Register now to get rid of these ads!

How To Narrow A 9 Inch Ford Rear End Housing:

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Drive Em, Aug 26, 2009.

  1. robt500
    Joined: Nov 6, 2006
    Posts: 432

    robt500
    Member
    from Lex, KY

  2. brandonwillis
    Joined: Aug 28, 2008
    Posts: 291

    brandonwillis
    Member
    from Tucson AZ

  3. robt500
    Joined: Nov 6, 2006
    Posts: 432

    robt500
    Member
    from Lex, KY

    http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=393748

    just to make the "straightening" thread easy to find
     
  4. fordcragar
    Joined: Dec 28, 2005
    Posts: 3,198

    fordcragar
    Member
    from Yakima WA.

    Very cool, thanks!
     
  5. brucer
    Joined: Jun 5, 2008
    Posts: 332

    brucer
    Member
    from western ky

    also to add on resplining axles, you cant turn down 31 spline axles turning them into 28spline .
    you also have to pay attention to what axles you get. alot of the 70's axles have several different diameters on them and you cant just grab an axle and cut it off and start turning on it expecting it to work... you cut the hardness out of the axle making it useless... ive resplined a couple sets of axles and i splined/cut them to fit tight, they still ended up twisting after a couple years of service..

    i would recommend just spending the money on good axles if your going to the effort and expense to cut down a rearend you can afford some nice axles..
     
  6. 65stepside
    Joined: May 26, 2009
    Posts: 128

    65stepside
    Member

    once again postin so i can find it later
     
  7. hotrod32@usfamily.net
    Joined: Jan 24, 2008
    Posts: 251

    [email protected]
    Member
    from st paul

    Thank you most informative ,I knew it wasn,t rocket science and as she goes measure, measure, measure thanks good post later
     
  8. fitzee
    Joined: Feb 26, 2003
    Posts: 2,862

    fitzee
    Member

    Nice post.I take it the hosing was large bearing before? I have shorten a number of housings but never like this. cool.
     
  9. Paul
    Joined: Aug 29, 2002
    Posts: 16,380

    Paul
    Editor

    thanks for bringing this one back up!
     
  10. Great tech!! Now if you only had the same "tech" for the 57 Olds/Pont rear ends for us old Farts!! Thanx, Dave
     
    Panel Pete likes this.
  11. brucer
    Joined: Jun 5, 2008
    Posts: 332

    brucer
    Member
    from western ky

    use 9inch housing ends?
     
    doug warren likes this.
  12. Big bearing ends can be used, have to turn the O/P axles down to Ford bearing size if I remember right.
     
  13. fab32
    Joined: May 14, 2002
    Posts: 13,985

    fab32
    Member Emeritus

    Good tech. Hope everyone was paying attention or at least bookmarking this thread.

    Frank
     
  14. Larry T
    Joined: Nov 24, 2004
    Posts: 7,875

    Larry T
    Member

    I always thought early Olds/Pontiac and a LOT of the Ford 9" rear ends used the same axle bearing (old BCA 514003???).
    Narrowing procedure should be similar, just check all of the dimensions before you start.
    Larry T
     
  15. SniffnPaint
    Joined: May 22, 2008
    Posts: 434

    SniffnPaint
    Member

    great read man, im about to tackle the 9" for my RPU. THANKS!
     
  16. AHotRod
    Joined: Jul 27, 2001
    Posts: 12,216

    AHotRod
    Member

    Great TECH article, very well done....and THANK YOU for making the time to do it for all of us.
     
  17. dogpatch customs
    Joined: Oct 2, 2008
    Posts: 560

    dogpatch customs
    Member
    from ohio

    another "search" that was just what i needed, thanks for posting this. gotta love this place! george
     
  18. Nice tech and pix - thanx for showin us how ya do it !!

    I think i need to fab up one of those alignment bars....Im gonna have to grease my mate with the lathe haha !!

    Rat
     
  19. When you install the dummy pumpkin you do use a housing gasket ? If not how do you account for its final installation offset ? Small as it would be its still there,right.
     
  20. scottybaccus
    Joined: Mar 13, 2006
    Posts: 4,109

    scottybaccus
    Member

    It's still there. You can go either way. The crushed thickness is minimal. Most housings are flexing as much unless well braced. We've built many dozens for drag racing and never had a failure due to alignment issues and never use a gasket in mock up.
     
  21. d.reese
    Joined: Feb 28, 2010
    Posts: 228

    d.reese
    BANNED

    I know this is a older how to, but what if the axel splined ends end up with 1/4" gap instead of the 1 1/8 space between them?

    After axels installed total splined area on axels is 3 1/4" total.

    Are the splines going to line up with the splines in the 3rd member?
     
  22. oj
    Joined: Jul 27, 2008
    Posts: 6,454

    oj
    Member

    The gap is a non issue if you have a spool, if you have a carrier then you need the gap as things are going on in the middle of the carrier - look into it and you'll see a pin. A spool is just open space and an axle can pass thru if it is a floater type without an axle flange.
    The year old question about the gasket, i did them for many years without the gasket. About 10 years ago i started useing a gasket trying to achieve perfection, does it matter? i don't know but i just feel better taht i have made every possible effort to make the best that i can. It takes a micrometer to see the difference.
     
  23. 56_Bel_Air
    Joined: Sep 10, 2017
    Posts: 1

    56_Bel_Air

    I wish forums would host pictures because all threads end up this way. Great write up, wish there were pictures.
     
  24. Kiwi 4d
    Joined: Sep 16, 2006
    Posts: 3,564

    Kiwi 4d
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Just found this 8yr old thread. Dam photo bucket strikes again. Sure would love to see the pictures.
     
  25. brainfreeze
    Joined: Jul 17, 2012
    Posts: 171

    brainfreeze
    Member

    super keen to see this reposted with the original pics
     
    warhorseracing likes this.
  26. I agree. Is there any ay to get around this foto bucket thing? I never used it.
     
  27. THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER
    Joined: Jun 6, 2007
    Posts: 5,366

    THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER
    Member
    from FRENCHTOWN

    Good thread.
    I have narrowed five housings by taking some short cuts that worked for me. I'll share them at the risk of being criticized for cutting so many corners. But all I can say is for very narrow axle housings (one '33 Willys, two '48 Anglias, one '30 A drag roadster P/U, a rail) it has worked for me. Narrow housings are less prone to warping at the ends. I use brackets that have a 360 degree wrap to minimize distortion and I try to make one set of brackets serve several functions (e.g. shock brackets, ladder bar / 4-bar mounts, wheelie bar mounts, Panhard bar mounts, etc.).

    First I cut off the ends. Then measure the amount the housing needs shortened. In this case I wanted a pinion-centered housing so I used the gauge shown.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I square up the ends. And put on a chamfer for the welding to follow.

    [​IMG]

    This is the innovative part. I turn a wooden plug to fit inside the housing and the ends. It should be a few thousandths bigger than the I.D. of those parts so that it can be tapped inside the housing with an interference fit. Leave a little flange in the middle equal to the desired weld root opening and to square up both pieces.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Nov 12, 2018
    fauj likes this.
  28. THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER
    Joined: Jun 6, 2007
    Posts: 5,366

    THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER
    Member
    from FRENCHTOWN

    [​IMG]

    I square up the ends. And put on a chamfer for the welding to follow.

    [edit: somehow I'm having trouble getting my pics to load. I'll keep trying.]
     
    Last edited: Nov 12, 2018
    fauj likes this.
  29. THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER
    Joined: Jun 6, 2007
    Posts: 5,366

    THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER
    Member
    from FRENCHTOWN

    I cut a notch in the plug.Every 9" welded housing has a weld bead inside it. I use the notch to align the tubes to the ends so the backing plates are aligned and indexed.

    [​IMG]
     
    fauj likes this.

Share This Page

Register now to get rid of these ads!

Archive

Copyright © 1995-2021 The Jalopy Journal: Steal our stuff, we'll kick your teeth in. Terms of Service. Privacy Policy.

Atomic Industry
Forum software by XenForo™ ©2010-2014 XenForo Ltd.