Can A 9 Inch Ford Take The Torque Of A 454?

I know this sounds like a newbie question (and it is), but I'm trying to decide between using a Dana 60 on my 55 Chevy or using a 9 inch Ford that I have off to the side. I finally found a 454 for my 55 Bel Air. I have a Dana 60 and a Ford 9 inch, and whichever I decide upon will have to be narrowed to work. If built right, will a Ford 9 inch hold up to the torque of a 454?

 

Without a doubt. A 9" can take whatever you throw at it as long as it is built right.

 

So Moser axles and a locker or posi will be good to go?

 

use an automatic tranny without a brake and it will take anything.
use a clutch and slicks it will break. (it might take awhile, but it WILL break).
then you build the 9" with the best aftermarket parts and you are back to, "it will take anything".
JMO.

 

is this a race only build what gears, slicks/tires and a spool is dangerous in the wet

 

A 9" with 31 spline (or more) axles should be fine.

 

Definitely going manual, but I haven't decided which one I will use. I don't know if I'm going with slicks. I haven't made up my mind on that. This won't be a dedicated track car. It will spend some of it time on the track, but not all of it.

 

yes....

 

I have an 8" in the back of my coupe powered by a 454. The 8" are stronger than you think. It's never had a problem with the torque I've thrown at it.
We will see how it holds up this fall when the 454 is replaced by an LS2 and 4L60E (400hp, 450lbs of torque)

 

Either will hold up, but the 9" has a drop out pumpkin so you can swap gears easier.

 

In my roadster with 392 Hemi bored to 407ci, TH350 tranny I used a 9" with 31 spline Moser axles and a Detroit True Trac center. Hooks up, goes straight and still corners great on the street with no noise.

 

Easily. I've got a stock 28 spline 9" behind a lightly built 429. Manual trans, 5.13 gears, 450 hp and over 500 ft/lbs of torque. Only thing I've broken so far are u-joints...

Mike

 

Put the Dana in the 55 with a chrome rearend cover. Should cost the same to narrow either one but like someone else earlier mentioned the removable center section in a Ford 9in has its advantages but the Dana is far stronger to start with.

 

Can A 9 Inch Ford Take The Torque Of A 454?
A bit of a vague question since the 9" can be a varity of things: weak factory case; stronger factory case; aftermatket case; small pinion bearing; Daytona pinion bearing; 28 spline; 31 spline; 35 spline; through bolted case, or not. The drop out feature of the 9" is nice. But when you go the the track, what do you see the most? Usually the Ford 9". And parts are everywhere. So to answer you question, yes a 9" can be built with the right parts that a 454 will not phase it in the least.

 

If you posted some information about the Ford 9" you have, we might be able to see how much of it may be usable: what case (WAR, "N", etc. ), carrier bearing size, pinion bearing confoguration. 31 spline axle will not fit into a 28 spline carrier without some machine work - not really recommended for a stout. Many think they can just change out the side gears and they will be good to go.

 

Like Jmountain said, it is all about the combination. The 9" came under 4500+ lb Lincolns and Mercs that were equipped with 430 and 462 MEL's that were rated at 500 ft-lbs from the factory, so yea they will take torque. The Ford 9" is the sbc of rear ends. Everyone has at least one, some won't admit it, and there is an unlimited amount of aftermarket support.

 

A 9" Ford is pretty tough as proven by NASCAR which is the only rear axle used. HRP

 

Yep, it'll take the abuse--------------------------------------- after you install a nodular case, "Daytona" pinion support, good carrier or spool, good axles,............................... But it's not really Ford then, is it?

 

I once built a 454 with twin turbos, and that required a Dana. For a naturally aspirated motor on the street, the Ford is more than enough.

 

The Dana is quite a bit heavier compared the Ford. Go to any dragstrip or racetrack, you'll find Ford 9" under just about everything.

 

A friend of mine runs a 9" in his drag car behind 570+ cubes and it finally broke recently. But he is running about 2700 (all throttle, no bottle) horses through a Lenco trans. I doubt your 454 will ever approach that number. He swears by the 9" and runs them in everything regardless of make / model of the car. He runs the quarter in the mid 6.6 second range. I've seen the time slips.

 

Yep, it'll take the abuse--------------------------------------- after you install a nodular case, "Daytona" pinion support, good carrier or spool, good axles,............................... But it's not really Ford then, is it?

Well said Larry. But they do work:




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Its the stock 9 inch from my 1976 F100. It has always had a 302 in front of it since the day it rolled off the factory floor. I think that at some point someone opened it, enlarged the gears, and installed a limited slip. Both tires spin when I lose traction, and I get shitty highway mileage. I'm pretty sure it's got 4:11's, but I've never had it open to confirm it. The AOD the last owner installed in my truck tops out at 50MPH and begs for mercy when I hit 60.

 

Out of the box the Dana is stronger but heavier. More hop up parts for the 9" are available.

 

And a 12 bolt is even lighter, takes less HP to drive and is pretty stout too (after you modify it).

Lots of choices.

 

How 'big' is the 454? Blown? Big hit of nitrous? Keep in mind you can break any rearend with the 'right' abuse.....

With a truck rear, you've probably got the 'better' case, so axle spline count will probably be the weak point. 28 spline will break if you beat on them, the 31 spline are much tougher. But an aftermarket set of axles will go a long ways in preventing breakage, so that's worth looking into.

 

Just a guess, but you most likely have a 28 spline setup. A lot of info here: http://www.kevinstang.com/Ninecase.htm
You mentioned you needed to shorten the housing. Depending on how much, what housing you are starting with, and how you want the pinion positioned, will determine how you might go about the shorting: do one side only to a shorter factory axle; do both sides to available axle; do both sides and use custom axles or cut to fit axles. If you are going to need special axles, you might as well do the upgrade to 31 spline axles right from the start. You might be able to find suitable 31 spline factory axles that might work. Some factory axles can be shortened and reslpined, some cannot. Go to the Dutchman site and buy a 9" Dogbone tool and start measuring.

 

9 in is much easyer to work on and thay can take a beating and a lot of HP and torque after you get rid of all the ford parts in it the dana will slow you down and hard to work on.

 

Just stock for now. I plan on upgrades in the future.

I was thinking the exact same thing. I drive my F100 everyday, so upgrading it to run a Dana 60 from a truck of the same vintage only makes sense when you factor in that I use my truck to haul and to work. I'm also going to be the proud owner of an 8 lug Twin I Beam suspension from a '78 F250 pretty soon, so I'll have everything I need to convert my '76 over to the heavy duty suspension. So, this leaves me with the 9 inch from my daily driver to use in my hot rod.

This is the first time in a long time where I've been in a "Win-Win" situation.

 

A bone stock 9" is still stronger than what came in your '55 to begin with. Depending on how much aftermarket parts you toss at it it will range from more than adequate to virtually indestructible.

The only advantage a Dana has is a larger ring gear and stronger axles (stock). The Dana design though is inferior to the 9 inch due to the lack of a (rear) pinion support. The Dana's strength is primarily due to mass (BIG parts), not design.

Regardless, either one will work fine in your application........

Al in CT