I currently have a ford 9 rear with 4.11's and its spooled under my 64 Lark. I have a 455 supplying it howver I do not want a full spool and would like to go a different route. What would be the most effecient way to go about this and keep the cost down? Should I look into dropping a tru-trak in there or possibly just swapping out the entire rear with something else? I like the idea of how easy parts are to get for the Ford 9 but really want to get away from the spool ASAP.
I have some options for you. HOW street able will this car be now? What spline axle 9" do you have with a FULL SPOOL? we can get you a trac Lok NEW Pretty strong 385.00 ( 28 or 31 spline) We can get you a Grizzly locker which will be VERY STRONG but will pull more from the wallet. 485.00 (normally priced at 600.00 ) We have only one at this price. (31 spline only) I can set up a completely built third member 3.55 or 4.11 or 4.86 gears on the shelf. Jim JD
How are the trac lok's? I was leaning towards a trutrac due to them not using clutch packs. I haven't pulled the rear apart but i believe it is a 31 spline going off what the previous owner said. I am also consider moving away from the 4.11's in there but not positive just yet either.
Well The 9" guys will say they are great. I have heard they can take the abuse. I am personally NOT a fan of the whole 9" rear. But I am bias...lol. They will also be less money rebuild kits are very low cost too if you do eat them up. Do you race all the time? Or do more street use? Jim
The car is still a project but its intent will be a hard driven street machine, possible strip use but they are shutting down the one close to my house so the focus is now street use. Would it be wise to swap out the 9" rear and go back to a GM flatform? Are parts as readily avaiable as they are with 9"?
I would say if they did the job correctly LEAVE it in there. Do not stir up a can of worms for nothing. You will be fine with the 9" for what your doing. If you do change gears just by aftermarket and be sure you have a good pinion support etc. The trac Loc will most likely do the job no problem. Jim JD
well I ran 9 inch Fords for years. A traction lock is a good rear and can hold up well. If you plan on racing it you can add an extra solid spacer and tighten it up. parts are readily available as NASCAR uses this design. Strange, Currie, Jegs , Summit and even Ford sells parts, you can get anything you need for these. I ran a 9 with a traction lock in a BOSS 351 powered 69 Mach, a 71 429 SCJ Mach 1 and a 71 429 SCJ Torino Cobra I have never broken any of the rear ends and have installed Slicks on all of them. 2 were 4 spds.
That is because there as no massive torque from a FORD motor. LOL. On A serious note- Nascar does NOT use stock 9" parts AT ALL. It is a completely redesigned piece. This is where everyone gets confused. They think 9" is 9" NOT even close. Case is thicker design / Pinion support is new and thick design / Gears are treated and Lightened/ yokes are New and forged/ They have oil coolers on serious machines / and they at going RPMs.... NOT torque off the line like drag racing./ ALL top fuel and other serious drag race rears are ALL AFTERMARKET TOO. The reason Ford 9" IS popular is that it is the small block chevy or rear ends. It may not be the best design or the strongest BUT it is purely VERY available and easy to swap out Pig Heads to gear swap and CHEAP to build. That is all I got to say about that... Gump, Forrest Gump. JIm JD
My point was that NASCAR did use to run stock type 9 Inch Ford rear. Many drag cars around here use the N case with a Daytona retainer and 31 spline axles behind some serious power with no problem. Most of the Sprint car and dirt car guys run them for the ease of changing gears and the fact that they live. Now If you already have a 9 inch I would run it. The traction lock is fine for all but drag only applications and can be made tighter by adding the extra steel shim. I would never pretend to know more about rear axles than Monaz but from experience I know the 9 is a very good axle
I'm probably going to switch to an aftermarket 9" this summer because my rear axle is due for an upgrade, and the primary reason I'm going with the 9" is because of the easily swappable pumpkin carrier. I'd like to have a ~3.55" highway carrier that is normally in the car 90% of the year and a 3.90-4.10 carrier for racing set up, so I can swap them out the week I'm leaving town. I have found I hate torquing the pinion nut when the rear axle is installed in the car.
ya if it has a crush sleeve its dang near impossible especially since the carrier needs to be out to measure the rotating torque.
Ah - Don't listen to ME.... I was having another one of my cranky pissy I hate Ford days...lol. Really it is for discussion and I would never try to make anyone feel bad. ANY rear will do a good job under a car as long as the thing is put together well. Jim JD
Its ok Jim... I don't like them either... Its like that annoying ring in your ear of tree fiddy shivvy. Sounds just like ford 9'' to me. Like nails on a chalkboard
Bring this back up, havent worked on the lark in a while but tore into her this weekend and learned some new things. Apparently never trust a previous seller on everything they say. The rear end is not a full spool. It is an old Trac Lok unit with a mini spool installed and also come to find out its not 4.10 gears, its a 3.50 gear set up on 28 spline axles. Luckily i didn't order all new stuff however before I do would it be easier for me to just get a rebuild kit and put the track lok back to normal? I saw kits with spider gears and all for $150ish. Would it even be something i could do or should I just replace the whole unit?
