9" Ford rear axle

I have acquired a narrowed 9" Ford rear axle for a T-bucket project and I can't seem to identify it. From rolling it across the floor (wheels attached) and counting pinion revolutions it appears to be a 3.0:1 ratio. Not good for drag racing!
It has factory disc brakes. The previous owner thought it was from a Lincoln. Anybody know what year Lincolns had a 9" with disc brakes? Without tearing it apart it would be nice to know if it has 28 splines or 31 splines. I'll figure it out eventually but there are always experts who know this stuff like the back of their hand.
Thanks, Clark Hartzel

 

Mid 70's Lincoln Versailles had factory discs, and I believe they were 28 spline.

 

there were two different types of lincoln disk brake rears...the Versailles which is like a Granada, and the full size ones. The versailles has the 4.5" bolt pattern, and is not too wide, or too heavy, while the big car rear has 5" bolt pattern, and it's huge and heavy

did you look for the id tag attached to one of the 3rd member nuts? if it's there, post all the info on it and we could figure it out

 

I used a Ford 9" with disc brakes for chassis mock up. It was from a 1978 Lincoln and had 2.30 gears according to the tag but never pulled the axle to check the splines. Using a Currie now Good luck

 

Also, this unit had a 5 on 5 bolt pattern with a 3' center hole

 

I'm pretty sure none of the disc brake 9" rears had 31 spline axles.

 

although if the rear has been narrowed, there's no way to tell for sure without pulling an axle

 

28 spline axle shafts can be ID'd by looking at the center brake hub area; a big rectangular slot in the center usually indicates a 28 spline axle.

31 spline axles usually have one small center chamferd hole and two outer holes (one on either side of it). Take a look at the pictures below:

Finally, everything you need to know about Ford 9" rearends is here: http://www.kevinstang.com/Ninecase.htm

 

The big lincoln disc brake axles are 28 spline but they're big bearing, big diameter, so if that's what it was then they could have been shortened and resplined as 31

 

After someone else had been in it there is no way to tell for sure other than pulling it apart. If you are actually gonna use this thing you better inspect it anyway and check axle seals, new gear oil etc. This is just good parctice especially when dealing with used parts! It's never a good idea to just buy it and throw it in!

 

Thanks for the replies. I just went out in the garage to look and I find no tag.
There are wheels mounted with center caps so I can't see the ends of the axles at the moment.
It does have a 5" bolt circle lug pattern.

 

Would it happen to have the metal tag under one of the nuts holding the center section in.

 

With the 5on5 bolt pattern it is from a big Lincoln and most likely has a 93/8" ring gear and 28 spline axles.There are not many gear sets for these but a 9" pumpkin is a bolt in.I parted out a mid 70s and that is what it had. ROY.