Im working on a 56 Ford F-100. I have s 9" Ford Rear end and want to set it up for "meats" (fat tires and wheels). Is it as simple as shortening the axel housing and axel shafts so the wheels and tires will fit closer to the frame?

 

Yes and No, first off your stock fender will only have about 11" of space in it, hardly what I would call a "meaty" tire by the time you allow for side clearance. I made custom 5" tubs for my truck and narrowed the diff by 4" to center the pinion. I also pushed my fender lip out an inch. I also went to a late model spring from another vehicle with custom made spring mounts to bring the springs closer to the frame. Went the current tires wear out (maybe sooner depending on money) I will be putting something along the lines of a 29x15R15. That is what I consider a "meat" I have tubed a couple cars, I ran 31x18.5x15 on a '69 Mustang Sportsroof and I can tell you it is more work than just narrowing the diff and axles to do it correctly.

 

I have a 9 inch in my 56. It was out of a 66 Mercury station wagon. It had been installed about 15 years ago and at the time I did not think about it being too wide. The project had sat the 15 years. After we put the box and fenders on and I had bought wheels and tires we realized the rear was too wide. We hoped we could narrow the rear by moving the bearing mounts on the outside of the housing in and sliding the axels in. It didn’t work because the spleens weren’t long enough. I ended up buying new axels from Speedway. We were able to weld new bearing mounts on with the housing in the truck. The new axels came with long spleens and new bearings they were about $150 each. We were able to set everything up and adjust the tires so they were as close to the box as possible. I didn’t have anything in the original cost of the rear so the cost of the narrowing and axels was acceptable when I realized I had new bearings and seals with the new axels and ended up with an exact fit. Hope this helps.

 

I forgot to say I have Terry's F100's new wide rear fenders. They are made so the edge of the fender is straight from front to rear as opposed to the rear of the fender angling in. I have 31/10.5 15 tires on it. There are a couple of pictures in my thread "My 56".

 

Truck, when you mention swapping springs to get the springs closer to the frame, my springs are already directly under the frame. Am I misunderstanding something? Also, when you say you removed 4" from the differential to center the pinion, you must have started with an off set pinion and took four inches off one axel tube which centered the pinion and shortened the length of the axel by four inches, correct? You are talking leaf springs, correct?

 

stub, did you tub the inside of the box or just get the room you needed by going with the extra wide fenders? I will check those photos out tonight, Thanks,. Can you send me a link to your "My 56" thread. I cant find it.

 

I would love to see a pic of your wheel set up, if you have one handy.

 

Here is a picture of mine from the side. I do not have any tubs and the springs are basically in the stock location.

 

Thanks Stub, Nice!

 

Stock the springs are mounted to the outside of the frame, so yes I made custom mounts that pull my late model Cherokee leaf springs in closer to the frame. Almost all the truck 9" housing have an offset pinion by about 2", so you are correct, I shifted the housing two inches to center the pinion and cut four inches off to center the housing in the chassis. I ordered new axles from Dutchman from oregon and installed with newer late model larger drum brakes.

Jimmy I have photos of the components, I will try to dig them up and post to my gallery.

 

How wide of a tire do you want? If you can live with what will fit in your current space a simple pair of custom offset wheels can help fit as big a tire as will fit.
I run 265/50/15s on my 51 #2, about 10.5" wide which is plenty for me. The truck is so low you cant see the tire width anyway.
I tubbed my 55 chevy years ago and have been looking for another frame to install to reverse it not long after I did it. Was cool in the 90s but now I hate it.

 

Truck, I had a major brain fart. Im not sure where I got, "stock leaf springs fit under the frame rails". Stock location on all my trucks is outside the frame rails. Open mouth, insert foot, lol.

 

Dave, 10.5 would be pretty close to the look I am looking for. Im not into lowering my trucks close to the ground. I prefer just a little lower than stock with a slight rake up on the rear. Did you have to widen the fenders or did everything fit with just the reverse wheel?

 

I dropped the rear on my truck 4", and I have 10.5 x 31's on it. They fit but with minimal clearance. My rear diff and axle is stock from a 71 f100.

 

No mods needed. Wheels are 15x8.5 AR torque thrust Ds, from what I remember this wheel PN had maybe 1/2" more backspacing than the standard wheel. Not a special order though, right off the shelf. I had ordered them for my 65 olds 442 and when I sold that car I kept the wheels, they just happened to fit the truck perfectly.
I dont have any straight on rear pictures but you can see the tires fit with no problem.