Narrowing an 8" Ford a little bit

I checked the tech searches first - plenty of 8" stufff but not the info I need.

I need to narrow the Maverick 8" in my '62 Falcon by 2-3 inches for more tire clearance. A buddy told me the axles can be simply cut without the need to re-spline them as they are plenty long to begin with. He says the spline area is much larger dia. than the axle shaft so re-splining is not possible. I'm sure there a plenty of HAMBers with experience on this subject.

The rear is already installed by former owner with narrow positive off-set wheels which rub in hard turns - I want to run wider tires and wheels without the rubbing.

Thanks for your time on this.

 

Your buddy is full of crap.

The spines on the two axles in my garage are 1 1/2" long. The splines on the 8" are rolled. The end of the axle is turned slightly undersize. As the splines are rolled, they come up to proper dimension. The problem is the undersize portion extends well beyond the splines. So if new spines are cut, which most shops do, they will be undersized. You have to shorten the axle (each side) about 4" in order to get beyond the small diameter.

The alternative is to buy one aftermarket axle and cut it to the desired long length. The old long axle can be cut to make the new short side.

Bill

 

If you are going to narrow a rear anyway why not put a 9" in it. You will need new axles either way.

 

Are the axles 4 or 5 lug? This website has some pretty good info on the 8" axles - depends on which ones you have whether they can be shortened or not. I bet you have the axles that change diamter and those can't be shortened.

http://www.kevinstang.com/Ninecase.htm

Moser does sell some axles with really long splined ends that can be cut to fit after you shorten the housing.

 

i have to agree about narrowing the 9" instead of the 8" as you will need to purchase custom axle regardless.

 

if it only rubs in corners, you may try a rear sway bar.i had a very close tire and wheelwell,and that sway bar took care of the problem....may be a cheaper way out.

 

It's a V8 5-lug rear. Yes, that site gave me the bad news. However he seems to be saying '69 and later 8" axles are continuous diameter so can be resplined after shorting them - if I read it right. The 9" may be the best route if I'm gonna go that far, though.

To clairify - I only need to cut 1" off each side.

 

All you need is another short axle from an eight .And take 4 inches out I 'v e done it.

 

If the pinion is not centered on your current rear end, consider just narrowing one side 2" or so, so that the pinion is centered. Before you narrow the housing calculate the length of the axle for the side thats is being narrowed and you may find that you can find a factory axle the correct length. At least this way you only have to buy one axle. Several years ago I saw a chart that showed factory axle combos that could be used to make narrow Ford rears. Also I believe all 28 spline axles (8" or 9") will inter-change with the installation of the correct bearing.

 

Now you're talkin! 2" eitherway side to side won't matter. Now I just need the correct later axle (or cut and resplined) and the bearing info. The small bearing 9" uses the same bearings as my 8" V8 axle, right?

 

Go to the wrecking yard and dig thru their axle pile or go to you-pull-it and just start pulling axles...you will need to know your axle bearing diameter and the spline count. I believe all 8" rears are 28 spline, and use the same small bearing, but 9" 28 spline axles could be large or small bearing. Early small bearing 9" 28 spline axles will interchange with 8" axles. Look for an axle the desired length and have the long side of your housing shortened accordingly. I did this with an early small bearing 9" and ended up with a 3" shorter axle that was exactly what I needed.

 

Depending on the width of your tunnel, you might have to do a little clearancing for the driveshaft if you only narrow one side of the housing. Usually a problem on lowered cars.

 

9" rear ends had a small diameter and a large diameter axle with 28 spline. They also had a small and large diameter bearing. By cordinating the bearings you can use the large diameter 28 spline axles (beefier) from a 9" in a 8" rear. Also if you need to shorten the spline on a factory axle a 1/2" that is usually ok but you need to check how much spline is in the spider gears. As mentioned Moser axles are splined about twice as far as the factory axle so you have more to play with. Believe me Moser can do anything you can dream up with an axle.

 

So, if you have clearance room with your rear springs to run a narrowed rearend why not just get rims with the correct offset not to rub? Have you rolled the inner lip of the outter fender (ie making it as narrow as possible)? If you don't get carried away you can sometimes put a wedge (Wood, or threaded shaft, etc) between the inner and outter fender to make a little more tire clearance. Do you have a restabilizer bars rear & front? How good are your shocks? What is the size rim/tire that you are running, and what are the sizes that you want to run? Post any pics of of your set up now

 

shoot a PM to Scott on here. He narrowed his 8" housing, and with the correct length axles, made it work.

 

basically the same deal

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=392570


i narrowed my 9in for my 62 falcon using his article

 

That was a great thread. Thanks. But...

What I'm learning here is if you need just a 2 inch change you're SOL unless you buy a complete new Curry or John's rearend?

 

Scott? Search shows about 100 scotts - more info?

 

Scott is his user name on here. Theres only one Scott.

 

Narrowing your rear axle alone is not going to give you any more room for tire clearance - certainly not 2-3" worth - unless you move the springs in and enlarge the wheel tubs. Falcons and comets have notoriusly small (narrow) wheel wells. Crites sells a pretty cheap ($139) spring relocation kit that is good.

I am not guessing at this....I have a stock width 8" from a maverick in my 65 falcon and after moving in the leafs in 3" on each side I am running a 9.5" wide rim and a 275 tire.

 

If you need to shorten just 2", Moser can supply a new long axle that is 1" shorter. They can also cut your old long axle so it is 1" shorter than your current short axle. You save the cost of buying another axle.

Or, you can get another stock long axle, send it to Moser and they can shorten it so it is 2" shorter than your current short axle. That will offset the driveshaft 1". That would probably be your lowest cost option.

Bill

 

you can cut 3/4" off each axle cut the housing put it back to gether its not no race car but you can do it. I have never gone 1" so I dont know if that will work. use a chop saw to cut the axle,

 

Barry is correct, I've cut the axels under his dad's 32 that way. Enough splines for 3/4 " cut.

 

Buy my low mile S10 rear I have for sale in the classifieds and call it done. Should be perfect. PM me if interested. I'm in Austin.

-Ron

 

A lot of good info as usual from you guys - this site continues to amaze me.

Not to beat this to death but other early (round body) Falcon owners may learn from this too.

As I understand this, the Maverick rear in my car is 2" wider than the original 4 lug rear that it replaced. This required using rear wheels that are noticably shallower on the front sides than the stock 5 lug fronts (steel wheels) which looks weird and I want to go to just 7" rears with a deeper look - nothing radical. As the thing sits now there is over 4" between the outer edge of the springs and inner face of the 195/14 rear tires (and 3" between the wheel well inner face and the tires. But only .25" space to the wheel opening on the outer side. Soooo

Sway bars, moving the leaves inboard, shocks are not the issue. I just need to move the bolt face of the axles in 1- 1.5" do get the 7's right where I want them. This Wagon is wifey's grocery getter and every dollar I spend on it is one I don't have to finish my RPU. I'm calling Moser today - I think one new shorter axle is the best fix here. Thanks again all.

 

On a 62 falcon, you can only go as narrow as 55 inches, that is from wheel mounting surface to wheel mounting surface. That is one inch narrower than a stock 63 falcon V8 8 inch rear. Any narrower than 55 inches, you will be interfering with the spring perches. I have done this several times trying to fit wider tires under 62/63 falcons.

A early 70s maverick 8 inch rear I believe is 56.5 inches. So, cutting 3/4 of an inch off each side will be just about right. I normally buy an assembly from Currie that is 55 inches.

Doug

 

Thanks, Doug that is good info. I did notice the perches don't have much room to the backing plates. Shit load of work for a silly 1.5", huh? Hey, I'll just get out a sawsall and cut out the fenders for that cool '70's look! Ha!

 

but why run more rear than needed?, bigger gears=more power loss

 

A stock V8 Maverick rear end has a Right side axle shaft = 29 & 5/8th
They are the small bearing and are 28 spline axles.
A 66 to 73 Bronco 28 spline axle with the small bearing is 27 & 1/4

So you could narrow just the long side of your Maverick rear end housing by 2 and 1/16 ths ... and have a rear end just a little over 2 inches more narrow than the stock V8 Maverick.

You would need to redrill the Bronco axle flange from 5 on 5.5 ( Bronco wheel pattern ) to the smaller 5 on 4.5 wheel pattern ( standard Ford wheel pattern ... like on the Maverick axle ) then you could use your backing plates and brake drums ... all for a little housing narrowing and a STOCK FORD AXLE SHAFT

 

Thanks Deuce! The hits just keep comin'
Yeah, I went to Moser's site - $345 for one axle! But I can find a Bronco axle used pretty cheap (any offers out there?)