Im buildin' a g***er style falcon and I have a 8 inch maverick rearend, but with a pretty hot small block, a 4 speed, and 10 inch hurst cheater slicks, I don't think it will last. So I was wondering what 9 inch would be the same width as a maverick rearend? Thank u!
Any help? I don't know where the measurement points are though. http://www.dfwmotorsport.com/Fairlane/9inchrearends.htm
1980 mercury monarch if you can find one. 5 by 4 1/2 pattern early bronco 5 by 5 1/2 pattern. some granadas had a nine inch drum style 5 by 4 1/2 pattern All these are 28 spline axles but will hold up well. They are all about 58 inches from wheel mount to wheel mount.
Unfortunately I already bought my wheels and tires and mounted them, so im stuck with finding the 5 on 4 1/2 bolt pattern. But thank u everyone for the input. Helped me out a lot!
What about the real early Thunderbird 9 inch isn't that a touch narrower than the 57 to 59 Ranchero style diff??? Falcons always seem to have a problem with the fender outer edge.
Depends on the width of rims your running, the half fenders at the rear dont help for ease of wheel removal either. Ive just shortened one up to 53 inches for my car cause from memory the narrowest 9" was 58.5. Should be a shop nearby that could shorten one for you if need be.
The '57 9" rear axle is a bit wider than the 8" out of a Maveric or the 8" out of a V8 Falcon. ( I had a '64 Sprint V8 with a '57 rear axle, and a '63 with a Maveric rear ) The '57 gave clearence problems with 14X6 5spoke Fentons. But you can make a Maveric width 9" by using parts of a Maveric 8" and a 9" diff. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=427452&highlight=axle
Back in the day,a buddy of mine built a 65 Falcon with an Econoline straight axle and a '60 T-Bird rear. The rear fenders were radiused,but the tires didn't hang out (as per Jersey Law)
My neighbour just went through this with his Falcon (1963). Apparently the Maverick/Comet rear is the shortest 8" made ... we were told there were no factory 9" rears made that short (can't remember the width). My friend ended up shortening a 9" to fit his car. If you are clearancing the wheelwells (so the tires stick out slightly beyond the body) you might be able to get away with a Granada rear end. I would suggest that you place your wheels and tires in the wheelwells and then measure from wheel mounting surface to wheel mounting surface ... if Ford never produced a 9" in that length, then custom shortening is the answer. I am thinking the Granada is something like 58" and the Maverick something like 56.5" ... could be wrong though. As metalshapes has mentioned ... if you can find a Maverick 8" (and IF it fits ok with your wheels and tires) you can shorten a 9" housing to fit the Maverick 8" 28 spline axles. Based on the fact that you already have the wheels and tires, I think the only solution is to place them where you want them under the car, then measure between the wheels ...this will give you the width you need. As I mentioned earlier, if Ford never made a rear that width, your only solution will be to have a 9" housing shortened and custom axles (you could respline I guess, but I would think that would result in a 9" rear that is weaker than any 8"). This all boils down to the width of the new wheels (with tires mounted) and the backspacing on those new wheels.
Unless you have more than 400 horses,I would run the 8''. 8'' comes with 28 spline axles,same as a lot of 9''. In fact they can be interchanged sometimes. And axles are usually the weakest link in a rearend.
i have a 9 under my 61. i bought a used bare housing and had it cut to fit. new bearing ends and perches welded on. ordered some new axles. it was easier than finding one that would fit and since mine sees the drag strip i wanted new, stronger than stock axles. it ended up costing a little more than i wanted to spend, but worth it. i even stuck a new detroit locker and some 3.90 gears in it.
The 5 lug Maverick 8 inch is the most narrow 8 inch ... and the 57/58/59 Ford is the most narrow 9 inch. They are only 3/4ths of inch wider than the most narrow 8 inch. I found this on the internet ... 67-70 Mustang 59.25 inches 71-73 Mustang 61.25 inches 77-81 Versailles 58.50 inches 74 Maverick 8" 56.50 inches 75 Mustang II 8" 57.00 inches 67-73 Mustang, Torino, Ranchero, Fairlane 9" 59.25 inches to 61.25 inches 57-59 Ranchero and station wagon rears, 57.25 inches 66-77 Bronco 9", 58 inches 77-81 Granada/Versailles, 58 inches 67-71 Comet, Cougar, Mustang, Fairlane, 59.25 inches 71-73 Mustang, 61.25 inches 64 Falcon 58 inches 67 Cougar 60 inches 67 Fairlane 63.50 inches (coil springs) 72 Ford Van 3/4 ton 68 inches 73-86 65.25 inches 57-59 Ranchero and station wagon 57.25 iches (narrowest 9" housing) 66-77 Bronco 58 inches but has 5-on-5 1/2 inch diameter bolt circle 67-73 Torinos, Rancheros, Fairlanes 59.25 inches or 61.25 inches 67-71 Comets, Cougars, Fairlanes 59.25 inches I have a 56 inch wide 9 inch under my 32 3W ... I used a 57 Ford housing, a 1 inch shorter 64 Ford axle shaft and had my other axle shortend. I have about 3 hundred in everything including paying Moser to narrow the housing and one axle. I could have gotten even shorter for the same money buy I needed 56 inches to make my Halibrands fit right.
Yukon make cut to length 28 and 31 spline axles which I have used a few times, strong as hell and alot cheaper than having yours resplined. They have about 10 inches of spline and you can get the diff down to about 50 inches wide if needed. May be the deal if you end up shortening one.
Sixfour, You never did say what year Falcon that you have. The early 9"(57-59) is 57 1/4 wide out side of drum to drum. The 64-65 Falcon/ Comet is 571/4 wide drum to drum. The 71- 77 Maverick /Comet 8"is 56 1/2 Out side of drum to drum. The 60-63 Falcon stock rear end is 56"drum to drum.(6 cyl and v-8) You might want to try an 8.8 out of a fox body Mustang. You will have to have it cut but they are a dime a dozen an very strong. I have a 63 Falcon with a 95 Cobra Gt 5.0 engine e-303 cam,headers,roller rockers,650 dual line carb. Has a T-5 5speed, 8.8 rear end 4:10posi. cut to 55 3/4 .Moser axels. 235/60/15 rear tires. The Maverick/Comet 8" has the same size axels as a 9". so it is a pretty strong rear rear end. Hope this helps a little: Butch Evans(Falconeer) Thomasville NC
The 8'' has the same size axles as some 9'' rears,28 spline. Some 9'' came with the larger 31 spline axles.