Getting the big Fairlane back on the road.... Going the whole 9 inches

[jwscab]

you don't have a divorced master on that car?

[romulus22]

No. It was a rookie mistake when ordering. And I just went with it.

[RC10th]

Got my 9" housing back from chemical strip today and man what a difference. It was only $110 to strip, de-rust and etch which I thought was a good deal, especially considering what I dropped off.

The big dilemma now is how to rebuild it. The original complete rear end I bought had axles that were too worn and needed replacing anyways, so I was originally going to go with 31 spline Moser axles, Eaton Truetrac, Strange carrier and Daytona pinion support. The cost is estimated at about 3k and unfortunately I've had my hours cut at work while it's slow. The whole state is doing it tough as we are now paying the most expensive electricity in the world and nobody is spending money at the moment.

When I bought the heavy duty axle housing the guy I bought it from threw in a set of rusty axles that look like they have been outside in the weather for 20 years. I didn't want them and had no idea what they were out of but it was part of the deal, take everything for XX amount or nothing. Long story short I managed to get the axles apart (bearings, backing plates etc) and they are in extremely good shape.

So my options are as follows

I can put a 9" together with what I currently have for about $500 with my heavy duty housing, existing stock Ford LSD, stock 28 spline axles etc. While running the stock gear I can slowly collect parts for a 31" spline and eventually swap axles/center into the light duty housing and sell it off.

I can assemble the light duty housing first and sell it to recoup half of the money needed to build it up the way I want.

The stock ford parts will live on the street being it would never hook hard enough to snap shafts. If you took it to the track it might be a different story. Another upside to the stock parts first is I can see how I like the 3.5 gears before committing to a new set of gears (about $400+)

[romulus22]

I would have to say that finishing the rear for as cheap as possible to get it on the road would be the most enticing option. And you get to see if you like the gear you have. And unless you go neutral dropping the trans I'd be surprised to see you snap an axle even on the track. Auto cars are so much easier on the drivetrain. Maybe if you had a high stall on slicks, just never got the impression you planned on gunning for super low Et's though.

[RC10th]

I think I'm just going to throw it together the way it is, I just don't foresee having the cash to do it properly for quite a while.

I'm aiming for mid 12's which isn't anything crazy and people say the stock 28 splines hold up to a fair bit of abuse. Currently has a 2500 stall but that may change with the new cam.

I test fit all the backing plates, tramp brackets, brake calipers and everything is good so far. Going to either powdercoat or paint the housing then I can start putting it together. I will also run a pattern check just to see how good it is set up and check the breakaway torque of the LSD to see if it's still good.

[RC10th]

Here is the axle pretty well all mocked up nearly ready to paint and assemble. The tramp rod brackets clear the calipers now and everything fits as it should.

[romulus22]

Looking good

[RC10th]

I've been searching for these original Sportsman wheels for quite a while and it has proven rather difficult. They aren't a popular wheel by any means. Restored sets have sold in the $400 range while most grubby looking sets are around $200, not to mention shipping from interstate. The other day I happened to find this set local for $25 a wheel which I was pretty happy about. They are in pretty good shape considering, not perfect but about what I'd expect for a 35+ year old wheel.

Trying to get the paint off the cast aluminum was a b!tch. I bought some aircraft stripper which eventually did the trick with a brass brush, 4 - 5 applications and some steel wool, so much for spray on and hose off.

All that's left to do is run them through the bead blaster to clean up some stubborn spots, file the rim lip to clean them up a touch and polish them up.

This will be a "fun" set of wheels for a stock look. I will likely go for tires around 215/65r14 or 195/70r14, pretty skinny

[romulus22]

Nice find. They already look better all silver. 195's or 215's though So tiny for such a big car.

[RC10th]

215's don't look too bad, the rims are only 14x6 so they are quite small to begin with. Needless to say they will likely protest traction

[romulus22]

Not that it will look bad, but yes, traction may be a problem

[klavy69]

RIms are lookin good. Turning into a real looker...

Todd

[RC10th]

Not much to report but making headway, got diff center back and LSD is still good. Diff guy didn't measure the breakaway torque but said it was definately over 100lb ft, he also ran a pattern check and checked the backlash, all for free. Stand up guy

I also got my axles back and had to massage/clean the splines with a file on the long axle to get it to engage properly, which now they slip in perfectly. It's a much tighter fit compared to the old worn axles, a bit surprising actually considering how poor they looked initially.

Not long to go now.....

[Coelacanth]

Not that it will look bad, but yes, traction may be a problem

Yes, I foresee lots of skinny black lines on the road after you goose it. Too bad the wheels are only 6" wide; if they were 7" or bigger, the car would look much better with at least 235's on the rear. 255's even better, if your wheels were 8" or wider. I have 235's on 8.5" wide Centerlines on my GN and if I build up any more than about 5 pounds of boost on a brakestand, all it does is spin the rubber. Sounds good and impresses people, but doesn't do acceleration any favors.

[RC10th]

I normally run 245's on the back with a 14x 7" rim and they tend to be reasonably grippy. The problem is finding tires wider than 245 in a 14" size.

I really don't expect 215's to last long