I was looking for a 57-58 inch wide Ford 9 inch to put under my '67 big block dart. I bought one from a guy who claimed it was from a 1959 Thunderbird. It has the following features- 58 inches wide, 50 inches from BP to BP, smooth rear cover with two dimples, fill plug on side, drain plug on bottom, big pattern axle tube ends with 1/2 inch bolts, 11x2 1/2 inch??? brakes(measuring shoes, I'm missing drums), 28 spline axles with big bearings. The spring perches are 35 1/2 from center of perch to center of perch. Can anyone verify if this is in fact a '59 T-Bird rear axle? If not, does anyone know what it's out of? The housing shows no sign of being narrowed or having spring perches moved. Thanks a bunch.
It has been a real long time but the best I can recall most 59 birds came with the same as Lincoln third member. The thing you need to look out for is it looks like a 9 inch but has a larger ring gear. 9.375. Very strong but no hot rod gears to be found. You can tell because the bottom of the housing is cut lower to clear the ring gear . I have not looked at one in over 45 years so I am rusty on what is and is not. I hope some one who knows more will add more.
The measurements are the same as a 57-59 ford. a slight kiss from a die grinder will allow a larger ring gear third member to fit. The newer third members have less problems with oil leaks on the pinion.Should be 5 on 4.5 bolt pattern.
I think you have a T-bird axle as represented. The 'Birds of that era had a somewhat narrow spring spacing, whereas the standard Ford p***enger cars in '57/'59 had a wider 'splayed' spring mounting. Also, the brakes on the sedans/hard tops are not typically as wide as yours. Ray
What difference does it make if it came from a T-Bird? If it is the correct width for your application then use it. If by any chance it has the 9 3/8" ring gear just use a 9" center section, they interchange and the 28 spline axles are most common. Take a deep breath and hang on to your checkbook when you price new brake drums.
The reason to know what it is for me is to buy parts for it. These new parts guys can't look-up a part unless they know exactly what it came out of and what year.I have a problem every time I get parts for my 64 F100. I have to remember what year and what series a componet came from. Rearend from an 82 F150, engine from an 83 Marquis, Some parts from an 85 Mustang GT, Some parts are from an 87 F150.
Yep if it is a Ford rear even the dimple actually had an 8.75 ring gear and not a nine but a later 9 bolts right in with a little help like @desotot says. If it is a dimple it is later than '57 but is the same basic rear and 58" flange to flange would be correct.
That's the same as the '57-59 Ford wagon/Ranchero rear axles, as they featured the big bearings/brakes. The '57 housings had the smooth rear cover with a drain, the '58 had the dimples but was otherwise the same, and the '59 had dimples but the drain was gone (although there may be some overlap given Ford's habit of 'using up' older-design parts on early production models). Virtually all of the 'wear parts' (bearings, seals, brake parts) were used well into the 70s on various cars/trucks.
I actually got a '58 wagon rear hanging on the wall that has small bearings. I know it is a '58 Wagon rear cause I now the guy that pulled it for me. That said I have to replace the tubes and the housing ends because it is becoming a 31 spline rear and the axles have big bearings. Note to self never cut a housing down until you are ready to use it.
Never ran into a small-bearing wagon rear, but I'm not saying they don't exist (six cylinder wagon?). I'll note that Shelby used the '59 big bearing/big brakes 9" rear in the '65-66 GT350 Mustangs (these were still common Ford-stocked parts in those days), so there's another choice when asking for parts. Although attaching 'Shelby' to it will probably run up the price.... LOL
I have a 59 rear in my 72 Comet [bolt in]..[31 oopsy] 28 spline axles and 2"x 11" drum/brakes and an odd ball bearing, parts guy yelled at me cause he had to order them...I can't find the site that has the listings; Kevin something? Some one will pop it up here just wait a few minutes..
I would fathom a guess that it was a 6 cylinder car. It seems like it had pretty deep gears not 4+:1 deep but upper 3s. Nice thing about a big bearing rear is that brakes are easy you can get big brakes off of later model trucks. Like say late '60s though early to mid '70s. They are cheap and plentiful and any parts counter still carries the parts.
Kevinstang or something like that. Keep in mind, some of those lists for 9 in. Fords are not always accurate.
The reason I wanted to find out if it was a '59 T bird rear axle was in fact to help me search for the missing brake drums. Thanks for the info gentlemen. The axle offset is about 2- 2 1/8 inch from the bearing retainer plates when installed. This does not seem to be the standard. One gentlemen suggested using truck brakes. I could redrill the 5x5 bolt pattern to 5x4.5 if I thought the offset would work. Any other options?
Considering the issue of brake drum availability/cost plus the BBM engine, I would consider a disc brake changeover front and rear.
I have a 1976 RHD Postal Jeep with a 229 Chevy V6, 350 Transmission, front brakes are discs that us K10 calipers and Jeep rotors, master cylinder is from a Corvette and power booster, is from a Camaro, It also has power steering, I keep a notebook on it and every time I get parts for it. The numbers have changed so now I make sure I put down just what vehicle the part came from because if you can’t tell them the make, model and year they can’t help you anymore.
9- 3/8 came out in mid 60's, I had a 67 Police cruiser that had the 9-3/8, 4 pinion open diff and 31 spline axles, big bearings and big brakes [2-1/4]..3.00 gear..used the housing ends, axles and brakes and actually sold the chuck ..The rears in my 59 green bible shows Custom300, Fairlane, Fairlane 500 the shoes are 11" x 1-3/4"...Station Wagon and Ranchero are 11" x 2"..No listing for T bird but I would lean towards the 2" wide...Axle offset would be the same [brg to flange face] as the backing plate would have the 1/4 more offset for the 2" vs 1-3/4"..Factoid: some models listed with 11-1/32 dia drums, my 67 PI is....Factory gears could be from 2.69 to 3.89...Could even have an equa-lock..was aiming to look up bearing sizes [axle] but my books, at least the ones I found don't go back far enough..early 60's they started using 10" dia. on some 9" which would have been the start of small/large bearing....
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