Technical The 9" you don't want?

That is a 1957 Ford housing. I have the original one in my 57 Custom. Small bearing for the cars, large bearing for Ranchero's or station wagons. Probably one of the weakest of all the 9 inch Ford housings.

 

A closeup of a '57 F 100 unit, each side housing is 1 piece, note the weld seam at the center, top and bottom. Over the years I have used nearly a dozen of these. Ford must have realized the cost to produce them, that's why they are a 1 year only part.

 

Here's all you need to know: http://www.enjenjo.com/9inch.html

 

Thanks, lots of info here. I have looked at new housings and axles from several sources like Quick, John's, Currie, Speedway but it all comes out the same in the end - beyond my current budget. I had the "piece by piece" plan backfire too that's why I tried to get complete rear ends with all the parts. Besides, I'm kind of an old school guy who likes to do a lot of this stuff myself, I'd do my own axles if I had an indexing head for my mill.
The wife and I went and picked them up yesterday. Both are conventional press on axle bearings, one is complete drum to drum with good brakes and drums, 3.00 gears. The other is complete minus the brake shoes and hardware on one end, also 3.00 gears. The only sign of abuse is some squishing where the u-bolts were.
With time to think on the drive home; for my '33 pu I'll mock up my wheels and tires to get the right length and narrow one of them accordingly. I'll save the other one for a future project.
My Austin has a very narrow '57-64 Olds rear end in it, too narrow for the period (mid '60s). Right now I have some 1" thick wheel spacers on it to get the old mag Americans and M&Hs to fit. I have several Olds rear ends and a bunch of parts including brakes, spools and several 3rd members including a 3.42 and 4.56 posi. I think I will stick with the Olds rear end, just fab one up that's a little wider so I don't need spacers. It's not a serious race car, just a surviving old gasser that will see occasional passes at events like Eagle Field, Kingdon and hopefully Dragfest at Bakersfield.
Thanks to all!

 

Weakest ?
Awe hell.