[Tomaso]

Who can do a custom Ford 9” rear for a 66 Bonneville? I tried contacting some guys, but they keep trying to sell me the GM B body rear end setup in which I told them it’s not the same, and they said they weren’t able to help…

[indymanjoe]

quick performance can handle that.

[Goatracer1]

What does the rear end fit that they are trying to sell you? A Bonneville is a "B" body. Tempest/Lemans is "A" body.

[Tomaso]

Originally Posted by Goatracer1

What does the rear end fit that they are trying to sell you? A Bonneville is a "B" body. Tempest/Lemans is "A" body.

The GM B body option that fits the Impala. Fits: 1965-1970 Impala, Biscayne, Bel Air
But not Bonneville, Catalina, etc.

[RocktimusPryme]

Any of the big companies can probably do it, they are just going to require you to either tell them exactly where any mounts need to be based off your factory rear end, or give you one with the length you want and expect you to put on your own spring pockets etc.

I know Quick Performance will sell the rear ends with the brackets tacked in place so they can be easily removed if you need to relocate them.

[b-man]

You’re going to have to buy a bare housing in the correct width.

Then cart it over to your local (or not so local) chassis fabricator along with your original housing for them to copy the mounts or possibly remove the ones from your original that could be transferred.

Get out your wallet.

Any unpopular rear end such as yours won’t be in any aftermarket supplier’s listings. It makes little sense for aftermarket rear end manufacturers to have jigs and blueprints for rear ends that they likely won’t even sell 10 of in a decade.

[Goatracer1]

I'll agree with b-man. Measure your original rear axle assembly from backing plate to backing plate then find what Ford product comes within plus or minus 1 inch. Cut off the Ford mounting points and grind smooth. Carefully remove your mounting brackets and have someone weld them to the Ford housing. Just be careful locating them correctly. It is really not hard. The guy 2 houses down from me welded mine in his driveway after I marked the correct locations. You can then order whatever center section you require. Also much cheaper.

[hurryinhoosier62]

Originally Posted by Tomaso

Who can do a custom Ford 9” rear for a 66 Bonneville? I tried contacting some guys, but they keep trying to sell me the GM B body rear end setup in which I told them it’s not the same, and they said they weren’t able to help…

When I talked to Quick Performance about building a 9” for my ‘64 Cat they wanted the original housing to ensure the mounting bracket were in the same location on their housing. I don’t know where you are located but Iowa is one state over from me( Indiana). Shipping a bare housing could get expensive.

[hurryinhoosier62]

Originally Posted by Goatracer1

What does the rear end fit that they are trying to sell you? A Bonneville is a "B" body. Tempest/Lemans is "A" body.

B body Pontiac rear housings are wider than the rest of the GM B bodies.

[AROWHED]

Another option is cut your 66 Pontiac axle housing tubes off (keeping all their attached brackets) and weld the pair to the tubes of the center section of your choice. I'm running a 63 Pontiac 9.3" center section with 65 axle tubes welded to it, still retaining their 65 control arm and coil spring brackets. This did require using swedged tubes and heim joints for the upper control arms, as the 63 housing brackets are farther apart than the 65, actually a plus as I wanted adjustable uppers anyway. Axle shaft length and spline count must be considered before any cuts are made, in my case it was easy as 63 and 65 are both 31 spline. This method also allows narrowing, but then new custom axle shafts are mandatory and creates lower control arm geometry issues that must be addressed.