Thread: replacing a 9" shortened rear to something normal - cost involved?

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Newbee question here...

I'm out looking for my first truck. Have found a beauty but - hit me if this is sacrilege - I'm not a fan of the Mickey Thompson fatty Tires. Don't want to deal with them in the rain, don't want to possibly deal with wobble, don't want to deal with paying the $$$ in replacing them.

I don't have any heavy equipment to work with entire rearends so would have to pay someone to do this...

Curious what a new rear axle (say 3.73) might cost + install? Must fit a '52 F1. What fits a '52 F1?

I would be ripping out a narrowed 9" rearend w/ Mikey Thompson fatties for some more standard 15X5" rims with 15" tires. This would be lowering the rear quite a bit - any negative effect on the rear suspension that I might need to deal with as well - ie: replace it as well? Would selling the Mickey's and 9" rearend help pay for this work?

Am very curious - Anybody have a ball park? Throw some numbers at me.

Well called my mechanic - a good guy, straight shooter. He said around 4-5 hours labor to do the job.

Have no idea what a new setup may cost, nor where to find it? Looking at Summit racing's site right now.

Just need some assistance.

Just a good 9" housing, made to the correct width, about $900. If you're lucky, a stock length might work in, they run maybe $200 used... Ad the labor to that and you'd be close....

Thinking used... Is there a resource which can show me which rear ends match a '52 F1? Any mustang rears?

Thinking new (ouch my wallet) Any links to catalog rear setups? I have LMC infront of me but it's piece by piece.

http://www.carnut.com/specs/rear.html
Measure your old rear, wheel surface to wheel surface, then check the site I posted.

Thanks ZZFord! Good resource. Just found this as well... looks like all the info I need on this page...

http://www.ford-trucks.com/article/i...ial_Swaps.html

Man, where were you when we were cutting ours! :-) having it cut I should say. First thing I'd do would be contact local shops that specialize in this, we have one in my town, I'll bet there is one somewhere by you. There are always people wanting to do the opposite, and get a 9" cut down.

That's a great resource you found. good luck. we had ours narrowed, in our 51' f1, I think 6" each side. then had to put new axles in.

what size are your tires?

Dago - to be clear, this is a truck I am considering purchasing. The fatty MT wheels scare me a bit (feel free to chuckle ) Seem like a large cost to replace and may very well cause the drive to be unsafe? Or have I heard wrong? Driving in rain etc. Can they hold up to sustained highway driving? I would have to drive this truck some 800mi to get it home.

To answer your question this is the info I have:
narrowed 9" rearend, 15X5" rim with 15" tires on front, 33x19.50x15 Micky Thompson Sportsman rear tires.

Any info or experience you can share would be awesome. I had been tossing around the idea of just ripping out the entire rearend and replacing it to match the front end tires.

Am I nuts?

Gretsch

Just another thought on your rear end swap.... If you aren't going to be doing any racing or anything, an 8" Ford rear is another option.... I'm thinking one of the Mustang/Maverick differentials should be real, real close to the right width...?????

I did a 51 F1 several years ago and used a 9" from a 62 Thunderbird. The width was right and (I can't remember for sure but I think the spring perches may have also worked without relocating).

Unfortunatly I don't see that rear end specifically listed in the list above, but I'm thinking 60-61".

Excellent info guys, thank you.
What is the general consensus on MT Fatty street tires around here? As I have never driven them - curious what they are like, how they affect the drive? See my earlier post above.

They're a bit squirrely on a wet road, the big huge face of the tire will get up on the water and hydroplane real easy.... Driving on a dry road they do ok, on ice they are really worthless....

I love big tires!!! those are bigger than the ones we've got on the NOva, I'm jealous! :-)

I guess a question nobody has asked is what is the power and what is the intended driving? if you have a lot of power remember that you have a light rear end, grab is going to be an issue. that's why we went bigger on our truck (we went hoosier, 31x12.5" wide, couldnt' go wider without switching to a 4 link which my uncle didn't want to mess with).

for the 800 mile drive, yeah, not only not best for that but wear and tear on expesnive tires. get other wheels and tires that fit and throw them on there, they won't fit in the wheel well the same, but you'll be able to drive on them.

If it is an every day driver you want other tires, but if it is just weekends, and around town having fun, the big ones look great. you could always drive it till the tires are worn out and then make the swap to a different rear end.

Red

Wise words Red - much appreciated.