Rigid Rear

Special rear axle housing mounting brackets had to be made for the Ford 9-inch rearend.

Tack-welded together for a trial fit, these rear axle housing brackets provide attachment for the coil-over shocks and the trailing links. After the trial fit, the bracket assemblies were fully welded.

Numerous trial fits were required to determine the correct mounting bracket positions. This was greatly simplified by the use of the chassis jig.

Shown here is another trial fit of the axle housing and most suspension pieces. Note that the coil-over spring and the torque arm are not yet installed, nor has the bearing cup been welded to the outboard end of the axle tube. The bracket welded to the frame on the left is for the Panhard bar. The bracket atop the axle tube is for the upper torque arm mount.

 

Although the coil-over springs still aren’t in place, everything else is installed. Note the bracing across the back of the rearend housing where the Panhard bar attaches. The right end of the Panhard bar is adjustable. The triangulated bracing under the housing adds strength and the lower attachment point for the torque arm (just to the right of the center section. Also visible are the tailpipe turndown tips exiting the hand-made mufflers. Note the rear belly pan under the fuel cell.

The Ford 9-inch Rearend was Modified for Strength and Service.

When you plan to make big torque and big horsepower, every part of the drivetrain must be up to the task. Consequently, the original 10-bolt GM rearend in the Camaro was scrapped in favor of the tried and true Ford 9-inch rearend. And that was just the beginning. To handle properly, and to accommodate the huge rear tires and wheels, a revised torque-arm suspension with two trailing links was designed utilizing a Panhard bar and Aldan Eagle® double-adjustable coil-over shock absorbers. New suspension mounts and strengthening bracing had to be added.

Rick “Speed” Lefever began by cutting the ends from the axle housing, replacing them with steel tubing. He used an alignment bar bolted into the rearend bearing saddles to properly align the tubes, thus assuring that the carrier bearings and axle bearings would all be on the same centerline. He also welded gusseting plates inside the housing to secure the inboard ends of the axle tubes for greater rigidity. Externally he fabricated a steel brace to run across the back of the housing and along each axle tube. And finally, he added a round support below the housing running from side-to-side of the assembly between the outboard coil-over and trailing arm mounts. Then triangulating tubes were welded from the lower support tube and outboard mounts to the housing. When all the bracing and mounts had been welded to the assembly, the final step was welding the outboard bearing retainer cups to the axle tubes to ensure perfect alignment.

All of the above bracing results in one incredibly strong and perfectly straight rearend housing. A side benefit to this unflexing housing is that the carrier assembly now slides in and out of the housing easily without any prying or undo effort. Other rearend housing modifications you will note are the adjustable Panhard bar mounts and the torque arm mount. Pinion angle is controlled by adjusting the spherical rod ends on the trailing links. Ride height is set by adjusting the coil-overs.

The design of the rear suspension and the strength of the components should produce superior handling characteristics, as well as durability. The adjustability of the links and Panhard bar will allow tuning for peak performance.