9" racing rear $450 ?

[rookieshooter]

Need some advise on this 9" ford housing only. This guy put it in his dirt track stock car only to find out it was not permitted because the rules state only rear drum brakes. It was on one of the lower classes. It comes with disc rotors and calipers, wished I had of asked what make of caliper, but every one was in a hurry at the race car shop. stainless steel brake lines, racing axels, I think he said something like mosher? Look at the end it seems to be some kind of axel retaining thiing. might be made our of brass. I know I need more info, I can call them and ask about more details, they were just to busy on Fri morning so I did not bother them. It is also the same length as the 8.8 I have under the B11 now. The rotors would be in the way of the springs I think, so I would have to have a link suspension with coils. Bottom line $450 Is this a good price? Could I build the same axel for less, remember the length is the same as the 8.8 maybe an 1" longer.

 

[james t]

If its what you want, then its a good deal. Check the lug pattern because there is no telling what it is. I would guess 5 on 4.5 but since its got Moser shafts the other holes could be chevy pattern (5 on 4 3/4). Also make sure the axles are 31 spline (probably are). That is a late model non-banjo style housing which is really strong. Overall id say its worth what they're asking even with no 3rd in it.

 

[rookieshooter]

Great, Thanks James, I will check on what you said. One other thing James, Would this be a good upgrade over the 8.8? I hear about c-clips on the 8.8. Should the 8.8 handle the 302 v8 on trail rides? If i did get the 9" installed would the ttb now be a weak link? and I should go to a Dana 44 staight axel to make even a better upgrade? Hope I make sence.

Even if i did get the 9" I would run with what I've got now. That mod would be down the road. There does seem to be a lot of people that run the D 35 after looking at the pics out there of the racing trucks. But there is no sand mainly dirt and a lot of rocks where I live. Seems the straight axels out perform the d35's in that condition.

 

[bmxking5]

Indeed...the TTB is usually that weak link on our trucks. That sounds like a pretty good deal for all of that minus the third member. Those third members can be had for cheap if you buy stock, or still fairly cheap on ebay. I was lucky enough to get a slightly used, rebuilt third member with 4.88s and a mini spool for 175 shipped. Most are more expensive, but the main reason people go with the 9" is the part availabilty, simplicity, and more importantly to go full-width. Since you'd still have the same width with that one, it's up to you, but sounds like a nice deal.

 

[rookieshooter]

Thanks Bmxking5, What a deal on the 3rd member. I was wondering about avalabilty of the parts, mainly the 3rd member. Sounds like its a good deal, I'm going to look into it next week and also check out what James said about bolt pattern and spline. Even if I don't have plans for it right now, it would be nice to hold on to for an upgrade later.

 

[bmxking5]

What a deal on the 3rd member.

Yeah, especially since I was about to spend 375 shipped for pretty much the same thing, but new. This one I got was pretty new...only three runs on it. If you look on ebay, you'll find it's VERY common to see the third members on there from guys who had them in race gears. The good thing is they already have nice gears such as 4.10, 4.56, and 5.13 mostly. They do have a bit of a lower pinion than the 8.8, but not a whole lot of difference. If you really wanted to dish out some money, they do make a HP case for it. But like I said, it's a lot of money. They can be converted to discs for about 200 bucks, assuming you buy mostly new stuff and make the brackets yourself. So if you didn't get this one, you could always buy another one for about 100 bucks, more or less, and build it to be as nice as that. But those Moser shafts are about 250 or 300 I think and they should be pretty strong.

Oh, and you said that the discs might be in the way of leaf springs. Maybe you just need to do something similar on the rear as you are doing the front. *cough cough* coil overs!

 

[rookieshooter]

Hmmm, now thats an Idea

 

[Bronco638]

I'm willing to bet that that axle is set up to use Willwood brake calipers. There's probably a lot more work in the axle tube itself than is apparent to the eye (tube straightened & strengthened). The Moser axles themselves are probably worth $450. The hubs are pretty funky but changing rotors will be a snap. If you're seriously interested, try to pick a time when they're not so busy. That way you can get the "low down" on the entire assembly. As mentioned above, 9" third members are pretty easy/cheap to come by. There were quite a few Ford apps that used that axle.

 

[rookieshooter]

I'm going down there later this week to have some coilover hoops made. If not sold, I know now what questions to ask and what to look for.