Ford 9"

[Mad_Trbo]

A couple of questions regarding the ford rear axle. I think I understand why most convert. One has to do with the sheer availability of the parts. This coupled with what I believe to be strength makes this a nice swap.

The axle housings have those brackets that the axles backing plates bolt to. Is that backing plate a part of the bearing assembly, I am trying to get my head around how the whole assembly works.

Additionally the length of the axle, if you go with a Ford do they make one the same length as the Buick? Then there is the question of the axle and the bolt pattern. You will obviously have to use a ford axle so that means a different bolt pattern or is the pattern the same between GM and Ford?

I am debating a 9" rear but, I am trying to get my head around what all will be required. I notice some simply cut the ends off and use Ford Ends. Then what type of axle do you use can you use a Buick axle and then Ford bearing and backing plate?

I am completely lost without a diagram.

 

[RobG]

I'll be doing this swap soon and these guys have eveything you'll need for a direct swap...

Quick Performance : Products : Rear Ends

 

[Mad_Trbo]

Center Section

I'll be doing this swap soon and these guys have eveything you'll need for a direct swap...

Quick Performance : Products : Rear Ends

so does that system include a center section and does it bolt up to the stock drive shaft.


Dumb question on the center section.

 

[jevans]

9" Rearend Swap...

The 9" swap is a great addition to the GN. It's probably the last rearend you'll have to buy for your GN, no matter how much horsepower you throw at it. The bearings are pressed on to the axles and there's retaining brackets that bolt to the housing ends that hold them in place. It's a great safety feature if you'd ever break a axle. There's a wide selection of gear ratio's to fit your combination and changing gears are alot easier with the 9" center section. You'll probably have to change the length of the stock driveshaft to work with the 9", and upgrade to a 1350 u-joint to work with the pinion yoke on the 9". The axles can be ordered with a 4.75" blot pattern to match the GM pattern, Ford bolt pattern is 4.5". Several companies offer direct bolt-in rearend packages for the G-Body which makes the swap pretty straight forward. Here's a pic of the Moser M9 Bolt-In Housing I upgraded to...

 

[qwksht]

I did a chassisworks fab9,just about the same set-up as jevans is using,and using wilwood brakes.........Fits perfect!!!!

 

[disco stu]

And one other benefit I had on mine that was built by Quicktime Performance is that it corrected my suspension geometry. It totally changed the way the car leaves.

And I'm not worried bout it breaking when I leave off the button at 25 pounds.

 

[novaderrik]

you can also get a 9" set up with the old GM axle flange bolt pattern, which allows you to simply bolt on pretty much any GM rear brake setup you can find- 11" drums off a mid 70's Monte Carlo or rear discs from a late 90's Camaro bolt right up.

 

[S2V6RACER]

The Strange rear discs on mine needed the Big Ford ends, so make sure you know what you need for your application.

 

[Mad_Trbo]

Good feedback

All good feed back, I simply wish I had some more pics to look at so I can grasp the concept a bit better.

By the way Jevans, that whole set up looks like candy. What is the purpose of going with the custom axle housing?


"Novad" mentions an old gm axle flange pattern. Is this what the retention plate would also bolt to? I have done no rearend work and I am trying to visualize how all these components come together. If I didn't go with a GM flanger patter my assumption is I would have to use some sort of Ford brake set up whether it be aftermarket or not.

Also if a primary purpose of going to the Ford is for the axle retention. Would a set of disc brakes on the GN rear end not provide the same safety feature. With this all you would need to do is get yourself a set of disc brakes upgrade your Eaton and axles. With the Eaton posi you can go upto what a 30 spline?

 

[jevans]

All good feed back, I simply wish I had some more pics to look at so I can grasp the concept a bit better.

By the way Jevans, that whole set up looks like candy. What is the purpose of going with the custom axle housing?

I actually had just started to upgrade the 8.5 rearend in my GN. I stumbled across the M9 Housing and Axles on another site. I was able to do some trading for it, I had to purchase the Strange 3rd Member to complete the set-up. For most of our GN's, the 8.5 will handle what power were putting to it with a few upgrades. If you do swap to a 9", you should never have to question if it will be strong enough for what your doing. Like alot of the stuff were doing to our cars, it's a question of how much your willing to spend and what your looking for the end result to be. Here's a few additional pics of the M9 and components...

 

[d0n_3d]

I'm getting ready to do a Ford 9" setup on my car and was wanting to do a limited slip instead of a locker or spool. What is the best limited slip available for the 9"? I want it to be able to handle in the 9's if I take my car that far. This is a 95% street car that will be capable of about 600-800 horsepower. Also, anyone using HR's upper and lower control arms with the 9"?

 

[V8Assassin]

Don, PM sent

What type of upper bushings are those on the fab 9?

 

[Dusty Bradford]

Don, PM sent

What type of upper bushings are those on the fab 9?

Those are the aluminum spherical bushings. I got mine from Wolferacecraft.

 

[V8Assassin]

Thanks for the respones guys!

I am not using the metal bushings, is there any significant performance difference over the poly's/rubber bushings? I am using a fab 9 as well, with full HR rear.

 

[d90dan]

I changed my uppers to spherical bushings. Had poly's before.

Major difference, totally different car at the track. Launchs straight and consistent now, last three 60's were all 1.36.

I wouldn't use them on a car that sees much street time though.

 

[bg86gn]

I changed to a 9" two years ago. The 8.5 was so bad in mine that It could not be taken apart. I cut the posi out with a torch. I have since bought parts to put it back together but haven't because I don't need it. I bought a Ford 9 housing w/11" drum brakes and 31 spline axles. I ordered a 3:50 center/w trac loc off of ebay. It was a direct bolt in for the car. I have since gone to a 3:23 gear(top end speed) because the 3:50 would jerk slightly when I would back up. The 3:50 is for sale as is a pair of solid mount adjustable upper control arms. As someone mentioned, A new driveshaft is needed. Don't be afraid to do this change. It is straight forward as long as you know what you will need, I didn't..A must is adjustable upper control arms because the pinion angle will need to be adjusted..

 

[Mad_Trbo]

Appreciated

I decided to simply do a brake upgrade to disc brakes which should retain the axle in the event of a failure. I alos went ahead and did an upgrade to the 30 spline deal. Hopefully this should hold what I am building.

If you are curious to see, check out the buick build @ StreetMuscleAction.com Three seperate videos talking about the build with engine dyno time coming soon.

 

[bg86gn]

Jevans, that is a beutiful setup. I don't have to ask what your purpose is. If I could do it, I would. I'm retired so it is out of my price range. I guess that may be a good thing because I would have it jacked up all the time just gawking at it. If the rest of the car is similar, it must be a beauty..

 

[jevans]

Jevans, that is a beutiful setup. I don't have to ask what your purpose is. If I could do it, I would. I'm retired so it is out of my price range. I guess that may be a good thing because I would have it jacked up all the time just gawking at it. If the rest of the car is similar, it must be a beauty..

Thanks, I appreciate the compliments...I was looking into what upgrades I may be doing in the future when I set-up the rearend and chassis. Hopefully I'll be able to start playing with the engine combination later this year. It's a little work keeping up on cleaning the suspension parts after driving on the street for a couple weeks.