i have an 86 t/a w a cammed lt1. should be running into the 12's with it. was planning on dropping some bucks on a rear end girdle $150 and moser axles $375 for my 9 bolt. but ill be real sad if it breaks 1st time down the track. ill be using drag radials and engine should be around 400hp, 3000 stall converter, tci 700r4. anyone else run decent times w a 9 bolt? think i can have some fun with it for a bit or should i set the $500 aside for an s60?

 

I dont have one myself but my buddy mike who is a member on here ran a 383 with a 150 or 200 shot,he ran almost every intake you can name from carb to SR,MR,LTR ETC,into the 11`s i believe on a stock 9 bolt w/ 3.70 ratio.Now a modded ls1 resides between the fenders.Its the stronger of the 2 3rd gen stock rears.Made by Borg Warner.Parts are harder to find and more expensive although.I say run it till it dies unless you have a bunch of extra cash laying around.

 

I run a combo similar to what you describe (see sig).
Made a ton of passes in the 13's. 60' times in the 1.8x range.
Latest round of mods got me my first 12 second time slip with a 1.7 60".
That took out the pinion in the 9-bolt. Interesting thing is, although I could hear the damage in the rear I went for another 10 runs although I couldn't get to the 12's again that day. The old drag radials were toast. I then drove the 200 miles home which really didn't help.
Inspection revealed two broken pinion teeth (which really got noisey! Photos available).
A spare set of used 3.27 gears got me back to the track where I consistently run 12.7's at 105 with 1.7 60' times. This is on McCreary 'treaded' slicks.
That 9-bolt is dead stock and has better than 120 000 miles on it.
Newest project is getting a Dana 44.

 

my best so far is 11.29@127 with a 1.8 60ft on MT dr's

stock 3.45 9bolt in my 89 formula

 

wow didnt expect to hear that on a stock 9 bolt, thanks guys! i def. wanna get a rear end girdle, it doesnt cost a whole lot and looks amazing. from hearing your stories i think i may try rockin the stock axles, sounds like they are not the weak point of the 9 bolt

 

When I bought my car, it had a 3.27 geared 9 bolt. I ran it for 2 years and got high 11's at 118 mph with a 26" tall slick. I switched to a 10 bolt by the third year just to get a better gear ratio selection.

 

so would you guys say these nine bolts are good rear ends..... i have 140,000 on mine and its behind a very stout 355 and 700r4.... i was wondering how much life these things have before they let go...... i keep hearing they are alot stronger than the ten bolt counter part...... how hard is it to rebuild on of these things...

 

that good to hear i dont have the money for a 9" or a 12 bolt

 

The advantage of the 9 bolt over a 12 bolt or a 9 inch Ford, is it eats far less horsepower. Run the steel cap, tighten the preload on the ring gear, go to the minimum on back lash (check the drive pattern), reset the preload on the pinion, add a couple of magnets, GM posi lube additive, and use Lubrication Engineers rear end oil. I have heard some of these hit high 10's, and living for awhile.

 

....and weighs less and run the TA rear cover. Some good information by Pro Built Automatics.

 

Yes, they do weigh less. Good point, forgot to bring that up.

 

At the shop I frequent they had a 10 bolt and a nine bolt. Anyways they weighed each and if I remember correctly there was not much difference between the two. Maybe 5 pounds tops in favor of the 10 bolt. So bottom line if one was to think he is saving much weight by switching from a 9 bolt to a 10 bolt forget it. You are wasting your time.

 

Huh? Not even the FSM says that the 9-bolt needs any additive.

9-bolts don't have friction plates like 10-bolts do. They use 4 gears instead of 2 & friction disc like 10-bolts.

 

My 9 bolt has cones.

 

11.88 26 in slicks ta performace cover

 

I've been a fan of the 9-bolt for decades.
It lasted perfect behind my 383 and 406 where the 10bolt didn't.
It finally took an ls1 and t56 to hurt it and that was me abusing it hard in ways you wouldn't at the drag strip. Even then it just whined a bit but still drove fine. Could have replaced a bearing or something and been on my way.
Instead got a 9". Don't let anyone tell you different, the 9" sucks very noticable seat of the pants power vs the 9-bolt.
If you can get away with the 9-bolt that's a big HP advantage right there.