To build or to buy a 9 inch for my 66

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Doc Voodoo said:
Whats the best way to go to put a 9 inch under my pony. Track down all the parts and cut down a 9 inch or just buy an all ready made one from the many suppliers on line. Whats the average cost of building one ? It looks like I can buy one from Quick Performance $1090.00 www.quickperformance.com

Well....I picked up a 59 ford 9 inch housing for $150 complete with axles (28 spline set up) and then spent another $80 on bearings and seals. Then bought a new 3rd member with 4.11 trak lok and steel plate for $725 (plus another 65 in shipping) so I spent roughly spent the same price. So the question becomes what all do you get for 1090, and what kind of parts are used?
 
If you are like me, you find a disc brake explorer rear-end with 3.73's and a POSI for 150$ then you have one side cut down and new perches welded and you install that all for under like 400 dollars :). muhaha I get disc brakes and POSI traction.
 
spend the $$$ on a new one

Highly recommend that you buy a new nine inch. I had one narrowed and had someone set up the posi with gears with supposedly three runs on them. Backlash wasn't set up right. Had to take it to someone else and spend more$$$$. Currie has a really nice rear end with discs new and ready to go. Check them out.
 
kidpoboy said:
Highly recommend that you buy a new nine inch. I had one narrowed and had someone set up the posi with gears with supposedly three runs on them. Backlash wasn't set up right. Had to take it to someone else and spend more$$$$. Currie has a really nice rear end with discs new and ready to go. Check them out.

A 9-inch from Currie with locker/LSD and explorer discs will run you well over $2grand!

I bought a 9 from a trashed 68 cougar XR7 (drums, 2.80:1, and open diff) for $175. Tore it down and cleaned/painted it myself. Bought a locker with 3.50:1 gears, traded the gears with my buddy to get 3.70:1 and I'm done for about 5 bills.
 
Edbert said:
A 9-inch from Currie with locker/LSD and explorer discs will run you well over $2grand!

I bought a 9 from a trashed 68 cougar XR7 (drums, 2.80:1, and open diff) for $175. Tore it down and cleaned/painted it myself. Bought a locker with 3.50:1 gears, traded the gears with my buddy to get 3.70:1 and I'm done for about 5 bills.


edbert I am thinking building is the way to go. what year is your car. The 66 is 57.25 inches long for the rear end. the only direct bolt in are the 57 -59 ranchero hard to come by. the next size up is 58 inches out of the granda and Bronco's.
 
Thought they were about $1500

My bad. I suppose if you get killer deals better to build. Especially if you are mechanially inclined. In my case, as I am not, since I bought a brand new posi. and new gear. Seems like used gears will have a tendency to hum. Wear pattern is already established. The point is this though. Yes you will save money, no question. If you plan on putting alot of runs on the car then my take is to buy new if you can afford it.
Edbert said:
A 9-inch from Currie with locker/LSD and explorer discs will run you well over $2grand!

I bought a 9 from a trashed 68 cougar XR7 (drums, 2.80:1, and open diff) for $175. Tore it down and cleaned/painted it myself. Bought a locker with 3.50:1 gears, traded the gears with my buddy to get 3.70:1 and I'm done for about 5 bills.
 
D.Hearne said:
Here's another option---- you buy the 9"versailles rear I've got for sale for $300+shipping, then buy the centersection of your choice for $3-400 more. Still less than that $1100 rear.


Ok I can deal with that But does the Versailles rear end Need to be cut down to use original Rims on a 1966 car ? The versailles is an inch and a quarter longer then the original. other wise it bolts right in, correct. Does it have Disc Brakes on it ? If it does what changes have to be made for those .
 
no, it doesn't have to be cut down. BUT, the driver's side tire will stick out a little further than the pass. side, by about 3/8". I just got thru doing the versailles swap, nobody told me about that, but when I mentioned everybody was like 'ya, I have the same problem'. I wish they would've told me that earlier. The other thing with the versailles housing is the angle of the spring perches. There are two ways to approach this, cut them off and weld on some new ones to arrive at the correct pinion angle(could also maybe fix the off-center condition(prob. above) at the same time), or use the brackets, cushion, and wedges form the versailles. I went the latter route since I had all the parts at my disposal. Other than these two small obstacles, the swap was well worth it. Car stops on a dime.

I bought a complete driveable versailles for $900, with a great running 351W/C4. As for the install, I spent about $90 on Earl's braided stainless lines(factory ones are practically obsolete and cost just as much), $19 on new pads, got rotors turned, reused the calipers as they were in good shape. I scored a rebuilt centersection with 3.70's and a trac-lok for $350. I think I lucked out because with the exception of the gears, everything was in good working order.

The versailles swap is cost effective only if the following conditions are met:
1) you get a decent deal, like $300 or less, they do sell for more. If Dhearne wants 3 bills for a complete unit, it might be wise to get it. They are desirable among hot-rodders and are of course getting rarer.
2)you can get all the hardware that goes with the housing-EVERYTHING, you never know what all you might end up using
3)the rotors and calipers are usable and in good condition

The rotors sell for about $65 apiece if I remember correctly, calipers are $70 apiece, lines will run you around $90/pair whether you go aftermarket like me or are able to find some stockers floating around, figure about $20 for new pads. That adds up to $380. Figure a new or rebuilt centersection with 'posi' would run around $400+. Now your at $800 in parts, not including a housing. Tough call......
 
The Versailles rear I have has good rotors, calipers should also be good.Parking brake cables are also included. Yes the Versailles is slightly longer than a 65-66, but with the correct backspaced wheels , it shouldn't be a problem. Funny that y'alls cars have the left side wider than the right, my 89 Ranger has just the opposite condition, the right side sticks out further than the left.