I dont really know much bout drivetrain or rearends and what not, and i was lookin at some street slicks for my 1982 camaro, and my buddy said that if i go with some wide tires id have to tub it, and it would be a good idea to throw in a ford 9 inch rear end, and i honestly dont know what to do/what to look for, any input would be great, still tryin to learn

 

Are you going to tub the car? If you do, what type of suspension are you going to use?

The 9 inch Ford is a strong rear end if you build it right. In stock form the 9 inch isn't any better than the average rear end. There are other rear ends that are lighter, cheaper and take less power to turn. The 8.5 10 bolt, 12 bolt and 8.8 Ford are good rear ends. The Dana 60 is very strong and lighter than the 9 inch. Just because the e9 inch is a very popular rear end doesn't mean that it's the best for you.

 

an thats why i was just askin for opinions, cause i dont want one person tell me i should buy this rear end when there are better ones out there and honestly i have no clue bout the suspension either, but yes i am gonna tub it.

 

no offense, but do you know whats involved in tubbing a car and what i costs? A typical back half is 10k+. If you go that far, yes a 9" is a good choice, then again it would be a completely custom deal, shortened ect.

What are your plans for the car? Do you really need to tub it? there are cars running 6's in the 1/4 on 275 drag radials and stock style suspension.

If you just want to run wide rear tires, or slicks, you can fit pretty good sized tires on the car with little modification

 

ive been reading through a few threads bout these guys tubbing there cars and i didnt read that there spending over 10k on the project? not trying to be a d*ck but i just like how it looks, and i got the time to do it. I honestly dont know nothin bout rear ends an suspension, i got only a very small knowing of all that. Thats why im just askin for any input so i can learn, and try to figure out whats gonna be the best for me in the long run wether its expensive or not.

 

im not trying to be a **** either, or accusing, just trying to get an idea of what you know and what you are trying to do.

tubbing is a vague word. Are we talking a backhalf, 15" wide rims 4 link ect. Or a mini-tub keeping stock style suspension and fitting the widest possible wheel without completely rebuilding the rear half of the car?

A complete back half, where the entire rear floor is removed, new frame rails and suspension build form sctatch for drag application is a very indepth and expensive job. Not something most people could do in their garage.

A mini tub is a bit less work, but will still be expensive if you have to pay somebody else to do it. I mini tiubbed my car 2 winters ago, took a long time and a lot of work, just in the sheetmetal end of the job. Building a new interior to cover the new interior sheetmetal took even longer than the minitub job. Then there are other custom parts required ect ect. All to run a 18x12 rim with a 335 tire and keep it all nicely tucked under the car like stock.

If i paid sombody to do all the work, it would have easily been a few thousand dollars.

So you still never said what you are doing with the car? just you like the look. Thats fine, doesnt matter just curious.

Can you weld well? are you good at fabrication parts? If so, it can be done, but like i said, its a lot of work.

 

Tubbing is worth about $10k when you get a chassis shop to do it for you. It's not a hard job to do but after doing mine, I really don't want to do another. It also helps to have good fabrication skills and good knowledge of what needs to be done. Tubbing a car means converting to ladder bars or a 4 link suspension.

With minor inner fender modifications, I was able to squeeze a 29.5 x 10.5 slick under the fenders before I finally back halved my car.

A 9" like any other diff does have it's limitations. There's at least 1 thread on breaking a 9" but with some good aftermarket components, it can be made quite strong.

As for putting some other diff into a third gen, nothing except a diff from a third or fourth gen will be a direct fit. There are aftermarket bolt in diffs but expect to spend at least $2000 for a complete bolt in diff.

 

what i should have said at first was a mini tub, and yes i wanna do that and put on the widest that could possibly fit. i plan on using it as my street toy and hopefully take it down the strip more than a few times! and yes i can weld pretty good, fabricating depends, if im working with sheet metal i can get pretty creative, so id say im decent with sheet metal.

 

ok minitub it is.

as for the rear, you dont need a 9" specificly for this, depending on power levels, a stock 10 bolt can last pretty long.

Other than that, the bolt in options are the 9", chevy 12 bolt, and the dana 60. All will cost at least 2k.

 

ok so if i were to buy any of the three, what would my next step be?
my friend has a 12 blt in his 72 camaro, and says he likes it.

 

i'd say i got about 3000 grand in mine, maybe less.... i ordered a moser 9" housing and axle package. 31 spline, stuffed it with a strange cenetersection with yukon 4.56 gears, 3.062 bearings, a aluminum pinion support, 1350 billet yoke and detroit truetrac diff. all timken bearings.

i still have to buy a few things, a new adj torque arm, and some stuff for the ls1 brake setup i got as well.. i plan on supercharging or turbocharging it so i felt a 500+hp 350 should have a rearend that can survive punishment if i choose to.

 

you can buy a 9" from carri enterprise that can take 1000HP over and over.
for about $2300 to your door.

if you use stock no suported pinon parts. you can brake them with 500hp
and a good hook up...

$2300 you get 1000HP PROOF 9" bolt in rear end..
so what if it takes 15 more HP to turn.. you should have 500hp on tap anyway..(always upgrade later)

you get to Pick

N housing
detro Locker
4.10 gears
pinon suport
bilet nose cap
31 spline axls
1/2" screw in studs (by strage engnr)
raw steel Housing(no finish..it's cheaper that way)

your brakes bolt on..rear end bolts right in..40 min or less..
i was ripping Gears apart in the stock Housing.. if i did a good Hole shot at the track.. you can tuck alot of tire under the car without spending 10 grand. and & $700 every time you Buy new rear tires..

this is a shot of my car with 28x12.5 x15 ET Streets. on the back.. they fit 100% under the car(9" rims) without sticking out from under the top of the fender. even the 295.50R15's fit nice.(10"rims)

 

I managed to almost break my factory production C7AW-E 9" case running mid 9's. Here's what I found before it almost let go and here's what I have now. Others haven't been so lucky and have shot the pinion out the side of the case when the pilot bearing support breaks off while running much slower speeds.

 

seriously, do the sheetmetal work first. then worry about buying the actual axle.

 

How much power are You going to have? If it's less than 600 HP then a Moser 12 bolt will be very good. If it will be more than that then you need to think about a well built 9 inch or maybe a Dana 60.

The first thing that you need to do before getting a rear end is to buy the wheels and tires that you will be using and get the tubs done. Then put the wheels and tires in position under the car and take your measurements. Then order the rear end. If you order the rear end first then you might end up with a rear end that doesn't fit with your wheels and tires. I had a customer with a 4th gen Firebird who bought a new Strange 12 bolt for it. I had to narrow the rear end 1 inch on each side because he bought the rear end first and then bought the wheels and tires. If he had bought the wheels and tires first then he could have ordered the rear end exactly the width that he needed and would not have been in that mess.

 

Very good suggestion, gear head!!!! I've also seen guys do their parts selecting backwards and wind up paying me or someone else to narrow their rear end again, and buy another pair of axles.... Hope a lot of folks read your post and follow the reccomendations!!!!!!

 

also sometimes the aftermarket is not identical to stock. My moser 9" is 1" narrower overall than my stock axle, and its what they call stock width.

I would do the sheetmetal work based on what you want to use for a wheel and tire, you can measure for backspacing and tire size. Then order the axle, make sure all is well, then order the wheels.

But unfortunately, like many other things, no matter how well you plan something out, there is always the possibility for some small detail to be different or overlooked and it will be a pain later on.

 

Thanks for all the help i really do appreciate all the suggestions and opinions, i will start the sheet metal work first, and then go from there. Ill have to post pics up of the process once i get my sheets in next wednesday.

 

Yep..thats the spot they will let go/will brake.
with out prep work.
always get them preped. to help them to last longer. or get the Better N maked Houseing..or after market.. when there life is nothing but drag racing.
i was a die hard ford fan and racer back in the 80's.

still have some housings with lockers w/N housen's 4.86 gears will have to clean off the Dust. and see whats under the bench.