Hot Rods Alternate To Ford 9" Rear End..Will A Ford Falcon From a V-8 Work

Don't count out a company such a John's Industries for a new 9 inch custom made for your application. It's a little more money but is new and able to withstand the power of your Cad.

 

If you can find a 1970 1/2 429 Cobra jet falcon the rear end should hold up.

 

This (WMS) is the Flange-Flange measurement?

What are these sold as here in Australia?

 

WMS is Wheel Mounting Surface.

 

Hilux. PM me if you want more info.

And yes, WMS to WMS is wheel mount surface to wheel mount surface.

 

it is amazing all the incorrect info out there! i am doing something like this right now. i am taking the 8 3/4 out of my '63 belvedere and putting in a 9". i have several of them both. the 9" has the ratio i want. now, i can narrow the housings and will just re-spline the axles. all my 9" came from trucks and vans. my 8 3/4 is 59.250 and the 9" is 65.500 wide. i made a couple of flat bars 2" wide and .250 thick,long enough to get past the third member,drilled a couple holes to match the studs and bolted them on. measure between them and bobs your uncle! i don't know how these charts measure them but my way works. that is ***uming you have the original rear to measure too. if you need wider tires just subtract them from this measurement. also, i don't think you need new axles either. for a normal street driving car, if you can physically do it, just re-spline them.

 

Harder to find that a needle in a hayFARM.

 

Ah yes.. the ever popular and indestructible HiLux. I have already measured one up, & got this on my list.

 

With only 90 produced It was a tongue in cheek thing. Any Fairlane Falcon is hard to find I have looked

 

[QUOTE="flatheadgary, i made a couple of flat bars 2" wide and .250 thick,long enough to get past the third member,drilled a couple holes to match the studs and bolted them on. measure between them and bobs your uncle! i don't know how these charts measure them but my way works. that is ***uming you have the original rear to measure too. if you need wider tires just subtract them from this measurement. also, i don't think you need new axles either. for a normal street driving car, if you can physically do it, just re-spline them.[/QUOTE]

Another way is to straight edge or plumb bob the WMS to the floor on each side and chalk mark it. Measure the distance between the marks. And yes, I do have an uncle Bob.
Carl,
There is no standard width of the 9". It was totally dependent of the vehicle it was designed for. I have seen 2 different widths on the same vehicle because 1 had heavy duty brakes with wider drums. If you have decided on a 9 with drum brakes, the factors to be decided are width, lug bolt pattern to match the front, pinion angle and offset, and ratio. Seek help from others if needed. Finding a used rear to meet all of your parameters may cost more than having one built.

 

You will find a variety of "opinions" here and different opinions are not always wrong. Things do work OK sometimes and other times they can lead to problems. Let me say from the start that having your wheels fit correctly in the wheel wells is goal number one. Thats why I recommend getting the tires and wheels as your starting point. Different offsets/backspacing. Different tire shapes. The thing to realize is that most custom wheels and standard wheels are not available in 1/2" variations of offset. So, with two wheels you may end up a full inch wider, if you can even get a wheel that size. They make a tool that can be inserted between a fender and a tire that will roll the bead of the fender a little tighter. Why? Because someones measurement or available wheels are rubbing and they are trying to gain some more clearance. Happens more often than you know. For the guys who are too short on their measurements, many people add spacers behind the wheels. Thats why I recommend starting with the wheel and tire you will use and allowing some room to add a wider tire with more back spacing. That means that the company selling you that wheel has the same wheel available with the same distance from the mounting surface to the outside of the wheel........but the backside of the wheel is wider. Then you always have the option of using a wider wheel/tire combination. Worth checking before buying.

If you buy a rear end, you want a complete one because one with missing parts usually ends up being more expensive in the long run. You will need to rebuild the brakes no matter what. As far as narrowing goes, I and I'm sure many others on the Hamb will offer ideas on narrowing the housing. You will also have to relocate the spring mounts most likely. You will need to be able to weld/own a welder to do it. When narrowing a rearend, a wider one often is a better starting point. Get the book I told you about and start checking Facebook and Craigslist etc. for a usable rear end. When you have one, I'll try to help you with the narrowing process.

 

It would help if people would tell us where the are in the world,it would help with info.

 

One of the biggest factors in choosing a rear end is appearance, the removable carrier type (Ford 8 and 9 inch, Toyota etc.) have a much different look from the ones with the bolt on rear cover (Ford 8.8 inch etc.).
This is often very important in a Hot Rod.

I have an 8" diff behind my 351W, the local differential rebuild shop said the 8" was good for engines up to 400hp, if a guy doesn't try to break it.

 

The only downside is C-clip axles .
C-Clips were OK for 1+ G cornering loads in a FR500C road racer [ A psychologist can help if this is a worry]

The same rear-end in the s-197 Mustang is strong enough to get it into the 10's on the quarter.
And you can swap over disc brake conversions etc .

Mustangs 8.8 rears had 31 spline axles
Ranger / Exploder 8.8 rears had 28 spline axles

0.2" doesn't matter with crown wheel diameter [9" vs 8.8"]

 

Ranger FX4 and 1991- 2001 explores were 31 spline

 

All later Explorer 8.8 rears have built-in axle retainers, that keep the axle in-place if the c-clip system fails.

 

The early bronco 9 inch (67-77) is 58 inches wms-wms



57 chevy truck



T-bucket



Henry J

 

"G" series Toyota Rear End.
From Cressida's,Crowns , HiLux's and HiAce van's etc.
They have 28 spline hardened axles .8" Ring &Pinion, 2 or 4 spider and LSD options
Toyota axles were common to use in NZ to narrow a 9" Ford [until Cheap Cut'n'fit Yukon Axles become available]
Here is a rear-end ratio chart from the body tag on a Toyota [1989-1993][and diff tags]

Too wide for the OP! at 60.5"

 

Single-side narrowing.

Remove the long shaft, and use two shorts.

I charge $150 for that, if you bring me all the parts.

If you're clever, you can swap the shafts at the self-service yard. Nobody will notice.

 

Those have been out-of-production since 1977, and are getting both thin on the ground, and expensive.

 

The OP @Carl Hungness doesn't want to narrow a rear.
Personally I would run a narrowed 9" housing and a pair of modern "Yukon" cut to length axles.
These axles have extra long splines on them and can be shortened with a cut-off saw.

If he doesn't want to pony up the $$$ then an early Ranger 8.8 is a good choice for a narrow rear end.

@36roadster
When I was in China , I found a Rear-end that was only 40" flange to flange from one of their stupid little farm trucks. A Toyota "G" series head bolted straight in.
I was considering this for a HA/GR racer where "Narrowed" rear ends were prohibited. [But Chinese metallurgy was questionable]

 

Taylor-Dunn service carts have the narrowest 9-inch rear. It has a pinion mounted electric drive.

It is a set of sprockets, and a chain to the motor. Pull the sprocket on the pinion, and the chain housing, and put on a yoke.

The last one I went through had 31-spline axles, and big bearings.

I did not measure it, but it was probably 38-40 inches.

 

It was possible that the housing was initially modified by Currie. Before they were famous in the hot rod world for building Ford style rear ends they were a very large supplier of housings for the fork lift/ airport tugg industry. I remember many years ago seeing pictures of their shop property and piles of used Ford rear ends waiting to be modified. Frank Currie was a hot rodder who saw another market for his product and now has new 9” housings available sized to order.

 

Hilux, aka Toyota G-series diff. Also came out in HiAces locally, albeit without the 4-pinion, bigger bearing V6 version.

Cheers,
Harv

 

Lot more to it than " up to 400 HP"

 

I WAS GONNA SAY THE SAME THING. FORD RANGER REARS ARE GREAT AND MUCH CHEAPER.

 

"WONDER IF IT CAN HANDLE THE 500 CADILLAC". REALLY....DO YOU DRIVE LIKE AN IDIOT? IF YOU JUST PLAN ON "DRIVING", IT WILL BE FINE.

 

If your looking at the Explorer it has a 31 spine diff and axles you must think a hell of a lot of that Caddy to worry about busting it on the street.

 

The 8.8 is a good rear end and they can still be found with usuable posi units if someone takes their time. Most likely they will hold up pretty well and be a less expensive option. The downside is not having a removable carrier, which most people prefer. I think they are worth considering, especially if someone is trying to save money.
That said, a stock 500 Cadillac is factory rated at a max of 375HP and most of them don't actually make that on a dyno. What they do make is gobs of torque for moving heavy cars, and torque is what breaks things. With some reasonably mild modification, the Cad can easily pick up 100+ HP and the torque increases further.

 

Over the years there have been plenty of fox body vehicles claiming 800 +hp on stock 8.8 axle ***embly’s.