Hi all,

I have a late 9" with 3 1/4" axle tubes that I am going to narrow, and install in my 1953 F100

I need the u-bolts,mounting pads,shock mounts etc.

Mid fifty's kit is for a 3" axle housing.
I checked with them to see if it would fit and it will not.

They suggested to me to check in here and see who has found these parts to do this conversion.

Thanks in advance for any help or info
Brian

 

I have the 8.8 from a 92 explorer I know its bigger than 3" I just can't remember if it's 3 1/4" , however I think it is 3.25/3 1/4

 

If you are going to the effort to narrow this rearend why not just go ahead and use the more standard 3" tubes while you're at it...could simplify matters.

 

jaye is correct on the 8.8 explorer. My 8.8 out from under a 94 Explorer is 3 1/4".

 

While you are narrowing the axle housing why don't you have them turn down the tube to 3"?

 

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll get it tore apart and see what the easiest way to go will be.
Brian

 

I had the same problem you did and found out that a lot of Jeep 4x4 guys swap in the 8.8 rear. Here's what I bought
Ford 8.8 Rear Axle Simple Swap (28 spline) [88swap28] - $120.00
It is a bit beefy especially the tie plate. But it gets the job done.

 

I would think narrowing the rear you have now would be more expensive that finding the right width housing and axles with the 3" tubes unless you are going narrower than any stock 9" or need the large rear axle for strength(?). Are you sure you have a true 9"? Using a non standard ba$tard housing is likely to come back and bite you later when all the available parts are for the smaller housing as you are already running into. Any shop that can narrow and straighten your housing should be able to install 3" tube end stubs from the spring mount out.

I did a quick check on www.car-parts.com and found dozens of the right width 9" for 150.00 -350.00 complete.

 

Thanks for the continued suggestions.

I will be narrowing the housing less than the stock one.
I don't want the wider tires sticking out.

This rearend came to me for free, so that is why I'm working with it.
I have a narrowing jig, so that part of the job is free as well.

It looks like the 8.8 kit is a good match.


Thanks again for the help!

Brian

 

Maybe I'm missing something here, but do you mean you are narrowing the chassis and tubbing the wheel wells? With the stock chassis and suspension, your wheel/tire width is dictated by the frame and spring width. If you don't want the tires sticking out beyond the fenders you won't be able to use very wide tires no matter how much you narrow the rear axle unless you narrow the chassis as well. Narrowing the housing is the easy part, buying the shorter axles is where the expense comes in.
Have you read this article on rear axle swaps and 9" widths?
1948 through 1960 Ford F-1 and F-100 Rear Axle (differential) Swaps .: Articles

The "I got it for free" parts usually end up being the most expensive to use.

 

Axracer, thanks for taking time to reply.
I apologize, I have not been to clear on what I'm trying to do I guess.

I'm not tubbing or narrowing the frame.
I need to narrow the rear 2 - 2.5" just to tuck the outside edge of the tire in.

Tire is a P275/60R15

It will be tight to the inside of the box, but this small adjustment should look better I hope.

Here is a Pic of how it sits with the Old rearend.

 

It would be a lot cheaper to buy a new set of wheels with the needed offset, especially since you are using steelies.

 

The 31 spline axles are $200.00 dollars to have cut down and splined.

For this cost I get a 9" "Modern" Rearend assembly with bigger brakes and
a 3.00 gear with traction loc.

Plus I get to keep my wider Wheels.

 

Wheel width and offset is two different things.
Width is the rim width where the tire mounts bead to bead. Width determines the size tire you should use. Offset is where the tire centerline is in comparison to the wheel mounting flange. Offset determines how far in or out the tire sits compared to the end of the axle. Offset is determined by where the center of the rim is attached to the rim hoop. You can order almost any width rim hoop with any reasonable offset, especially in steel wheels.

 

Thats extra nice! Do you know the backspacing on the front and rears?
Thanks for posting such a cool pic!