[67drake]

My son buying a ‘68 Chevelle with a 502 crate motor. Cool! But when I asked him what transmission and rear he said the original 8.2 was still in there. I warned him it probably wouldn’t last, and he said the seller knows this, and the seller has a Ford 9” that is already set up to bolt into the Chevelle, if he wants to buy that also.
OK, great. The question I have is can anyone ID this 9”? The center section looks “stubby” to me in the picture, and looks to be a filler plug on the backside of the case. I’m no 9” expert, so thought someone here could shed some light on this.
Sorry, it’s the only picture I have.
Thanks

[indymanjoe]

with the high coil spring tubes if ya will, it looks aftermarket for sure. i was thinking QP but probably not as they have the name on the back by the shock mounts..

[Sirrotica]

The aftermarket has many choices for 9 inch housings because the used ones are so old at this point, rust and corrosion has taken a toll on OEM ones.

Oval track racers almost always put a 9 inch under their cars, because they're tough for what they weigh, have a ton of aftermarket support, and are a breeze to change ratios compared to a Salisbury design axle having a removable gear set. The ability to change gear ratios quickly is a must have for oval track racers, especially when running at more than one track. Unlike dragstrips, there is no common size for oval tracks, plus banking, and surfaces, necessitate different gearing.

The one in the picture is likely built on a new aftermarket housing, with mount provisions for an A body GM car. Most aftermarket housings have a drain, and a fill plug in the housing.

OEM ford housings were drained by breaking the seal at the gasket after removing the 3/8 inch nuts on the studs, and refilled through a plug at the rear of the housing. If it was just changing gear oil as routine maintenance, a suction gun could also be used to remove gear oil.

I've posted before that the 9 inch is the SBC of rear axles, huge aftermarket support, strong, and lighter than some other choices available. Also easy to work on without a bunch of specialty tools. If desired, you can get a full floater design aftermarket 9 inch, no lost wheels in case of a broken axle.

The more splines the axles have, the stronger the connection from the center section to the wheels, and less prone to breakage on the axle shaft ends. Ford used 28, and 31 spline. From memory I think you can get as high as 40 splined ends. There are also tons of options for rear disc brakes, caliper, rotor hats with interal drum emergency brakes, etc. on 9 inch axles.

[67drake]

Well, he bought the car, and I recommend he buy the 9” if he could swing it. He went and got the car today and negotiated for the 9”. Thanks guys.

[indymanjoe]

nice cruiser! looks clean hows the rest

[67drake]

His main concern was as rust free a body as he could find. He said it has no rust.
I have no idea what shape the interior is in, but that wasn’t a concern for him. He has 2 small kids and wants to have fun driving it, not stressing about fingerprints and upholstery tears.
He got all the emblems and stainless with the car, it’s just not installed.
He said it runs great too.
He still driving home with it, so he said he’ll send pics when he gets settled in at home.