i know a lot of guys have referred me to converting to one of these...and now i'm considering it....however i don't know much about it....so could someone please tell me what is all involved in doing this? do i have to just swap in a center section and axles, or do i need to take a whole 9 inch and get it down to fit a 3rd gen....what exactly has to be done....

 

You will have to have a ford 9inch housing and weld on the coil over brackets and the torque arm bracket to fit your f-body. Unless you find a ford 9 inch that was already installed on an fbody you will either have to build one or buy one already put together. It will be difficult to find the torque arm and coil over brackets as noone wants to sell you them. They want you to buy the whole housing. I have been lucky enough to get currie to send me the torque arm bracket but they cant get me the coil overs...

 

If you cant locate them anywhere, you might want to buy a junk f-body rear, ( if funds permit) from a V-6 vehicle. A non posi rear will probably be less expensive, since you only need the perches and brackets anyway...

 

so all i need is a 9 inch housing, then cut my 10 bolt section out, and replace it with the 9 inch housing....then just buy a ford 9" center section, and put it in, right?? and then get shorter axles...

 

NO, you can remove the brackets, and spring perches, and weld them onto the 9 in. housing. Doing it this way will almost cost as much as a unit already built from Currie or Moser. The housing that you are to use has to fit the f-body chassis, you might have to remove material from the axle tubes to fit it. Then there is the axles, brake issues etc. If the rear was not in a 3rd gen f-body, this can be a costly conversion. My 9in. was built by Currie with all the goodies, and I also had the housing powdercoated black. All I had to do, was, send them my disc brake brackets, and the NHRA legal metric (longer) wheelstuds, and for about $2400.00 my new rear arrived. A friend of mine built a non f-body 9in. from scratch, and I think all he saved was a couple hundred dollars, and he had no powdercoating. ...Tom

 

http://www.streetrodstuff.com/Articl...rain/Rear_End/

 

If you shop around you can get a bolt in 9" housing for around $500 brand new. That's the best way to go. If you check swap meets you'll probably find one even cheaper.

Unless you're a good welder, and have experience setting up a chassis and modifying rear ends the best option is to just buy a professionally built housing. To convert a 9" from a Ford vehicle you will have to cut off the spring perches, fabricate and weld on spring perches, LCA mounts, a panhard mount, and a TA mount. You may also have to narrow the rear if it is too wide. None of these tasks should be undertaken by anyone who isn't familiar with them. Failure of a weld could have serious consequences at worst, at best you wind up with a rear end that is junk because the suspension geometry is wrong. This isn't a minor undertaking; it's major surgery.

 

What he said