your homework- your intended use, trans, tires, and your right foot all play into the equation. There are parts and process that you may not need that will affect your cost.

If you want to keep the vette IRS then go with a 1480 12 bolt - correctly built, with good parts, and without cutting corners inside. Call Jo Watt asap and buy the parts directly.

If you want to go with some of the other available conversions they are typically more expensive but there is no cheap full conversion. Can you build the diff yourself? Do you have a local source for machine work if you do or do you have access to machine tools? I have taught guys worldwide on how to build them if you decide to take it on.

There has been plenty of discussion on HP diffs here for the past 18 years, do your homework is the best advice I can give you. If you have questions after let me know and I can go over how these should be built and separate the hype from reality.

 

in this months issue of hot rod they showed a strange 9 inch center section for corvette's that is set up for half shafts