Ford 9”

• 57 - no dimples, flat center band up the center of the rear cover, bottom drain plug.
• 58-59 - two dimples on back of housing, flat center band, some had drain holes.
• 60-67 - two dimples, flat center band, oil level hole in back cover.
• 63-77 Lincoln, LTD, Thunderbirds had 9.375 inch centers, housings were cut away at the gasket surface for ring gear clearance, one curved rib at the front top portion of differential, strong but no aftermarket gear sets.

• The 67-73 Mustang type is considered light duty uses both axles.
• The 57-68 early passenger car and half-ton pickup rear end is considered a medium duty unit and came in both 28 and 31 spline axles.
• The 70-79 Ranchero/Torino are considered a high performance unit again being produced with both 28 and 31 spline axles.
• The 69-77 Galaxie/Lincoln and 73-86 half-ton pickup used both size axles and the 31 spline version should be considered the strongest available and can be used for extreme duty applications.

There are two ways that are used to measure a 9" rear end. The first is to measure from the wheel mounting surface to the same place on the other side. This is the most consistent way as it gives you the distance between the wheel mounting points. The second way is to measure the flange on the housing that the backing plate and axle retaining flange bolt to. This way is not as accurate. The reason that it isn't is because there are different thicknesses of brake shoes that cause the backing plates to move in or out to accommodate the shoe thickness.
Width: from wheel mounting flange to wheel mounting flange (X)	Width: from housing flange to housing flange (Y)
1957-59 Ford - 57 1/4" 60-64 Ford 61 1/4" 57-59 Ranchero and SW - 57 1/4" 1964-71 Full sized cars - 61" 1979-81 Lincoln Versailles - 58 1/2" 1972-79 Ford intermediate & Full Size - 63" 70-79 Ranchero/Torino - 63" 57-72 F-100 Pickup - 61 1/4" 73-86 F-150 Pickup/78-86 Bronco - 65-65 1/4" 66-77 Bronco - 58" 1977-86 Ford E-150 - 69 1/4" 77-81 Granada/Versailles - 58 1/2" 67-70 Mustang/Cougar/Fairlane/Comet/Falcon - 59 1/4"* 70-73 Mustang family - 61 1/4"* 69-77 Galaxie/Lincoln - information not given but in any case it will need to be narrowed for use in a street rod.	57-59 Ford/Edsel - 52" 60-64 Ford/Mercury - 54-56" 70-79 Ranchero/Torino - 56" 57-72 F-100 pickup - 57" 73-86 F-150 pickup/78-86 Bronco - 58 3/4" 66-77 Bronco - 46" 67-70 Mustang/Cougar/Fairlane/Comet/Falcon - 52-54" 70-73 Mustang family - 54" 58-60 Thunderbird - 50" 65-66 Mustang - 52" 66-69 Cyclone - 52" 61-67 Thunderbird - 56"
X in the picture about denotes the measurements listed above left. Y in picture above denotes the measurements listed above right * Denotes a gray area involving some of the earlier parts being found on 70 Model year cars. Note:After 1970 all axles were the 31 spline style big axles. For 28 spline units the last 4 inchs were machined down for the 28 spline ends. If you shorten the axles more than 4 inches they are big enough to take 31 spline.

1. However, the axles in a Maverick are 17/64" shorter on the right side, and 9/64" shorter on the left side. These will probably work.
2. Better yet, the axles from a 63 to 65 Falcon, Comet, or Fairlane, or a 64 to 66 Mustang with 8" axles are 1/4" too long on the right side, and 3/8" too long on the left side. Measuring several axles I found all of them had enough splines to be shortened this much. And it doesn't have to be done on a lathe, it could be done with a Skil saw and abrasive wheel, then rechamfer the end of the axle.
3. Also 57 to 59 Ford with a Non-heavy duty axle, everything except police, taxi, wagons, ranchero, and some convertibles, are 9/16" too long on the right, and 3/8" too long on the left. Again the axles can be shortened that much without hurting the spline length. The wheel bearing to flange length on all these are the same, and Maverick drums will work with the Mustang II brakes. All of them use the same wheel bearing, and bearing retainer. The bearing collar on some is different OD, but will interchange on the axles.
4. I suspect, that Granada and Monarch axles will fit with minor shortening also, they are in the range of the 57 to 59 ford, but I couldn't find a listing in the books I had.

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