Hot Rods Banjo Rear vs. 1957 Ford 9"

I am collecting parts for my next project. It will be a show car styled 1936 Ford pickup. The era I am after is 1960.

The question I have is what rear would be more appropriate for a build in 1960?
My thoughts are that the 9" swap didn't probably happen until later, even though they do fall into the era.

I am guessing most guys left everything in place and just did an engine swap with the old a-dap-ter kit.

I am about to have to spend a lot of labor and money on a banjo rear and I hope I am not throwing good money after bad. I have a banjo in the roadster and I haven't had it long enough to make a good decision on it's reliability. Of course it is behind a little 265.

The pros:
I can run the transverse leaf and it would look very period correct. I would retain the 5 on 5.5" Ford pattern. Bells could be chromed for that show car feel.

The Cons:
The cost to overhaul. Reliability behind the torque of a Caddy. Tapered axles unless I convert to the later styled axles.

I am about to have to spend a lot of labor and money on a banjo rear and I hope I am not throwing good money after bad.
The goal is to run a 390 Caddy with an open drive and manual tranny. Am I going to regret running the banjo?

 

If it were my project, with the era and style your after I'd run a BOP rear end.

It would be period correct, it would be stout enough to have fun with and I think they make a nice symmetrical looking rear end assembly.

 

Olds or Poncho is a good idea. But, I would prob lean towards the Banjo

 

The Olds would be a good idea, but they aren't as plentiful anymore.
Mark, I tend to hammer them pretty good. I will have the same weak link (tires). I had a 57 Chevy pass car rear end in it previously. Not sure that it was much stronger than the banjo. They are more plentiful though.

 

If you just cruise around town,and you drive like grandpa you could go banjo.If you plan on letting folks know what you got under the hood,or you take long rod runs I would go 9 inch ,or O/P.

 

I have pondered it. I have done several 35-36's this way. Just trying to stay period correct and didn't know when the hot rodders started doing the parallel swap. The goal is for people to really scratch their head wondering if the car was a survivor or not. The good thing is that the 35-36 pickups hide everything, when they sit right.

 

My trick on living with an early V-8 quickie was to keep the rear tire air pressure up behind the injected 327 and 4-speed stick Hydro. I also "believe" even with a modified Hydro they don't smack as hard as a stick shift.

 

I have been all day......

 

Another 'vote' for the Olds-Pont and parallel leaves. I would not expect the old Ford to live long.
I recall folks putting the 5-1/2 pattern on the O-P, maybe redrilled them ....but then there was a time when 'we' swapped flanges on axles too....long time ago.

 

Not a lot of detail. The old mags seem to talk more about power plant and interior...I still have 950 mags to go.

 

I'm a huge fan of the banjo as you may know. I would not hesitate to run it in back of the Caddy. Like a lot of things, reliability is directly related to condition. A banjo in great shape is super reliable and just fun to drive period! Keep in mind that with the banjo, (open rear), and some skinneys you're never really going to hook up so you're probably in no danger of breaking it.

Cheap insurance on the banjo is a brass bolt on the ring gear which prevents the pinion from running over the ring gear. This is an old racers trick that's been covered here many times. Also torque those axles to 200 ft. lbs. and chances of ripping out an axle are slim. 'Course I'm sure you knew that.

The axle stubs are worth the price of admission alone!

 

The BOP has become too expensive. Sometimes it's hard to afford traditional. I'd go with the banjo and upgrade it, then put the other $500 in my pocket while i enjoyed my banjo rear end no way I'd pay that kind of money for a old rear end that is probably worn out. (The BOP that is)

 

The cool old cars had quick changes. Just saying.

 

True, but you can't even see it Rich.

 

If you can't see it, don't worry about it. Use a 9" with P&J ladder bars on a stock spring. You can find a pickup rear if you want the 5.5" pattern.

 

Saw an article a while back where the pumpkin mounting area on the BOP housing was modified to accept a 9" pumpkin, they also ended up using 9" axles and housing ends.

 

If you can’t see it and your gonna drive it a ton and beat on it from time to time. Go get a first gen bronco 9 inch. I’m setting one up now to put in my 39. It’s the perfect width, has a centered pinion like the banjo and has the 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern. Set it up with ladder bars and a transverse leaf. I am a big fan of R Jays ladder bar set up. None better. And the price is right.

 

I’m actually building a jig to do this under the car as we speak for a tech week thread. Gonna do the thread tonight.

 

I definitely like the look of the old banjo Ford rear ends but like you just said in regards to a QC, you can't really see it in your truck.
So for all around practicality I'd go 9" Ford, (preferably '57-'59). You can easily end up with a good gear ratio, a limited slip, any kind of brakes you can imagine and axles with the 5 on 5 1/2" bolt pattern. It fits the era as well.
Now me, I'm an Olds/Pontiac fan myself and I just narrowed one for my roadster but I didn't have to go into the current market to get it, I had everything already. Plus, the old car I'm "tributing" had an O/P and it does show.

 

Axles are fairly cheap these days if you don’t need the 40 spline axles. This build will be using the good stuff. Anyone know the measurement for center to center, on the transverse leaf shackle eyes for a 35-36 set of bones? (Just in case I choose the 9”)
Oh and I have a 35-36 Pickup axle in the shop minus the bones. Condition unknown.

 

I would do the 57 round back 9 inch, many cars were putting the latest available factory high performance pieces on their cars. If a new car was sent to the junkyard after a crash it was stripped of all the go fast goods.

 

Kinda stupid question as you know the answer - that banjo will last about thru your first launch like your avatar.

 

Why the hell would anyone with a lick of common sense suggest running an Olds or Pontiac when the man clearly asked about a 9 inch that has been very traditional ever since 1957 and is one hell of a lot easier to find pieces for plus has the bolt pattern he wants without the expense of redrilling axles. Some times you clowns don't make sense at all.

 

^^^ you really need to learn to read^^^

And I quote "The question I have is what rear would be more appropriate for a build in 1960?"

His next sentence was a statement not a question and that is the only time a 9" is mentioned.

 

Having read several hundred of the man's posts in the past he isn't going to spend the 3500 to 4K to build that "OH so perfect Olds rear" unless you are willing to donate the money for him to do it.
That's what gripes my butt, you guys see a simple question and throw out and answer that calls for parts that are near unobtainable and damned expensive to boot. Truth be know, he probably has a couple of nine inch rears out in the back.

 

It’s ok fellas. I am open to all opinions. No worries.
I just lay awake at night picturing my build. I like to get a vision of all the parts and pieces I need, so that at the end I have a finished product that is cohesive. I don’t want it to be a mixed bag of eras and genres.

I hadn’t really thought about the Olds, but it’s a good suggestion. The guys are right though, I would build a 9” if I were to stray from the Banjo.

I have Mercury axles and the correct side bells for that swap. I tore down dad’s center section and pieces fell out. When I asked about it he said he remembered something happening in 1976. That’s the reason I am rethinking my options.