Wanting to put a 9" under my '62 Falcon and one popped up a couple hours from me. I've read the truck rear ends are more sought after but can't find much else. It's out of an 84 F150 and is complete, even with leafs, less brakes. He hasn't sent me the axle codes yet but says he thinks it's an open diff with 3.00 gears and is asking $150. Can anyone tell me if this is a good candidate? Or am I better off going completely aftermarket? The Falcon will eventually have a built 390 (aiming for 500hp/tq) and HOPEFULLY a top loader.
you better make sure it's a 9"....i believe some of them had 8.8 rears or i could be all wrong maybe the seller could provide a picture?
From what I've read, shorten the tubes and get custom length axles. I'm completely new to this stuff, however.
that has a few parts you could use. And probably a lot you can't? that tag should have the ratio stamped on it. btw that is a 9" rear.
What would be worth using? The carrier and housing? I know aftermarket carriers cost 10x more than this entire rear. Would it be worth it to use this and go aftermarket with everything else or just dump the coin for a complete custom moser rear?
Begin with the end in mind..............you can't fit much tire to start with in the 62 wheel well. So do you do major tub work (narrowed or otherwise). Obviously anything can be made to work with enough money and labor. I'd recommend doing some research up front like Currie, TCI, etc. considering the suspension, brakes, chassis and sheet metal involved.
I have no idea how much money you have, what you want it to be when you're done with it, how good you are at scrounging parts, etc. Do you need a limited slip, or a locker, or a spool, or would an open differential work for you? do you need 31 or 35 splines, or would 28 be ok? do you have access to some place that can narrow the housing for you for a reasonable price? Do you know much about rearend work, or is it all new to you?
the 1/4s will be radiused to follow the 60s gasser style. Work won't be started for a while. Right now I'm just shopping for deals on stuff I'll need or want and trying to do as much research as possible. I know any rear I get will need shortened to fit under the car. If I can find some 15x10 slots and tires I'll be able to measure how much, but I haven't had any luck in the budget just yet.
Currie and Moser will both sell you a new 9" housing and axles for about $950. John's 9"factory did not have prices on their website , i suspect about the same price. you may want to call Johns and get a price the last 9" i had narrowed cost me $100 to do the housing both sides and then got cut and resplined axles from Johns for about $250...i think? FWIW.....it was narrowed by a shop that actually knew what they were doing , not the same guy that shortened my driveshaft and made a mess too bad that rear end doesn't have all the brake components and usable drums..or are you going disc rear?
It's all new to me. The car will have a straight axle up front, 10pt cage, FE big block with 500hp and a 4spd top loader. It will be mostly a street toy with a few runs every now and then. I don't want a spool since it'll see mostly street time. I'd think 31 spline would be enough but I haven't looked into it much yet. I hate calling places and getting quotes waaaay ahead of time, but I do know a few people that are very experienced and have done work for me before.
And above^^^^ Now consider narrowing a housing, respline, bolt pattern, = that includes drums, bracket re-location, shoe width,.........And your time which has to be worth something? Just because things resemble a duck, just might not be.......... Your time= driving to pick up a "non " bolt in for X$. Finding a place to narrow the housing=$. A machine shop to narrow axels =$. Happy with the bolt pattern that it comes with? Add it up some...... bearings,gaskets, Can drums be saved? Of course new shoes/WS'....... And, and,..... spline count, and gear ratio...... See where I'm going?.........
I'd like to keep the drums out back to stay somewhat true to the period. The car will be under 3000lbs so it should have plenty of brake, especially if I go with small discs up front. I had a guy here in town weld my axle tubes on my '14 mustang a few years ago. He does a lot of rear end fab for the serious racers here. He's pretty reasonable and one of his welders is one of the best I've seen in town.
31 splines would probably be ok. the brakes are another concern I forgot about...you probably don't want truck brakes, you want car brakes, and probably the 4.5" bolt pattern drums, not something oddball like the late T bird or Lincoln 5" bolt circle, or the truck 5.5" bolt circle, you just want little 10" drum brakes. That makes it look like less of a good deal to buy a truck rear....but donor car rears are really hard to find these days. It does add up....I guess I'm good at scrounging and figuring out how to do stuff, I dont have much money in the 9" rears in my old Chevys. If you're starting out fresh, you can start adding up parts and it turns out that spending 2500 on a new complete rear almost make sense. But yeah..the housing and parts of the center section of this truck rear might be useable. The gears, differential, axles, brakes etc probably are not.
Ah, I see your point(s). I'm glad I asked before I made the drive. Looks like I'll put that money into my welder fund instead. I appreciate all the help.
John's Deal= Custom housing to any width, Bearing diameter,+ axel package. Re-spline, or new. Bearings. studs, the whole enchilada=shipped here=$700. And shit isn't 30+ years old. Look at youtube to see first hand.
You mentioned you have a few friends, also look at local stock car racers - see who in the area does axle narrowing, check them out, get some prices, compare to getting one done. Youre still looking at buying a center section set up unless you want to learn. I've always had 9"s housings done locally, some axles resplined, some I bought new. Experienced locals have always done center sections for me. Figure out your rear suspension and how much mini tub you want. The housing will likely warp when you do brackets, it's nice to get it all done at once and have it straightened at the same time.
Add in a CC mag= $650 for housing/axel package. Any width/spline/new axel's or factory resplined. $50 to ship to the right coast. This was 6 mo's ago. Saw the add, gave a call, gave my dimmentions, was asked what bearing ends/splines/studs..... No way I could beat that with scavenging,machining, and new part tally... Plus- it's way beefier than a stock housing/axel combo, and it's NEW. IDK where your # came from, but- this was the "basic" package, and upgrades to heavier duty were of no charge. I spoke with LYNN @ John's. This lady knows what's going on. For your entertainment purposes, and info- check out the youtube video's, and see for yourself...... Just for shit's and giggles= look up some rear end threds here= see who has what, what's going on with things, and who get's what from whom...... We can PM to discuss further. Good Luck with your project.
Don't shoot a dead horse , we all like to say a buck . I'd buy that stuff and narrow as needed to fit shorter oem axles from another used car/truck . Most 9 inch Fords have one short and one long . Possible to get to short axles for close to nothing , narrow the housing to fit , bolt most likely will be a car on newer axles , 28 spline drivin in a street car is good to go . Enjoy this hobby with what you can piece together . If you plan on racing , better regroup and buy all new stuff . Life can not be paid for in a dollar value
Keep in mind also that the newer trucks use 3.25" axle tubes versus the 3" tubes found on the early 70's f100 trucks. Most of the car 9" are based on the 3", but not all so make sure you confirm the axel tube size. Most of the after market brackets are sized to work with 3" tubes as well, Even the after market housings mentioned above are based on 3" tubes and use spring perches, ladder bar mounts etc designed for 3".
An 8.8 from an Explorer with 3.73 or 4.10 gears and traction lock and maybe even discontinued brakes would be another option, albeit not traditional. They are as easy to find as the 9 inch was twenty years ago. A lot of Falcon guys are moving that way. I used an 8 inch rear out of a Maverick, but the supply is pretty well dried up here.
Do not use resplined axles...Good bite or little wheel hop while dialing in will break them, they are not as strong as a stock axle..For peace of mind get a set of axles from Strange. Summers, ect for between 3/4 hundred...
Save your money and buy a rear that is complete with brakes and hardware. By the time you buy the needed parts plus the rebuild plus the new axles plus the cost of narrowing you will have more money than expected in that rear. Not worth it. Be sure and read all about 9 in. rears here especially the info. from Kevin Stang. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/are-all-9-third-members-interchangeable.378394/ Then Google: Kevin Stang 9inch rears and read some more to become the 9 inch master.
I don't know what is best for you. But if you have a local guy who is doing rear ends for race cars that live I would talk to him. Buying a ready to go rear is great for the 1-800 car builder. On my Vega I used the short axle on the long side after taking out 4 inches on the tube. Took 4 inches out of the short side and took the long axle to a guy with in indexing head to cut off 8 inches and respline. By that time we were past the smaller part of the half shaft and had plenty of iron to cut to size and spline. Wasn't a drag car, but did run around 180 on the dirt and 208 on salt. never failed. After about 20 years of beating on it I sold the car down under. have heard no complaints.
Locally here in Houston the go to shop that builds rear ends for racers and commercial vehicles is Pyle Brothers in Baytown, Texas. I took them a complete 9" out of a '79 Ranchero and they shortened it to 60" with centered pinon big bearing ends and a new Eaton posi with 3:73 gears and 31 spline Mosher axles. They also replaced the brakes and turned the drums then painted it black and filled it with the correct grease. In effect it was ready to bolt in for a little over $1800. The only parts used from the original 9" was the housing and center case. My point in this is don't buy stuff you don't need and shop around for a local builder. Some of them have a stock of cores and can build you what you need.
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