9-Inch Nailed: Adding a New Differential and Brakes

Ford's 9-inch is arguably the stoutest passenger car differential on the planet. Built of sturdy stuff from the factory, it was the driving force for everything meaty at Ford--from the Galaxies with the 427s to the present NASCAR Taurus. Those two alone are enough to get our vote of confidence for the Ford nine. Of course, the best can always be made better, and our experience with 9-inch diffs has almost always lead us to Currie Enterprises of Anaheim, California. Currie offers the Ford nine in almost any configuration imaginable. We chose a standard case packed with 3.50 rear gears, torque-sensing, limited-slip differential, and the standard 3-inch-diameter tube with street-rod, smooth center-section cover. We deleted the included drum brakes, so we could use the four-wheel disc brake kit from Stainless Steel brakes.

Since we are building a show car, we went with the Super Duty brake kit. With the optional polishing, the Super Duty Stainless Steel Brakes kit gave us the sparkle we were looking for via polished calipers and zinc-plated, slotted rotors. This setup will look good peeking out from behind any open-format wheel. The plus side is super-stopping power with none of the fade associated with drum brakes. The kit comes complete, so all you have to do is install the system for better braking prowess.

What's It Cost?
Currie Axle Stage I (starting at): $1,947.50
Stainless Steel Brakes Rear Kit (does not include polishing,slotting or plating): $695.00
Detroit Eaton Springs: $189.00
Total: $2,831.50