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Narrowing a 9" rear end

2K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  Rick_L 
#1 ·
Anyone just remove the axle tubes from the centersection and cut these to narrow the rear end and re-install the shorten tubes and have axles made to fit? Just thinking out loud. I have a rear end from a town car and it has disc brakes so doing some ******* engineering.:eek:

Joe
 
#2 ·
Most 9" Ford housings aren't built so that you can do that. In fact, most do not have a tube to cut out like that. Even when they do, there will be long lengths of weld to cut.

Far easier to cut the ends off at the appropriate locations, and weld new housing ends to the cut ends, using a proper jig to assure alignment with the 3rd member.
 
#3 ·
You can buy the Ford Big Bearing "Torino" style housing ends from Moser or Currie. I got mine from Currie. If you do weld them on your self just remember that you need a long sturdy shaft to pass through the housing ends, side to side and through the carrier bearing caps with adapter rings in the center and the outer ends to keep it all aligned. This link shows how to straighten a housing and tubes out but it gives an idea on how to use the shaft.

http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/wiki/Straightening_a_rear_end_housing

Also remember the standard back space or BRAKE SPACE distance that exists between the outside of the housing end to the outside surface of the axle flange face that the brake rotor fits up against is 2.5 inches on most applications. I got this info from Currie. That might help you determine the length you need based on the axles you have.
 
#4 ·
The biggest problem with narrowing axles is warping the casing. I know they look big and heavy, but if you don't keep everything straight & true the axle will never be right.
It may be best to get a shop to do it for you.
If you choose the narrowed width carefully you should be able to buy off the shelf shafts from curries or strange and the like.
If you find a good shop they should be able to cut and re-spline your shafts to suit the narrowed casing.

I don't know how expensive axle narrowing is over there ? here it is pretty expensive, a 9" axle will cost probably £250 upwards, a friend had one narrowed and it cost £500, then he had to have the diff set up, new bearings and brakes.. not cheap at all.
 
#6 ·
Well,

Anyone just remove the axle tubes from the centersection and cut these to narrow the rear end and re-install the shorten tubes and have axles made to fit? Just thinking out loud. I have a rear end from a town car and it has disc brakes so doing some ******* engineering.:eek:

Joe
There is always a different mouse trap if you just look for it. An old circle track method I have used is to first cut the weld loose at the housing/tube joint. Then cut a V with the point toward the center. A mouth of about 2" wide on the V allows the tube to be pressed in toward the center to the length you need. Care must be taken not to rotate the tubes out of sinc with the center housing and also be wise as to how short the housing needs to be. If you go too deep, the tube may contact the third member, not good. Use a Jig to weld it back or you will have issues.

 
#9 ·
You can only do the mod that Nick outlines on certain housings, there's no way to do that on many 9" housings, there's no "tube" that's welded to a center piece - they are stamped and welded differently than having a tube that's fillet welded - they are not "one piece" but they don't have "tubes".

A stock 55-57 car housing is made the same way as I describe.
 
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