Ford 9"

Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic

   A local race shop that said they had done lots of Jeeps narrowed and rebuilt my AMC 20 in our 67 Rogue. Added Moser axles, Ford Torino style housing ends to accept Ford Motorsport rear discs and a Auburn Limited Slip diff. It has very noisy and ran so hot it stunk. He rebuilt it again with no improvement. I think the housing is bent because it keeps knocking out the carrier bearings. 
Anyway, everybody talked me into a Ford 9". A friend is a very good machinist and narrows Ford rears and gave me a truck housing he had lying around. Don't use the truck housing. The thing weighs a ton. It's super strong with thicker tubes, but too much for a lightweight American unless you're racing it. I don't know if there is more room in the Jav, but the rear of the Ford housing is much deeper than the AMC, so unless you modify the tank by rolling the flange or something, the rear axle is pushed forward to clear the tank. The wheels aren't centered in the wheel wells and look funny to me. It had to be narrowed about 3", new flanges and Currie axles were used with ECI Cadillac disc brakes. A stock ford traction-lock was checked and found to be OK by a local circle track racer and just cleaned up and used. 

So now I'm back were I started. It's got a lot of lash and sounds like an old Mopar when you put it in gear. has lots of gear noise and chatters. So at least it's easy to pull the center out! 

Author	Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic
Rogue401 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Addicted Joined: Nov/26/2010 Location: New York Status: Offline Points: 1280	Post Options Post Reply Quote Rogue401 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Nov/10/2014 at 11:47pm
	A local race shop that said they had done lots of Jeeps narrowed and rebuilt my AMC 20 in our 67 Rogue. Added Moser axles, Ford Torino style housing ends to accept Ford Motorsport rear discs and a Auburn Limited Slip diff. It has very noisy and ran so hot it stunk. He rebuilt it again with no improvement. I think the housing is bent because it keeps knocking out the carrier bearings. Anyway, everybody talked me into a Ford 9". A friend is a very good machinist and narrows Ford rears and gave me a truck housing he had lying around. Don't use the truck housing. The thing weighs a ton. It's super strong with thicker tubes, but too much for a lightweight American unless you're racing it. I don't know if there is more room in the Jav, but the rear of the Ford housing is much deeper than the AMC, so unless you modify the tank by rolling the flange or something, the rear axle is pushed forward to clear the tank. The wheels aren't centered in the wheel wells and look funny to me. It had to be narrowed about 3", new flanges and Currie axles were used with ECI Cadillac disc brakes. A stock ford traction-lock was checked and found to be OK by a local circle track racer and just cleaned up and used. So now I'm back were I started. It's got a lot of lash and sounds like an old Mopar when you put it in gear. has lots of gear noise and chatters. So at least it's easy to pull the center out!

dkrtgood Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Addicted Joined: Jun/27/2011 Location: St Pete, FL Status: Offline Points: 1371	Post Options Post Reply Quote dkrtgood Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Nov/11/2014 at 8:12am
	Mine came out of a 78 Lincoln Versailles (Disc brakes) fit perfect...perch to perch and backing plate to backing plate was exact dimensions as my model 20 1970 Javelin. Its a big bearing 28 spline unit Best thing I ever did to my car...swapping chucks for gear changes takes about an hour with zero headaches.
	Dave Goodwin President of Tampa Bay AMC 70 Mark Donohue BBO 390 5-speed 77 Matador Coupe AKA "The Beave" 70 Javelin 360 / Auto - BBG

farna Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Supporter of TheAMCForum Moderator Lost Dealership Project Joined: Jul/08/2007 Location: South Carolina Status: Offline Points: 19689	Post Options Post Reply Quote farna Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Nov/11/2014 at 8:38am
	Forget the 9". Use an Explorer or 93+ Ranger 8.8". Width is right, and the Explorer has rear disc brakes. The Ranger axle has drums and is 1.5" narrower than the Explorer. Easy to find, about the same strength as a 9", and good axle ratios. I forget which is a better fit in the Javelin, I think the Ranger. Both are a little wide for an American, but with a deeper offset wheel the Ranger fits. A common trick is to get an Explorer rear end and pull an extra short side axle (the diff is offset, but that's not an issue), then shorten the long side axle tube for the short side axle. That brings the diff close to center and shortens the axle 3" (1.5" narrower than the Ranger). And of course you have disc brakes in the rear too.
	Frank Swygert

Wrambler Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Addicted Joined: Jul/02/2007 Location: West Virginia Status: Offline Points: 4199	Post Options Post Reply Quote Wrambler Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Nov/13/2014 at 10:42am
	Sounds to me like a bunch of guys doing rear end work they have no business doing. There isn't any reason for noise, unless they a forkin up the housing when they weld on it and not straightening it back out. Are they using used gearsets? I had a set of 4:57 Ford 9" gears that I swapped a traction loc in and ran years ago. It was absolutely stone cold quiet, no noise at all. Had a buddy with 5:14's in a 12 bolt in his Nova, no gear noise either. Somebody is making a mess at your expense unless I missed something when I read through this thread. Speedway just had a sale on their cut to fit 9" axles and their Housing that makes a 56" or 56 1/2" WMS-WMS rear.
	Wrambler 69 AMC Rambler 4.0L, 5 speed 2015 Grand Cherokee Limited 2019 Chrysler 300

Rogue401 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Addicted Joined: Nov/26/2010 Location: New York Status: Offline Points: 1280	Post Options Post Reply Quote Rogue401 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Nov/13/2014 at 8:42pm
	I agree, there have been lots of screw ups and wasted money. The guy that did the AMC 20 rear has a great reputation and has been around for years. He builds complete tube frame drag cars and does nice work. He said he could do the AMC because it was very similar to a 12 bolt Chevy and actually uses the same carrier bearings I think. But he severely warped the axle tubes when narrowing and fitting the 9" Ford housing ends. The flanges looked off to the eye. Using 4 foot long straight edges, one side was off 3/16". He fixed it, I put it in the car and it was very noisy and smelled hot. By now. I've got $1200 in it. Pulled it back out and the carrier bearings had a oblong wear pattern in only 50 miles. They only go on one way with the arrows and marks he made, but they had a pronounced edge where the caps met the housing. I couldn't come up with a combination that lined up. He tried it a couple more times but we never got anywhere. So there it sits. THe Ford was narrowed by an expert machinist with the correct fixture, but the flanges are still off and mounts the calipers out of square with the rotors. I made shims to correct the angle the caliper brackets. The center section is by a race car shop that has good used units that are checked and reassembled. Maybe they don't care about how loud or loose the are on a dirt track. Probably my fault for dealing with them. A friend of mine builds lots of customer hot rods and all he uses are Currie assemblies because they're quiet/