Rear End Axle - Cut To Fit

Hot rods come in all shapes and sizes, which is cool, but one drawback of this situation is finding an appropriate rearend assembly of the correct (or close to it) width. For years, all that was required was a tape measure, a trip to the local boneyard, and an afternoon's worth of free time. These days, used 8- and 9-inch OEM Ford rearends-a staple of the hot rodding hobby-are like hens' teeth; and, when and if you find 'em, they're the skipped-over, iffy ones folks passed up back when they were plentiful. Plus, they're nearly as pricey as new units these days.

Thankfully for those of us who have or have access to an existing 8- or 9-inch Ford assembly-or a brand-new Currie housing like us-the folks over at Currie Enterprises/9-Plus have come up with a product that makes hot rod rearend fitment a simple and affordable task. The new 9-Plus Cut-to-Fit Axle Kit allows the home hobbyist the opportunity to fashion a rearend assembly that'll fit perfectly in almost any situation.
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After recently doing a short intro article in the Nov. '07 STREET RODDER on these 9-Plus Axle Kits, the opportunity arose to use cut-to-fit (CTF) axles myself-actually, my wife, Candy, used them on her Total Performance track T project we introduced to you in the July '08 issue ("Hot Rod Girl: Part I," page 192).

Candy's Total Performance King T kit came through with a bare Currie 8-inch rearend housing as part of the chassis kit (complete assemblies are available as an option, though), and it was up to her to complete the assembly. The new Cut-to-Fit Axle Kit was perfect for this application, as we could get our hands on a pair right off the shelf from Currie and cut them to fit our needs without the added hassle of cutting stock axles and then having to get them re-splined. This meant we could measure, cut, and install, all in one afternoon-immediate satisfaction, just what we like.

Currie/9-Plus Cut-to-Fit Axle Kits provide the user with 28- or 31-spline axleshafts with 4 inches of spline length. As much as 3 inches of that spline length can be cut off, so you can end up with an axle length anywhere between 23 and 30 inches and still have adequate engagement into your third member (both 8- and 9-inch varieties). All CTF axles feature high-performance induction, heat-treated, forged alloy steel construction, and are ABCS (aftermarket brake configuration standard) compliant. Wheel bolt patterns are dual drilled for 5-on-4-1/2-inch Ford and 5-on-4-3/4-inch Chevy, and an access hole is factory drilled, too. All CTF axles come with a full installation package, which includes one set of five 1/2-20 Ford-style wheel studs, one set of five 7/16-20 Chevy-style wheel studs, one set of 20 tapered roller bearings with races, seals, and collars, and heavy-duty, late-model, large-bearing-style retainer plates. In most cases, it's everything you'll need; although, in our situation, we needed to purchase and install a third member and drum brake assemblies, as well. However, that worked out well, as Currie sells brand-new rear drum brake assemblies and gearsets. So, we also grabbed a pair of 10-inch drum brake kits and our new third member from Currie at the same time we picked up our CTF axles. Currie drum brake assemblies are available for 10x1-3/4-, 10x2-, and 10x2-1/2-inch shoes. Backing plates are reconditioned and powdercoated, the balance of the brand-new parts is fully assembled onto the backing plates, and the new drums come with any wheel bolt pattern up to 5-on-5 and with the stud hole size you desire.

So, with everything we needed to outfit her housing, Candy got to work. I did give her a hand, though, but only by installing the third member, since it was nearly as heavy as she is. Take a look at just how easy it was for her to assemble a custom-width rearend assembly in an afternoon, and keep Currie/9-Plus in mind for your next project.