The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop rear end swap

I disagree guys, you can build it too strong.

The nine inch Ford is not the strongest rear available, you could put a Dana 70 or a big Rockwell under there. The correct choice will be strong enough, but not adding weight you don't need. A 10-bolt will live behind 400 horse if you aren't abusing the rear in the way you drive. That added weight will work against acceleration, load capacity and handling.

But that's not the point. In this case he is asking what will fit, but hasn't yet determined what the parameters around fit need to be.

Once you open the door to real wide wheels and tires the typical widths may be too wide. A tubbed truck might require a narrowed axle to fit between the wheels depending on the offset. My own recommendation here is to either choose wheels and tires based on an axle that fits OR narrow the nine inch Ford to fit the chosen wheels and tires.

The conventional wisdom is to choose your tires first and make the other decisions around that one. Approaching the problem that way can spend a lot of money because fitting the tires can force tubbing and narrowed axles, so if money is limited (it is for me) you set parameters around the decision and work within them.

If a guy is going to spend the bucks to narrow an axle, he might as well start with the Ford. If cash limits the choices you may as well figure that out at the beginning. 10 bolts are cheap.