This is the rear end I bought a couple of years back.

 

I'd still get the 9" rears at $150 or less and resell on CL.

 

One thing to watch for is that there is also a 9 3/9" rear (also used on the F100, but I think generally on the 4x4 version) that looks almost the same, but only some minor parts are interchangeable and they are costly to work on compared to the 9". The easy way to tell the difference is that the webbing on the face of the 9" are all straight across. On the 9 3/8", one web on the left curves down.

 

The beauty of the 9" is the interchangeability of parts. The value, imho, of these things is the center section. That's where all the working and expensive parts are. The housing is simply the mechanism of fitting the pieces together. If you had to buy a new gear set and have it assembled, you're talking some bucks. If you add limited slip, there's even more. If you found a good center section with 3.50's already set up and ready to go, you'll be money and time ahead. As mentioned, as long as the spline count is right, it's simply a matter of removing the old center section and installing the new one. To do that, you will need to slide the axle shafts out slightly to disengage from the side gears in the center section. I don't want to leave out that step and/or add to any confusion.

 

[QUOTE=ALBUQ F-1;14291111]Guys, I hate to keep beating this horse but I'm trying to get all the information I can to both help myself and my son Andy. This weekend he's up north with his buddy and he has lead on those two rear ends, the 4:11 and the 3:23. He's sure the guy said "3:23" so it probably is the Dana. He can get both for $150 each. Do you think he could use the Dana? I think if he can get them both for $300 he could bring them back and sell them down here and make a few bucks. The 4:11 is way to high for him to use but he might be able to find someone down here who wants it. He could also change out the center section with the correct gears. Is the Dana as desirable? The seller said both came out of mid 60 to early 70 Ford trucks.

 

If it is a Dana 44 with 3.23:1 gears it will be out of a 1977-1978 1/2 F-100. Lowest gear for a Dana 60 is 3.54:1. A Dana 61 could have 3.07:1 and 3.31:1 but are all 8 bolt rear axles.

I'm guessing the 3.23:1 is actually 3.73:1. He probably thought the 7 looks like a 2.