I picked up a Ford 9" from a friend for free. He had several laying around out of a mid 70's Ford Bronco, I think it was.

I picked the one that had the tapered housing, where it tapers down to the axle tubes. These are the strongest housings, I thought. I know the center section isn't the correct one for racing. I think the correct one had the extra ribs across the face of it, and is "N" coded.

I know absolutely nothing about Ford rear ends, so I'm going to need a little help here. I'm building a drag car out of a '78 Malibu, and I'm looking to set up a rear that will handle about 650 HP at the flywheel. I'll eventually spray it with 100-150 shot of juice, but that's several seasons after the car is together and tuned properly.

The plan is to go with a Chris Alston back half, with coil-overs, and a Ford 9" rear. I'll be running a wheel/tire in the 15x14/31x18.5 range, but have to design as I go. I'll be running a 454 mated to a TH400 up front.

Now, I know I need to get the rear shortened for slicks, and will need to get housing supports welded in at the same time I get the diff housing shortened. I will need brake flanges, and all that good stuff. I'll also have to pick up a third member, too.

My question is, Is this housing going to do the trick? Will it meet my needs? Apparently there's small ford end bearings, and large end bearings, but I don't know much about that either. Can I run a 35 spline axle in this setup? I believe they came in 31, 35, 40 spline, didn't they?

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

Here's the rear end:

(I just noticed Mick Dawg saying hi to you in the upper left hand corner :D )

http://webpages.charter.net/seanthomas/Ford9inch1-1.JPG

http://webpages.charter.net/seanthomas/Ford9inch3-1.JPG

Anyone?

Sean,

I'm not up on exactly what is needed for a given power level on 9" rears, but one of these folks should be able to point you in the right direction. Moser has a good axle selector on their site.

http://www.moserengineering.com/

http://www.markwilliams.com/

http://www.tomsdifferentials.com/

Sean, you could maybe email big gear head (Freddie Byars) He posts over in the transmission forum.
I have been in contact with him about building a new rear end for me. His email address is gears@muhlon.com

I'll save you the time, energy and money. The rear you have is a standard 9" housing. These were made from light wall tubing. Bearings (at the flange) are probably the large bearings, which is good. Unless the carrier has "N" cast into it, it is a standard cast iron carrier. For what you are looking at, 650HP plus 150 of spray, this rear won't hold up. You might use the center section of the housing, but will need replacement tubes - by the time you cut it all apart, it would be easier to get a replacement housing with the correct width and mounts. Definitely need a Nodular case, and look into the Daytona Pinnion Supports. It is a big misconception about the strength of a standard Ford 9".

Boy that looks familiar, get your checkbook out. That's about what I started out with - I'd recommend calling the guys at quickperformance.com, that's who I got most of my parts from. I stuck 3.25 heavy wall tubes in mine, HRW Nodular Chunk, Daytona Support, Spool, disc brakes, back brace, 35 spline moser axles, etc. All that adds up pretty quick.

So would it just be easier and cheaper to go with a package which includes the entire rear end, center section, housing, axles and all?

Sean,

Hop in your rig and pop up to Cottage Grove and talk to Jim Messler at www.messlerproducts.com. (http://www.messlerproducts.com.) The guy probably has forgot more about 9 inch rears than you can learn. I learned a lot by talking to him. He also is normally a good source for parts. He also does narrowing and other mods. Did a buddy's 9 inch housing under my coworker/buddy's CJ-5.

Thanks, Jeff. He's just up the slab from me. I'll give him a call and get some pricing from him.

I would call Doug at Quickperformance.com and talk to him. His company built the rearend under my 68 chevelle and we are running in the 8's 1/4 mile times at 3400lbs. Definetly a wealth of knowledge and by far the best prices on gears and the like. It will not be cheap, but do it once and not worry about it again.