Anyone have experience with the V8 Quick Change conversion to 9 inch axles? When using the 9 inch axle gears the match up to the original ford (38 center section parts) is anything but smooth. I have read that this setup works, but would be interested in some "on the street" experience. Second question: is there a better option than the 9 inch axle gears?
Ive used a quick change 9 inch axle set up from Hot Rod Works, bloody awesome it run like a dream. Also converted an open drive banjo to 9 inch axles with the HRW side gears,the side gears are matched to the early Ford centre but fit the 28 spline Ford 9 inch axles. check out my posting in my profile if you want to check it out..
Yep, they use their own axle gears, they sell them for $450 (this was corrected by 28rpu, the price is $245!) . I'm looking at the same type of conversion using the 9 inch gears (if they will work!). The gears have been ground down to fit, but there is a difference in the pitch between the 9 inch gears and the original banjo spider gears. Several articles claim this sit-up will work, but because of the bind, I would like to hear from someone who has run them.
This thread posted on nailhead's profile http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=151 is one of the articles that state the 9 inch axle gears will work. Just looking for some practical experience with this mod.
http://www.hotrodworks.com/catalog/index.php/axle-upgrade-ring-pinions/p-n-1102-axle-gears.html Looks like $245 a pair to me.
Thanks for the catch! That's close to the price of the stock pieces, not a bad price at all. I am happy to be corrected, must of mixed that up with something else I was looking at late last night. Guess I need to go to bed earlier.
I don't think it's better, but back 30 years ago when my Dad set up the 201 I have in my A coupe, he used a '53-56 F100 rear as the donor for gears, axles, bearing cups and brakes. It's worked fine. Right now he's using the new 9" kit for the quicky he's doing for his 32 and it looks pretty good.
Just some friendly advise......Unless you have a machine shop, Or a good buddy with some good machines, Hot rod works is the best and most Min cost way to go. Myself I do not see anything wrong with using the stock ford stuff. They are correct and bolt together with no machine work, ANd have been working great for years. Just my 2 cents
They sell the side gears for around $250, money well spent I rekon. Theres a guy over here who has used side gears out of an early Aussie Falcon diff, ( Borg Warner),are 28 spline, had to grind them a little but he rekons they run well. I like to make everything myself but for a couple of hundie I couldn't be bothered with the aggrevation...
HRW. Ken and Nick know their stuff. They did the rear end in my '36 with slide in axles and also rebuilt the QC with standard axles for my '31 roadster.
I have built two of these conversions in the 70s, but in both of them I used 8 inch ford axle parts, AND they were used behind race cars with the differentials locked. The 9 inch axle gears work sort of, but there is a bit of a bind because of the difference in the pitch angle between the axle gears and the spider gears. There are several published articles that claim this is not an issue. I was looking for some "on the street" experience with the 9 inch axle gears
If theres a difference in pitch and angle there obviously is an issue, if things don't mate properly its really not the sort of thing Id want in the rear of my car. If 8inch parts worked for ya in the 70's then why not use them now??
Don't know that they did (the 8 inch parts)! Those were locked differentials, that means the spider gears were welded so that they wouldn't move. Hot Rodders have been building these rear axle conversions for years and the pitch angles have never matched! That's why I was asking the question from experienced users. There is not ane axle gear that will match the pitch (except for the ones sold by HRW) that I'm aware of. I was asking to see if experienced uses had better luck with one type over another options. The OEM options that I am aware of are early Mercury (50s time frame), 8 inch ford, 9 inch ford and 8.8 inch ford. The 9 inch ones will work, but someone might have experience with one of the other gears being smoother (less binding). There is always the option to buy new after market parts, just checking it out first.
have used an old halibrand culver city quick change with early ford spiders gears and 9" ford drop out axles in my 32 roadster for 35000 miles no problems. all behind a 355 sbc and muncie 4 speed. one trip alone was 5400 miles in 14 days to the la roadster show with some side trips. just another opinion.
I built my 201 back in the 80's using 28 spline axle gears, axles and bearing cups from a 69 Cougar, based on a couple of articles in R&C. Machine work on the axle gears and ring gear and carrier by a local, top quality, automotive machine shop (Bo Laws). Used four NOS early Ford differential gears and cross. Still running after 25 years.
Mines a Culver City V8 Halibrand. I put 49 Merc axles and backing plates on it. I machined the center section for the Merc side gears, then turned the side gears down to the original outside diameter of the original side gears on the axles. The spider gears didn't mesh perfectly, as noted. I assembled the carrier with a single spider in it with white grease on them, and then carefully hand ground each one until I got a smooth rotation and good pattern on the teeth. I used the merc axles, narrowed them and had Cooks Machine re-spline them. Sounds like a lot of work, but really only a couple of hours. I've got several thousand miles on it, have done more than my share of burn outs and general hard driving and it's been great. 265 Chevy, T5,model A. I have pictures on my work computer. Hot Rod Works makes good stuff, but so did guys in their garage. There's an article in Hot Rod magazine, in I think, 1965 that outlines just what I did. Worked then, works now. The Merc rear end was free, a throw away from a street rod project, Cooks got $ 125 to re-spline, and a couple hundred in bearings and gaskets. Tons cheaper than the HRW conversion, and a lot more satisfying.
Keep in mind that the Quickchange is also aftermarket...So No shame in using aftermarket parts. I still say just use it as it was designed for....Unless Your engine puts out over 600 HP...Then Just use the OEM banjo parts. I would however Use Axle savers. But sometimes plain and simple is the way to go...
In case there is still interest... Side gear cut down, teeth sanded and polished. axle tubes cut and new flanges to weld on.
Axles cut for re-splining, old axle from the 60's next to it. ring gear stock, and bored for side gears. Welded spider out of the 60's built QC. Now has an open diff again. I used 11 tooth spiders and cross out of a 40 ford.
All of the above is good advice. If you are doing one on a budget then use the 28 spline Ford 9 inch side gears. I am trying to find the year I used and they cost me $20 bucks. Many shops will do your machining for you. Speedway Engineering or John's Rear Ends have both helped me with my budget builds. If you have a heavy foot you will break the early Ford stuff. Take it from me they don't hold up under HP.
I guess it Depends on how much HP we are talking about....While I agree that the early ford stuff is not as strong as The 9 inch slide axles. It is a hell of alot cheaper to use and is a bolt in process. The halibrand was designed to use the early ford stuff, And I have known of many guys who have never had a problem using the stock stuff. "Jim Jacobs" 34 yellow coupe has early ford stuff still in it today And he Drove the living shit out of that car for many years. The reason I know it still has early ford stuff in it is the current owner "jerry slover" just freshened the hali up a couple of years ago. He replaced 1 axle due to wear. But all still looked good Even with all the miles Jake put on it. Just my 2 cents
Not worth a shit IMO...I tryed it with an old shifter midget rearend that had a spool in it....Spend the money and time and do it right....
Some progress on my QC! Actually it is almost complete, just don't have the most current photos. If anyone is interested, there are a number of gear sets that will work with this modification, starting with the original Mercury side gears. More resent options are 8 inch, 9 inch, 8.8 inch and 7.5 inch. Non of these gears are a smooth match to the original Ford spider gears! But the 7.5 gears appear to be the smoothest and are the easiest to set up. I am using a set of 7.5 inch side gears with 12 tooth spider gears. On the bench they are fairly smooth turning. These are paired to 9 inch Ford axles which have been cut to length and re-splined. The brakes will be 9 inch backing plates and drums. All of the axle parts (except the 7.5 side gears) are from 60- 70s Ford pickup axles.
Just re-read the last post and I may have not been clear about the spider gears. So, I will list the parts I am using below: Center Section: V8 201 Original Rear End: 38 Ford Side gears: 7.5 Ford Spider gears: 38 Ford 12 tooth Axles: 9 inch Ford Backing Plates: 9 inch Ford
That's basically what I bought from Winters Performance. It uses 31 spline axles, an Eaton posi., big Ford bearings and Ford disc brakes. They have all kinds of internal parts to choose from. Mike
Yep, there are several sources for "all new" V8 style QC, and in most cases it is a cheaper way to go!! The vintage QC centers are very high priced. Building a vintage QC rear axle is NOT the way to go if you are looking for the best price and most likely the best strength and durability. It is like everything else, new off-the-shelf vs built using vintage parts. What I was referencing on the parts in post #27 & 28 is for those interested in doing a conversion to a vintage Halibrand V8 center section. And (at least in my case) I can assure you it is a much more costly approach!!! I did have some additional incentive for going with an original center section. I owned this center section in the 1970s. Through a number of events through the years it ended up back at the machinist I am having help with the modification, and I couldn't resist. In addition I enjoy figuring these type of things out (I'm an engineer and to some extent seem to end up doing things the "hard way" if it involves doing all or most of it myself).
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