507OLDS

A few of you asked about this rear that I have.I actually did this in 2006.It consists of a Moser 12-bolt housing,with the #7900 housing ends,33-spline Moser axles,with Timken SET-20 tapered roller bearings,33-spline Eaton posi unit that I tuned with the good clutches & the better side/spider gears,Motive 3:73's,Timken bearings/seals,Moser steel 1350 yoke,and a W27 cover that is drilled for the 12-bolt Chevy pattern,available from The parts Place.I really had no reason to do this,other than I just wanted to.I did want a 33-spline Detroit Locker,but they were not making them yet,at the time I built this,so I did a custom eaton unit.A few months after I finished this,the 33-spline Locker came out,and I have one in a box,for that rainy day of boredom.I obviously did not want to order a complete rear from Moser,since it wouldn't get done "exactly" how I would do it,and it would also make me look like a jackass,building rears for the community,but not my own.I ordered the housing,axles,& yoke from Moser,and being apart,they were able to be shipped FedEx ground,so no freight.The #7900 housing ends allows you to run a choice of the larger Ford bearing,or the Timken SET-20,and has the GM bolt pattern to allow you to retain your original backing plates & brakes.I like to get the SET-20 bearings for a street/strip application because the tapered roller bearing design will take side loads better than a ball-bearing style bearing,which is what the Ford style is.The larger bearing diameter requires you to enlarge the opening in the backing plate,to allow the axle/bearing to pass through,but nothing too difficult.
I chose the 12-bolt housing,from Moser,because it has the upper control arm ears raised,to improve the rear geometry & bring the instant center towards the back of the car,and it also moves the shock directly behind the lower control arm,like a G-body,giving less angle on the shock.These will both improve traction & 60ft times at the track,while still having great driveability on the street.At this point,I decided I wanted to **** with people,and make it look like I was running a W27 rear under my 72.I dusted over the housing to etch it,primed,then painted the axle tubes black,& the center aluminum coat.I ordered the W27 cover from The parts Place.Basicly what gets done is that they start with a W27 cover,and instead of drilling it for the O-axle pattern,they drill it for the 12-bolt chevy pattern.If you notice,they had to move over slightly,to get them all to fit good.The inside of the cover was also real close to the ring gear,so I clearanced it with a grinder.I wasn't worried about cap strength or running a girdle cover,since I didn't run one with my 8.5" 10-bolt,and it is still living to this day,and the fact that the Moser rear has some nice beefy caps with big ole bolts.The whole project went quite well,and I had it swapped in time for the Dick Miller event a few years back.there were plenty of people taking 2nd looks under there,thinking I was running a vintage W27,so that plan worked.The rear worked flawlessly as well.I plan on putting this into one of my 70's when that project gets underway.After I tallied everything up,then compared my total cost versus ordering one from Moser,the difference was a little over $600.00,plus I would have need to pay $114.00 for freight at the time,so I saved at least $700.00.I figured that Moser is probably charging at least $600.00 for the labor,as that was the only difference.
I did consider the Dana 60,and those are great rears,but the way my exhaust system is set-up,my mufflers are real close to my yoke,and the longer pinion/pumpkin snout of the Dana 60 would have required me to redo my exhaust,and I didn't want to open a can of worms that I didn't need to.
The current rear project that will go in this car,consists of a Moser 9" housing,with full back brace and the same #7900 ends,the Strange 12-bolt Chevy aluminum drop-out center section,a 35-spline Detroit Locker,and 35-spline Moser axles with the SET-20 bearings.
Why? Just because I want to.
Maybe some day,I'll post some of my other freak builds,like my 33-spline 8.5" 10-bolt Vista rear,or my 12-bolt o-axle that I machined for 12-bolt chevy guts/3:55 posi. Have a nice day.

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w-30dreamin

Very nice!

Thanks for the insight as to what the "builder" is running.

a heads up for you, when Im ready to upgrade from my peg leg diff to a bolt in posi diff,I am planning on contacting you.

joe_padavano

Very nice. Is that aluminum paint, or did you actually have the center section flame sprayed with real aluminum? I was thinking of doing the latter.

firefrost gold

THANKS Brian what do yu mean by a full back brace ? what brakes are you running? Joe what is flame sprayed ?

joe_padavano

Flame spraying (also called thermal spraying) is a process were powdered metal is injected into the flame of a torch and sprayed onto the surface you are trying to coat. The powdered metal becomes molten and is applied to the base metal like a paint. Aluminum coating used to be used on headers until the ceramic coatings like HPC became popular. The finish is a rough, almost cast-looking finish. I always thought it would be a good way to create a faux W-27 housing.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_spraying

covertolds

I have the same rear in my '72. Very stout.

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J-(Chicago)

Once, I used tapered roller bearings and races. The cone type you would find in a front brake rotor or on a pinion gear though.
I pressed them on the axles, pressed the races into the housing ends, and ran them for a year. They worked, but the end play in the axles ended up being about 3/8" after they were "broken in"

Just for the record, don't do that.

Also, what's the deal with allen headed bolts for the main caps? Any reasoning behind that?
Reminds me of horrible times doing head gaskets on 90's cars.

firefrost gold

i couldnt see the pics till i got home That looks great with the paint and w 27 .

507OLDS

Joe,
I had an old set of Cyclone/BlackJack headers with that alumi-coat,and I had considered that,but I didn't want to get too carried away with this.I just used a mix that I already had.
The allen bolts came in with the rear.They are big.No,you don't want any end-play with a tapered bearing,or it will not seat correctly,especially with the weight of the car on it.
I am still running the original backing plates & drums.My 72 has a 12" rotor conversion in the front.It stops great.I didn't have any reason to change the rear brakes,so I just hung everything,swapped rears,and reinstalled.No bleeding or adjusting was need that way.I do have a rear disc kit that I could put on someday,if I get bored.
When I was referring to a full back brace for the 9" housing,I was referring to the piece that you can buy separate to weld onto any Ford 9" housings.It runs horizontally across the back,along the tubes & around the back.There are a lot of cheaper ones out there that are smaller,or are 2-piece.I got the larger 1-piece from Moser.I'll post a picture of that for another topic.
If you also noticed Moser installed factory rubber bushings into the upper ears.Those were the 1st thing to come out.I installed Wolfe Racecraft spherical bushings.

Aceshigh

Nice looking rear end ya got there.

507OLDS

Here are pics of my 9" housing with the backbrace & the #7900 ends.It's getting 12-bolt Chevy guts though.

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Aceshigh

Looks like it's built for some serious HP to be slammin down in the dig zone.

Chesrown 67 OAI

Brian --

what top ear bushings do you recommend I get for mine? I need to order some. I have new lower control arms with poly bushings. Should I get poly ones for the top too? Any particular brand? where to get?
Thanks
Tweed

507OLDS

I would just get the poly bushings for the uppers,to match the rest.
My rear bushings consist of sperical ends at the adjustment ends of my upper & lower control arms,which make the whole upper arrangement have spherical ends.The lowers have sphericals at one end,with greaseable steel sleeves at the other end.There is NO bind at all.If I put my car on a lift,the rear swings down so far that the coil springs will fall out on the floor.

citcapp

Educate me on the ford 9" please. When I bought my 48 Olds it came with a 3:50 Posi 9". Is it strong enough to hold up under my 500+hp 455? I haven't taken it apart to look at it yet. What should I look for and do I need to brace the axle tubes as shown in your picture.

Thanks for any input

Pat

507OLDS

They put the 9" in a variety of cars & trucks,so it is hard to determine exactly what you have,since it is not original to the car.For what you are doing,it should be fine regardless.

firefrost gold

why moser over currie ? would you still go this way today?

507OLDS

Yes,I would still get a Moser today.I am using their 9" housing for my 12-bolt drop-out build.Currie hasn't shown me anything new.Moser has made all of their A-body housings with better geometry.The other thing with Currie,is they like to put the Ford housing ends on,which requires Ford brakes.With the Moser,just get the #7900 ends installed,and you can reuse your existing brakes.Strange also has a similar housing end,but I like what Moser has.

oldf85

Just bought a W27 cover from the parts place for a 12 bolt Chevy - one thing I noticed was no "gally" to direct oil into the ports in the housing to lube the carrier bearings . Anyone had any problems ?

507OLDS

No,I haven't had any problem.The oil gets thrown all over in there.The bearings will get it.

oldf85

Have you used the cover on a driver car ? Some of the 10 bolt and 12 bolt Chevy rears were designed to be lubed via a galley stamped in the cover .

507OLDS

The pictures at the top of this post,show the cover on mine,under my 72.I drive 1/2hr each way to work,plus anywhere else I go from my house,is a good 1/2hr or more.I definitely get miles on it or run it for a prolonged amount of time.The oiling design of the original 12-bolt chevy is no different than any other typical GM rear,like the 8.5" 10-bolt,or the 12-bolt O-axle,and I have not seen any evidence to prove that one cover is better than the other,or one starves the bearings of oil.
You could do a comparision of the two types of 8.5" 10-bolt castings that were offered for the 71-72 Cutlass/442 & Skylark/GS.One design places the oiling holes on the inside of the cover,and just has a round cover,with a protruding lip,running from 12:00 to 3:00.The other casting doesn't have any oiling holes at all,and has a plain cover,with the notches at 9:00 & 3:00.I have not seen any proof that one of these is better than the other.If the rear is filled with the needed amount of fluid,it will get everywhere when it is spinning.It also has to oil the axle bearings,and I haven't seen those get starved either,whether it be the 12-bolt Chevy,my Moser 12-bolt,or the 10-bolts.

oldf85

Thanks for yer input . Almost everything from the pilot bearing to the rear end cover is new . Prevention is cheaper than cure .

monzaz

The 12 botl and 10 bolt chevy covers had the oiling trough for oiling the c-clip axle bearings...but later the cover was changed to no trough and obviously all cars eventually went to c-clip Soooo I doubt that cover had diddley to do with better oiling

Next if you have ever opened up a rear diff when it is hot you will see the fluid is like water ...so do not be fooled by the thickness of the fluid after 5-10 mins that fluid is pure liquid water viscosity....lol. any good left and right turns will more than oil those bearing well. Jim

JD

Brian, Have you noticed and issue with driveline noise with Moser raising the control arm mounting points like using NO-Hop bars? I have a few Malibus that did g-body we had to get adjustable upper to solve that issue. Jim

507OLDS

Jim,
No,I haven't had any driveline noises or problems.I have the same uppers on there that was on there with my 10-bolt,which are adjustable.I have maintained the same pinion angle as before,but I moved the whole rear forward about 3/8".It is just something I decided to do.Every little bit counts for weight transfer,so I put 3/8" more of the car behind the rear axle.It isn't enough to notice when looking at the car from the side.