ive been looking around and cant seem to find just what i want. First off how much work is there involved in changing over to a ford 9 inch and two if im not going to the drag strip alot is it worth it or should i keep my ten bolt. And third is there anyway to tell whats in the rear end with out pulling off the cover?
I have an oportunity to aquire a ford 9 inch cheap but if its not worth the effort if im not a racer then ill let someone else have it.

 

depending on how much has been done it may be a simple bolt in swap or you may have to bol backing plates and brakes on the ends. if the price is right i'd sure jump all over the 9" and run it.

 

its coming off a ford, its not off a camaro, so im sure its not a straight bolt on.
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its coming off a ford, its not off a camaro, so im sure its not a straight bolt on. Then again i dont know everything about this that is why im asking.

 

There are many different 9" housings plus many other parts. Ford changed a lot of things on the 9" over the years. They're not all the same width. You just can't grab one and expect it to fit. By the time you're done, it can be cheaper to just buy an aftermarket bolt in housing for less than $1000 and install your own center section and brakes.

My housing is from a 1970 F100 since it was just about the perfect width. I use Ford large drum brakes since it was the easiest way to get brakes. I have aftermarket axles with the Ford bolt pattern. My rims are dual bolt pattern so they fit Chev and Ford. I don't have a park brake system. My center section is a typical Ford cast housing with a Strange spool and gears.

I cut off all the mounts from a 10 bolt and welded them onto the 9" housing so the panhard bar, shocks and springs all fit nicely. Because there's no easy way to attach the torque arm onto a junkyard housing, I installed ladder bars to eliminate the torque arm and lower control arms.

Buying an aftermarket housing will include the axles. You still need to install a brake system and supply a center section with posi/gears. Small axles are 28 spline. Next size up is 31 spline which is what I use. The aftermarket housing will be a 100% bolt in for all the third gen suspension components. You can even buy a complete aftermarket diff for about $2500 - $3000. Bolt it in and go.

How strong is the tiny 10 bolt? V6's have broken them on the street and I had one into the low 11's with no problems. I only switched to a 9" when I installed a transbrake.

 

why are you asking about a 9" swap if you don't even want to pull the cover to figure out what gear you have?
- probably just stick with the 10. I'm running in the 11's on mine, several are running 10's.