Hot Rods Banjo Rear vs. 1957 Ford 9"

The Pick Your Parts around here just raised their prices, Truck rearend drum to drum is about $250 after fees and taxes. For an extra $50 to $100 you can buy one already pulled online.

 

My guess is that I will end up buying a housing and having a set of axles built at the same time. The carrier can come later. Gonna have to save my pennies.

 

I went with a banjo with late axles and sealed bearing conversion. I used repo lincoln brakes and open drive. I got the parts from HRW. I could have used 40 brakes with the kit, but I hate Lockheed brakes.
I also think the axles in stock rears are the weak point.

 

If it helps my target build year was '59 and I'm using a '57 9"

I dont feel weird about it. I do believe a kid back then would have likely gone with an olds rear but the 9" was available and the right width..

You can kinda see it stuck in there.

 

The Pont/Olds are still out there, I just picked up a clean one ('64 center) with a ladder bar setup for $150 complete drum to drum. Going to open it up this weekend, if the gearing is good then I'm going to use it. Plus I found 1 wheel that's 16x5 5 on 5 and looks like a 40's Ford.......totally doable without major work (minus shortening).

 

Thanks guys. Good input.

 

The nice thing about your 9" is that it's the perfect width. My 59 Pontiac rear had to be narrowed.

Those early 9" were so desirable, largely in part, because of their width.



The Pontiac is a little bigger than the A.

 

I use an 8 and 3/4 sure grip Dodge and they all have a smooth back... They were used in all superstock cars until 1968 when the stick cars got Dana 60's..

 

I’m using a narrowed (to stock ‘34 Ford width) ‘59 Pontiac 9.3” rear in my early 1960’s drag car inspired’34 Ford 5 window coupe- along with a 283 Chevy (bored to 301) & Borg Warner T10 4 speed.

 

It wasn’t traditional but I bought new. It was easier for me to go to work and make money than drive around looking for a narrow 9”. I ordered a Currie housing and axles and built a third member when I saved a little more money.

 

I ordered a new Nodular posi third member and narrowed an early F-100 rear end. I wanted one with straight tubes, so I could narrow it. Since I had the small brakes and the early big bearing housing already, I "made" a Bronco rear end out of it. I ordered new 5x5.5 pattern Bronco axles, bearings and seals from Tom's Bronco Parts. I scribed several lines on the housing to make sure the flanges remained in the same location and cut it down with a pipe cutter to fit. It admittedly wasn't the cheapest route to take, but I ended up with exactly what I wanted.

 

It's called spending the money of others for your own internet dreams.. In general the cost of building a pure traditional car can go silly very quickly...
Considering that the Dana 44 axle was used in many 50's cars, some must have used them in a hot rod. Look at the Dana, look at a Ford 8.8, the look very similar from a rear view. 8.8 is easy to find , not expensive, posi is common as are 3 something gear ratios and the 8.8 in a Ranger has drum brakes...

 

How period correct do you want? The 9" ends and axle conversation on a banjo rear was not done in 1960. So from your list it would appear that you either live with the limitations of the banjo or go with the 9".

 

I use to beat the hell out of those Pontiac 9.3 rear ends and with big torque Pontiac 455 motors. I never had one let go on me. I did have a 64 Grand Prix that cam factory with a 421 HO Tri power engine, the 3:08 posi rear end in that car was starting to make noise. It had 120,000 miles on it.

I know you don't want to use anything but straight 90 weight oil with two bottles of GM posi additive.. I once tried special lube for posi rear ends and the clutches felt like they were slipping. I'm not saying they were it just didn't feel right when I the go pedal was mashed from a standing start.. The cool thing was it didn't bog with the slipping. However when I flushed the rear end out and put the straight 90 with two bottles of GM additive, it started to bog since the slipping was gone. I always thought it was the Roto Hydramatic slipping but it wasn't. People can talk down the Slim Jim all they want, the 421 HO Slim Jim in my 64 GP was a beast! That car could stay up with the Crazy KZ's that just came out and were all the rage..

 

I have given up on being 100% period correct. I will
give up that title for reliability. It was a hard decision, but I wanna drive this thing...and pound on it, if I feel led to do so.

 

For the show car look I would go with a chrome banjo. If you don't feel the banjo is strong enough for how you intend on driving it then I would go with the late 50s 9".

 

I found some interesting articles reading up on the rear end threads.

A fellow hamber mentioned super finishing on a different thread. Interesting reading.

https://www.usgear.com/about/super-finishing

https://www.motorstate.com/gear-superfinishing/

 

The "Quickchange Exchange" guy here on the HAMB can do the conversion to truck pullout axles on your 40 rearend.

 

I went back and forth on a Quickchange rear, but wound up using a 9 inch. Strong ,depenable and realtively inexpensive.

 

I have a similar dilemma, wanted to look right, but didnt want it to break. Was considering an Olds, but have gone Banjo with a 201 , 9 inch shafts, 5 on 5.5 axles and early f100 brakes.
Weak point on banjos seems to be axles, 9inch axles reduces that. As for being traditional, they were putting f100 internals in Banjo axles back then, there's even a post on here about it, telling you what to do. Early F100, 56, big bearing, 18 spline, 5 on 5.5. Get the complete rear, so then you put the bearing carriers from the f100 axle on the Banjo bells, then a bit of machining to get your end gears in the banjo diff, result is big bearing 9 inch style shafts with bendix brakes, all pre 60 stuff. Mercury axles and brakes also work.
I didnt go this way, because I need my rear narrowed, and the f100 axles dont have enough material in the area that I would need them resplined, so made sense to go 28 spline new axle, but I'm hoping to use the f100 housing ends on my banjo, not billet machined parts. Oh, and its under a 40 sedan with a full size gas tank so no one will see it unless they're really keen, or i spread it all over the road....hopefully my shinny tread L78's will stop that possibility.

 

just bite the bullet and spend on a winters banjo rear , save a bit and get the stock style and forget the added expense of a QC .. the Winters banjo will be an equal to any 9 inch given that its mostly 9 inch parts its built with... looks like an early banjo, performs like a bullet proof 9 inch ..

 

Roothawg,
For my Cadillac powered (365) 34 project I’m planning on running a banjo. I did a ton of research and interrogated people like Moriarity and came to the conclusion it is possible.
You can go the Pontiac way but it’s going to cost money for narrowing and axles. Plus if you want posi $$$$$$.
I can’t for the life of me remember the gasser that ran a blown Cadillac with a closed Ford banjo!!!
Here are two more examples I came up with that helped make me feel better about picking the Ford banjo:

ps. I’m getting the hang of this hamb stuff without the app. I can’t find any of the threads I normally follow but little by little I’ll get there! Ha