Page 59 - Issue 43

Now, having cleared that up, it is
about keeping your hotrod rear end
budget down to $100.00 or less. Note:
You will not buy a Dana rear end or a
Ford 9” for this, which you don’t need
anyway. It is a rat rod, by the way. What
is critical however, is making sure it’s
good by turning the yoke to see how
much slop is in it, and if you hear or feel
any weird noises or feel rough places in
the gears as you turn it.
The next critical thing is the width of it.
In our case, wheels and tires will run on the
outside of the body so we need at least 60”
in between backing plates. Those width rear
ends are only going to be in vans, large cars
or trucks. To keep the cost down, you also
need to stay with the older stuff. Rear ends
at the recycle scrap yards at today’s steel
prices are less than $100.00 according
to weight. You won’t find one in auto
salvage yards for that. I have seen them
on Craigslist for $100.00. We settled for
one out of a cargo van that met the width
need, and was also $75.00; a win-win.
Now to set it up in our newly
made frame. Here are the
particulars. We rolled the rear end
under the frame which we had
sitting on 8” blocks of wood. This
gives us the ride heights which will
drop 2” after the weight of body and
drive train are installed at the finish
ride height of 6”. It will be enough
to clear the road well enough, and
still have that low stance. After rolling
the rear end under, we begin a series
of measurements. Front of frame to a
stationary point on the rear end, both
left and right to start with. Side frame to
inside hub, and the X measure left front
to right rear, and other side.

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