Hot Rods Are the old tried & true rear axles getting hard to find?

does anyone have the bendix part number of a 1966 bronco back plate?
11 by 1 3/4'' brakes
IF you can fit a 66 bronco rear drum onto a 56 ford f100 rear end dana44
same pcd, same hub register same diamter and shoe width
PLUS same big bearing 3.150
plus no one knows the dimensions of the bolts spacing on an early ford big bearing end
what are the chances of the back plates being the same
?
moreover, what are the chances of the bearing housings being the asme thing? even though the dana44 has pressed in knurled studs rather than t bolts









note to self..
32 heavy axle is 50.5'' king pin to king pin
40 ford axle is 48.5
32 heavy + 40 spindle + 56 f100 brakes = 59 1/8
40 ford axle and spindle f100 hub would be 57 1/8
s**** the 32 heavy and go stock!! or narrow the 32 heavy 1/2'' per side and drop it a tiny tiny amount = 58 1/8
5.5j is 6.5 edge to edge 4'' b/s (actual et positive 38mm 1.5'' = 56 1/8'' track
or 5.5j et38 =56 1/8
outside wheel edge each way plus 5 = 61 1/8 rim outer to rim outer - double check


bronco rear 58 1/8''

stock 40 axle with f1 hubs would get you 58 1/8


don't forget camber lean

 

I only have Olds/Pont rears and I'm getting rid of them all for one low price of $1500.00. It's time for me to clean out so my family won't have to. So anybody looking, look no further.

Pat

 

I read this whole thread, I've always been amazed by the guys who figure a nine inch is the only way to go, as it will take the horsepower. I've had discussions with customers over the same thing and its all brain washing.
I have always run the cheapest narrow housing I can find, not picky who makes it, my 36 ran a gm ten bolt for 18 years, till I put a ford 8.8 ranger rear in it, behind a 330 horse 327, lots of abuse, never a whimper. Why? Simple, the truck weighs 2770 lbs, will light the tires on fire at will, long before anything will break. It's not a 59 caddy, doesn't need huge strength, 31 spline axles are a waste of money, unless I want to pay for bragging rights. I don't.
I upgraded because I wanted to change wheels, the ten bolt was just that little bit too wide, I found an 8.8 with 355 gears and a trac loc with very low miles for $400 complete, changed the spring mounts and in it went, changed the oil and went drag racing.
Traditional may be cool, but can get expensive, nobody has ever looked under mary and commented on the parts I used to build her, and I've never hurt a rear end yet.

 

^^^^True. When I narrowed 1 side of the 8" housing I did, I bought a "cut-to-fit" Yukon brand axle. With bearing it was $170-ish if memory serves.

I have since looked into having axles re-splined for an 8 3/4" Mopar axle for something else. The one local machine shop I checked with didn't have the correct equipment to re-spline axles so I checked several companies like Moser, Dutchman, etc.. I don't recall an exact price for having them re-splined, but with the expense of shipping axles both ways to have them done I think $170 for the cut-to-fit axle with bearing was a decent price.

Lynn

 

The last nine inch was used in 1986! That's 34 years ago and that was in the F-150, the last US p***enger car with one was the 1980 Granada. The last 8" was used in 1980 as well - so 40 years ago!

 

I should add, that I think this is why it APPEARS that they are getting hard to find. Truth be told I've never had trouble finding old rear-ends when I need em. Sometimes they're cheap too!

 

I was thinking it was 96 in the F150, but you may be right. Still a long time ago either way.
My sense of time gets worse every day. Things I think happened a year or two ago actually happened 10 years ago or longer. I guess that’s why I have CRS, can’t remember ****......

 

How many do you get for that one low price?

 

Here's more info about narrowing, say it's close and you only need an inch or so off 1 side, maybe less or a wee bit more on the other. Got a chop saw or a buddy with one? Look at the splines. Many have 2 1/2 or more of spline that never gets used (like a guy with a big... oops never mind) so you can trim that off as long as the original wear mark is equal plus a bit onto what's left. Make sense? So if the wear is about 1" and you have 2 1/2" to play with and you lopped off that inch you're at 1 1/2" of spline and still good to go. Lop it off, grind in a bit of taper, wire brush it and run it. And yeas, ROUND TUBE axles. Oh, this just in from the FWIW dept, adding Ford brakes to any axle works with the right housing end (big Ford Torino is the norm) regardless of make. It also eliminates the 'c' clips on the GMs and such. I know, too easy right?

 

Using different axle ends to fit different brakes.
That's a gold nugget.

 

The right bearings and retainers are needed too, just figured that was nearly obvious.

 

The last one I did was a f150 rear, you could get them for $100 at a local yard in Michigan (15 years ago), 31 spline. I cut and rewelded and bought cut to fit axles which were reasonably priced. I was recently in a pick and pull yard several weeks ago here in Seattle area and there were several pre 87 pickups and vans. There is also a falcon 8” on Craigslist last week, one complete rear and one housing for $150.


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I picked up a very narrow 9" housing and axles at the swap meet. Perfect for my little Austin Ruby. Also bought a center section with the 4.56 gears that I want. Had no problem trading the spool for a open case. Sort of overkill for my 1000 cc. engine but it was cheap enough.

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Just because you have never broken a rear axle or a rear end doesn't mean everyone else can't/won't. Something you also aren't considering is that with the 10 bolt rear ends they use C-clips to retain the axles. If you break an axle, you can lose a wheel and bad things can happen. Having the foresight to overbuild when someone has decent hp and traction is a good thing. The point is that many cars have hp levels that may never tax a 9" rears abilities, BUT you never know how a less strong rear may hold up. It depends on how the builder plans to drive the car. If someone starts out to build a "hot rod", one would think that the rear end is going to get tested ........

 

FORD THUNDERBIRD 9 INCH REAR AXLE 1965 HOT ROD | eBay
uk prices
826 bucks

 

Yikes! Might as well list the price in Guineas.
But hey, you get an open rear end with an unpopular ratio that's too wide. At least it has the brakes still on it.

 

I don't worry about c clips, there are literally millions out on the road, failure rates are? Who knows, I never see it. Not that your post doesn't have merit, it does, and if I were going to race or put ridiculous power in a car, I'd match the ****** and rear end as well. Just saying, for most guys, not an issue, last year I upgraded an 8" to a 9" in a model a coupe, cause the owner wanted a 409 for the car, I wouldn't have upgraded if it were mine, but he got what he paid for.

 

Yep, I've done that; works well. I narrowed a small-bearing 9" housing and needed shorter 28 spline axles. Looked in my stash, I had some 8" axles with the same bearing and the right splines and close to the right length, trimmed off about 3/4" on each one and had my no-cost narrowed axles...

 

Dana Advantek Axles – Ford Ranger – The Ranger Station
so is it a d44
metricified
m220 = 220mm 8 3/4''
m210 8 1/4

i'd say so
Ford Performance Differential Cover 2019 2020 Ford Ranger 2.3L Ecoboost Dana M220 Rear (morepowertuning.com)

Jeep JL Rear M220 - Dana 44™ AdvanTEK® Axle | Rubicon & Gladiator (differentials.com)

wow the jeep one is 68 inches wide
you could weigh-in the bits you cut off and make your money back!!

 

aahh the ford ranger parts car
rwd 2.3 duratec mazda L
exhaust p***enger side , throttle body to front
rwd block to ch***is motor mount legs
rwd oil pan to clear front crossmember
getrag 6 speed manual, with cable shift - remote cable shift move forwards where you want it.
stock reworked driveshaft
dana44 re axle and braked for 5.5'' pcd
tanks poly tank modified to receive stock fuel pump, glue in swirl pot click fit, screw top , with the click on charcoal filter
use the plastic fuel lines and clips
keep the smog return line and valve.
je;lly bean 2'' stainless exhaust to go through a 35-40 frame
keep the pats and the fuel pump controller.
aftermaqrket fuse box for permanent live and switched live, that has the color coding on it to ***ist in loom mod
electronic dials sans digital read out, pre programmed to getrag with ranger gear ratio and 235 75 15 tyre
I wonder if they are electric or hydraulic steering

 

cut the axles out of the center of the housing at the weld clean up the ends and grind a slight taper on the tubes then press them back in to the desired length check straightness and reweld the tubes into the center section be sure to index the axle retainer flange to keep the bleeder at the top no real reason to buy billit ends when the original lasted for 40 years also the tube can be left long enough to be pressed in far enough to weld a support gussset inside the housing

 

i was thinking drill through the plug welds, press the whole tube in, and plasma cut it on the inside, tickle it up with a burr - especially If you were going from 61 inches wide to say 57, press in 2 inches per side, cut off 2'' inside

would be really funny if there were a leaf sprung axle out there - rear loader, where you could press the tubes in and the spring pads landed exactly at 35-40 ford ch***is engineering leaf spring kit..........

anyways, that leads to - is the casing cast iron and then if the tubes are steel, what rod do you use to weld them - been done already ....

anyways, if you then bought the dutchman extra long splined shafts, and realised you needed another (for example) 1/2 inch per side, at least you could ***emble the thing and not weld the plugs back to see if it were correct.

or at least it gives you the option in the future to see a bit more ankle in the future

 

I do know where a 57 Ford wagon 9 inch is sitting in a state park in Michigan. Car is sitting on its roof mostly rotted away. Someone did pull the rear end, but never went back for it. I haven’t been back in there in a few years to see if it’s still there.


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Here are the listings this mornings CL Inland Empire CA
1962 Ford Galaxy rear end - $350 (29 Palms)
'68 Ford Fairlane rear end - $700 (29 Palms)
Ford 9" rear end 9 inch drop out differential axle ***embly - $500 (San Diego)
Ford 9 inch center 4.30 gears Detroit Locker - $1,250
Ford 9 inch 3rd member 350 Gear - $800
9 inch Ford rearend Lincoln versailles - $1,200 (fontana

 

Jeeze, I should start buying **** up and taking it West.

 

Here is a video about doing that And also a pictorial article: http://mmb.maverick.to/threads/explorer-8-8-rear-end-bracket-welding-install-pictures.77673/

 

talking of the 1998 - 2000 explorer
the front axles are dana35's
1999 Ford Explorer Dana 35 front axle housing and gears 3.73 ratio drop in | eBay
i wonder, can you take a dana 35 front axle diff with the 30 splines
and fit it to a 1956 f100 dana44
go from 19 splines to 30

i dont think so - i think they are 27 spline in a 35

 

They're pretty plentiful here. Found about a dozen rangers and six or seven explorers and mountaineers in one junkyard.

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I used to get axles re-splined at semi tractor repair shops

 

While trying to figure out where to get front suspension pieces small enough for my Austin project, I was nosing around on Alibaba and noticed that my cousins over in China are selling new 9" axle housings. This will probably get negative responses, but thought I would let you know.