I need help with my ford 9 swap..

[bigfsh]

Hey everyone thanks in advance! I'm needing details on this BAD. Do I need to narrow the rear end to center the pinion? or will a direct bolt in work? what pinion angle are the stock chevy rear ends?  "I don't have a rear end to reference". I just have the parts readily available. They seem to be easier to find than a 12 bolt.

[Captkaos]

Why not get a 10 bolt?
Are you starting with nothing and need to get everything set?  Pinion angle is set in reference to the drivetrain, it should be 3-4 degrees relative to the drivetrain.

[bigfsh]

Yeah I"m starting from scratch more or less. I don't need it for a specific reason.

[Captkaos]

Questions to be answered are:
How wide is the current rearend?  Generally 73-87's were 64.5" wide
You will need to locate the spring pads to the correct width and weld the according to the drive train angle.

[HAULIN IT]

Welcome to the site! I will add a bit to Capt. replies...when you say: "have parts available" are you talking a rearend or two, or are you talking MANY in a large salvage yard to pick from?
 
To some degree, it depends on what you want /need to end up with, as to weather a 9" is your best route to go.

You will need to answer some of the questions for yourself, but I can help with my finding & knowledge on the 9".

One of the somewhat confusing things about the 9" is is varying off-set of the pinion from vehicle to vehicle. Some 9"s (the trucks & some vans) have a 4" off-set pinion & while they can be installed this way into other vehicles, it isn't ideal. So to answer your question...you need to answer some of mine

1) Do you plan to lower your truck or leave it stock height?
2) Do you have wheels now that you want to use or how do you plan to deal with the possible mis- match bolt pattern?
3) What do you want to use for brakes?
4) What are you planing to use your truck for?
Answer these questions & I'll go on a roll with the best advice to help. Lorne

[bigfsh]

Sorry for the hold up guys. Thanks to all who posted. I've decided to skip the ford 9 all together. I had bought a Lincoln rear with factory disk brakes and 5x5 bolt pattern.i don't have any wheels yet so I could've purchased the offset accordingly . I'm just going to keep it simple. But with that being said is any one running a 88-98 rearend? Maybe we should change the name of this thread to "confused guy without a clue" haha

[VileZambonie]

Well if you're still looking for advice it would best suit you to acknowledge and respond to Lorne's questions.

[bigfsh]

I apologize , sorry Lorne. I believe drum brakes would be sufficient . It's mainly going to be a cruiser anyhow. I would still like to incorporate a posi or limited slip rear end. That's why I asked about the 88-98 . They seem to be plentiful around here.

[bigfsh]

Also I'm leaving it stock height and I haven't purchased wheels yet. Thanks

[Captkaos]

The 88-98 axles are wider (they actually make these trucks have less tuck in the rear) BUT the mounts are not the same so you have to move them.
I have one here I plan to rebuild and modify for one of my trucks.

[bigfsh]

The reason I ask about the 88-98 , I've found a completely rebuilt rear posi with 3.73's for $150. Should I jump on this deal?

[Captkaos]

Describe completely rebuilt?  Completely to me means someone took a rear axle and gutted it and put all new parts; gear set, bearings, seals, and differential in it, which is much more than $150.  What do the receipts say got replaced?  $150 isn't that bad for a rearend, but as stated, it needs changes to allow it to bolt in.

[bigfsh]

New gears new bearings new brakes. I'm not sure about the carrier ?

[HAULIN IT]

I had bought a Lincoln rear with factory disk brakes and 5x5 bolt pattern.i don't have any wheels yet so I could've purchased the offset accordingly .

Well, I'll add just incase you change your mind again...that rear is the one that is ideal in many cases for our trucks (pinion is 1" offset like the GM, same bolt pattern, same width, many times a posi, ect.). The short comings with it is the flattened tubes they did to install the coil spring mounts & the best gear you could have factory is 3.00.
My advice if you do decide to do the 9" is to look for truck center sections for a better (3.25-3.70) gear.
If you can find a local guy with an alignment bar to narrow the housings, a nice way to go is to use the GM tubes (this gives you the original 3" round tubes so the stock U-bolts/plates can be used & the original shock mounts if you want to retain them) into the 9" center housing with the Ford, the aftermarket GM car or truck ends with the Ford bearing size welded on. I would consider the mid '90's Impala rear disc set-up the ideal.
There are many ways to go about this depending on what you want to end up with, but I'll leave it at this unless you decide to go this way.
Here is a picture of mine. I did turn the tubes over to put the housing on the top of the springs. Here's a link to my swap if it interests you. http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=8986.msg59909#msg59909 Lorne

[bigfsh]

lorne, I checked out your 9 swap . Man that is some awesome fab work! .I honestly think that with all the time searching for parts and the money just driving to "check" something out. I could've built something decent. Im just starting to think I wrote a check my A** cant cash with this thing.