Now how am I going to do this? Ford 9”

[The Ghoul]

My brother-in-law dropped this off for me.
I have to say, I know absolutely nothing about rear ends; but this is the reason I am doing this project by hand my self... to learn.
He told me that it's a ford 9" 32 spline and he said it's the strongest rear end I can find, so I figure it's a good start.
I know the spring perches are going to need to be cut from my old rear end and welded to this new one. Does any one have any good info on how to put this thing in my 73 charger se?
I assume I will need a custom drive shaft, and I know how to order one so that's not an issue.
My main concern is how to center the rear axle, and if there are any good kits to fit this in.
Also if any one is up on this type swap, will it fit?
I am a little concerned with the off-set universal yoke.

[SirNik73]

Clean it up, paint it, and then take it to a swap meet and trade it for a Mopar 8 3/4... it will bolt right in!

or save your money for a Dana... they are Stronger then the ford.

[The Ghoul]

Clean it up, paint it, and then take it to a swap meet and trade it for a Mopar 8 3/4... it will bolt right in!

or save your money for a Dana... they are Stronger then the ford.

no
and
no

I am using this rear end.
#1 because I am not the type to throw a gift away, that's just rude
#2 why save-up money (2k last I checked) to buy an axle just as strong as one that I was given *for free*? I am not the type that will pay a crap load more for something just because it sez mopar for a non numbers car.

[dodge freak]

Have you check the total length compare to the axle in your car now ? If its the same-which it most likely is not- you could just line the two up and mark where the perch's are. Not sure where you live if there is a axle shop near by, perhaps a good shop could do it if they had both axles. Might be worth the $150-$250 they would charge if its done right. I am with you-who cares if its a Ford, Mopar as long as it works good. Ford axles the 9" are good and there is lots of gears to pick from.

[The Ghoul]

Have you check the total length compare to the axle in your car now ? If its the same-which it most likely is not- you could just line the two up and mark where the perch's are. Not sure where you live if there is a axle shop near by, perhaps a good shop could do it if they had both axles. Might be worth the $150-$250 they would charge if its done right. I am with you-who cares if its a Ford, Mopar as long as it works good. Ford axles the 9" are good and there is lots of gears to pick from.

That and I would rather trash ford parts than rare mopar ones 

The axle shop seems like a great idea. You are right the $250ish would be well worth it for the welding alone to me!

Its too darn hot out today to muck about, tomarrow I will measure it up. I am going to minitub the rear which will most likely require custome rims any way so I am not too worried about the axle length, but it would be nice if the purches are the same with.. make things very easy.

[The Ghoul]

ok, it cooled down a bit outside so I took some rough measurements. (best I could do with a tape measure and the attention span of a farrett on speed)
Here is how they stack up.
                                                                        Dodge              Ford
Rim mounting surface to rim mounting surface..........62.5"..............64.5"
between backing plates........................................54.5"..............56.25"
axle housing dia...................................................3.25"...............3.5"
outside of perches...............................................49.5"...............47.5"
inside of perches.................................................44.75"..............42.25"

the Dodge's perches are located on the bottom of the axle housing and the Ford's is on the top.
So theoretically what would need to happen is the dodge mounts would have to be removed  and welded 1" farther out from the inside of the fords perches on the opposite side of the axle. The shock mounts would need to be removed from the fords axle, and the axle U bolt holes on the shock plates for the dodge will have to be oblonged 1/8"
I am starting to think that it would be best to hand over both housings to a shop with a decent flat table and blocks and have them hook it up, now that I know the ford rear end is not too narrow or wide.

[andy74]

Currie is a ford rear diff speacialist, they make kits and mounts for all kinds of different cars,i know of a local guy who put one in his gm a body(chevelle)and after they were done it was a bolt in deal-i would give them a call at least to see what they recomend/charger-dont want that rear mount breaking once you get it all together-you may it is cheaper,and easier to sell the rear and get an 8 3/4,but its your car and wallet!

[raull]

Hmm Chip Foose?
Be carefull, Pimp my ride is just around the corner!!

[73 Charger 440]

Hmm... Although this is not exactly what your doing but I havent been able to find a 8 3/4 for my price range and a new Dana 60 is almost $2k... Ive been thinking for years of going with a 8.8 (buying one out of a Cobra gives you Limited Slip and Disc brakes), but I just did some searching and found from wheel mount to wheel mounting it is 3 inches shorter than the 8 3/4 you listed, I havent checked or measured so I dont know if that is too short. Any input on this?

[BrianShaughnessy]

Hmm Chip Foose?
Be carefull, Pimp my ride is just around the corner!!

I believe you're thinking Wrecks to Riches with Barry White       Why build a Mopar with a good Dana when you can get some chevy loving sponsor to give you a furd rear       


Anyhooo,   I think you'd want to hang the rear on the springs and center it in the wheel openings as far as the side to side before welding on the perches.   Mopes are built with a 1" offset to the pass. side.    I wouldn't just guess based on an old housing.    The side to side offset isn't apparent with skinny stock tires.

[The Ghoul]

Currie is a ford rear diff speacialist, they make kits and mounts for all kinds of different cars,i know of a local guy who put one in his gm a body(chevelle)and after they were done it was a bolt in deal-i would give them a call at least to see what they recomend/charger-dont want that rear mount breaking once you get it all together-you may it is cheaper,and easier to sell the rear and get an 8 3/4,but its your car and wallet!

Yeah I was checking out there site.
I like there company and I would love to give them business.
I am going to contact them and see about a kit.
I have a friend that is a professional welder and has a good mock up table. I think I will just turn the ford 9" and the stock dodge axle along with a fresh set of perches over to him. What I assume would be the easiest would to make a jig that will locate the perches in relation to the universal.... but then again the ford universal is off center a bit so I will pritty much just leave it in his hands to modify it.

[Chryco Psycho]

new spring seats are avaialble from Mopar for approx $15 so do not cut the ones off your housing
I have to agree build a Dana or get a 8 3/4 , I have one availble , the ford has a ton of parasitic drag 

[TylerCharger69]

Well....I'm not sure about the 9"....but I put a ford 8 3/4 in mine, which was also a gift which came from a '70 Mach 1  and...well...basically  it bolted right in with the exception of brake line modifications and driveshaft mods.

[73 Charger 440]

Well....I'm not sure about the 9"....but I put a ford 8 3/4 in mine, which was also a gift which came from a '70 Mach 1  and...well...basically  it bolted right in with the exception of brake line modifications and driveshaft mods.

Hmm, Ive never heard of a Ford 8 3/4, its not a 8.8 is it? If so I wonder if its the same dimensions as a current one (Im interested in swapping one in, a few benefits are price, availability and disc brakes...)

[TylerCharger69]

Oh...it may be  an 8.8  (8.75 would be 8 3/4  so there really isn't too much difference except for .05).  I have no complaints as to the performance of it anyway

[73 Charger 440]

Oh...it may be  an 8.8  (8.75 would be 8 3/4  so there really isn't too much difference except for .05).  I have no complaints as to the performance of it anyway

Dont have any pictures do you? When you say it bolted right in you mean no moving the perches? Any information you have would be really appreciated Thanks in advance.

[TylerCharger69]

uh....yes   I had to move them out a little bit,  but that only took a few minutes to do.     I figured that was a given....sorry

[73 Charger 440]

uh....yes   I had to move them out a little bit,  but that only took a few minutes to do.     I figured that was a given....sorry

Sorry, thought when you said it bolted right in that maybe the older models had the perches at the right locations... Still sounds awesome, I gotta research if the rear is the same width as the new ones (I believe they 3 inches shorter than a 8 3/4, havent measured if it will fit).

[TylerCharger69]

The Ghoul gave some pretty accurate measurements on this posting.  All the guesswork has been done. 

[73 Charger 440]

Yeah but the 8.8s that I found were 59.5, the 8 3/4 that The Ghoul listed is 62.5... The 8.8 is listed as having the backing plates 51 inches apart compared to the 54.5 of the 8 3/4, so I would have to measure if it would even fit in there without relocating the springs...

Didnt mean to hijack the thread or anything.

[BlK03Hemi/70RR]

Not too sure about a person that says a Ford 9" is the strongest thing outthere...but I havent seen an 8 3/4 for 2k...and the money its going to cost for the freshening and installation of that is going to be more than the $500 you can get a complete 8 3/4 for. Ford rears in a Mopar are going backwards IMO.

[TylerCharger69]

lol...no biggie, 73....sometimes hijacking is in order....As far as the post.....whatever Ford rear end you choose....perches will have to be relocated, unfortunately.