Wanted to p*** this along as I've heard people over the years discuss bolt pattern changes on their hot rod, either ford to Chevy or vice versa. Lately I have delved deeper into the topic than I ever should have lmao, but this jig is the ****. They sell quite a few options, but I bought the one Ford to Chevy- Chevy to Ford. Came with the drill bits, and they are good drill bits. We've done a bunch of axles and drums and rotors lately, and it works awesome. Hell's Gate Hot Rods is the company. Think i paid $150?
Does the jig pattern byp*** the access hole in the axle wheel mounting surface to get to the axle bearing retainer bolts? I hope that question makes sense. Thanks Skip
Lol yeah I understand what you mean. Like a 9" axle. I'm not 100% sure, but it is offset, so I'd say it does. I've done 3 ford 8.8 rear ends, they have C clips, so there's no access hole.
Damn now I have to buy more tools. I was looking at adapters and there about that price. On the plus side friends can use it also. Thanks
Hand. The jig has those long guides that the bit runs through. They show the jig being used on a car lol. I drilled my first set of axles in a modified drill press. Those are the axles in my rear end. I put mosier studs with a .622 knurl in them, using a 39/64 bit.
Gotta be a way though. My quick performance axles were drilled for Chevy by them. They have the access hole. Just take some figuring out lol
That jig definitely won't work on a stock 9 inch truck axle with access hole. I bought that a few years back, bought the chevy/Ford from 5 x 5 1/2 pattern to small Ford and Chevy, it put a new hole in either pattern right in the access hole. At the time when I purchased it didn't say it wouldn't work, I went back and forth with them and finally in the end I got a full refund and the "doesn't work" was added into the description. Really nicely made piece though.
Is there any reason you can't weld a plug in that hole, other than it is tedious tightening those bolts with a box end.
If you look at the picture of my 9", the access hole is there, along with the 4.5 pattern holes. I bet you could use the jig as a guide and use a transfer punch. Or maybe an adapter to fasten to the jig lol.
I would tig a plug in Access hole, & if have access to different tools I would cut the ID to fit the big Ford OD Centering register then make a smaller one to slide in when needed & other sizes , With thought focus look & study You can Free hand drill , Yes Lathe , index , drill press makes thing easier but not needed . Slug Pin / plug Same thought on Slots , Haebrand ect With Multi bolt patterns ,,I would make Plugs to do a slight press fit in bolt holes not used if for cosmetic look .
This is how I did my first axles before buying the jig. 2 index pins lining up in the Ford pattern holes.
That was originally made and sold by a member here on the HAMB who sold the design to Hellsgate. Those guys at Hellsgate turn out some first cl*** stuff including header flanges for a lot engines that are Hamb friendly.
You could weld a plug in and do it, but wouldn't the heat from the weld remove the hardening on the axle ? I ended up just buying new Moser axles and using one of those plastic wheel bolt pattern discs for checking bolt patterns as a guide to drill the drums to the new pattern.
Maybe the access hole only inter fears with certain bolt patterns. 4.5 may be o.k. but 4.75 might not.
The reason it won't work is how it needs to be clocked, not the diameter, Look at the picture, the only way for it to work would be to rotate the drill jig so all five studs hit metal. Thats going to place the new studs really close to an edge of another stud or the hole. One option would a precision made hardened flanged plug that slips in from the back with an extra long stud. It would have to be keyed to the axle so it wouldn't rotate. It would still be removable to service the rear axle.
You don't need the access hole, you can use a wrench on the 4 nuts, one pair of my aftermarket axles I ordered without the hole.
I got mine from Rotten Leonard years ago and it works great. It indexes off of the existing studs and you drill one hole at a time through the long drill guide. Not all axles are hardened in the flange area, mostly it’s the C-clip axles because of the bearing surface. Welding in a plug shouldn’t affect the bearing surface if you’re careful welding. I have several drill jigs that I made when I had my shop that index off of the center so you can rotate it until you find the place where the new holes fit around the access hole. Some patterns work, some patterns won’t I suppose. You could modify the Hells Gate fixture to work like that. Make spacer rings for different axle centers.
How about a plug same size as ACCESS hole plus OD .0015 thoue & machine a like washer/ step To over lap axle By .100 to .150 thous & 1/8 - 3/16 thick radius lip . drill then press / pull stud threw , No welding, with moon shape to clear radius . Slug / plug Its not going to pull threw axle ..
I've redrilled several sets of Ford 8" and 9" axles over the years. I just weld a plug into the access hole. The flange area on a Ford axle is not hardened.
Here’s the drill jig I made when I was still working, it has 5 1/2”, 5”, 4 3/4”, and 4 1/2” BC’s. It can be used by piloting it on existing studs or with a ring as shown in the photo above.
Yeah i was worried about my ability to drill the material, I was talking to lumpy on the phone and he said they drill fine. Honestly, I drilled every step on 2 sets of axles with warrior bits from harbor freight. No problem at all. I have expensive bits in 37/64, 19/32, and 39/64.
Luckily the center pilot hole is the same on my ford axle, and the gm brake drum. I sat a brake drum on the axle, clocked where I wanted it, and hit it with some spray paint. Center punched the holes, and went to drilling lol. It worked fine. Then I bought the jig lol
On my jig I wanted to include all the typical BC’s but that wouldn’t allow drilling to change from 5” to 4 3/4” for example. I bored the center hole to 3” so a ring could be used to center it and the holes are 17/32.
I used that jig to redrill the front hubs and brake drums on my roadster to 5 on 4.5", worked great! Also used their flanges to build the headers for the 331 Cad in it, worked ok...
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