The rearend is likely the subject of the majority of abuse your classic truck will see. High horsepower engines and bulletproof transmissions make upgrading that old peg-leg axle necessary these days and there’s no finer a rearend to slide under that hauler than a brand-new Ford 9-inch. Currie Enterprises has built, well, an enterprise in the rearend game, with the core of said enterprise being the Ford 9-inch. Manufacturing everything from new housings to axles to gear cases, there hasn’t been a better time to build a bulletproof rearend than now.
Yet while the components to put such a rearend together are important, knowing how to assemble it and some of the idiosyncrasies involved is where a company like Currie and its technicians really shine.
When it came time to install the Fatman four-bar kit that appears elsewhere in this issue under a ’75 Chevy, it was obvious that the old 12-bolt rear had to be replaced. With all its bracketry and inherent weaknesses, we opted to simply swap out the axle for a new Currie unit that would look as clean as the rest of the underside of the boxy truck.
Once we had the correct measurements on hand, we slid on over to Currie’s Anaheim, California, shop where we had the crew slam together the housing, axle tubes, and flanges, with the Fatman four-bar brackets slid loosely in place. We then headed back to our tech center where the suspension install was carried on and the brackets tacked into place. From there it was back to Currie’s shop where the crew welded up the rest of the housing components and completed the final assembly. They were gracious enough to put up with me for the day and let me follow along as the rearend was passed from technician to technician to receive the one-of-a-kind Currie treatment. CCT
Currie begins every custom...
Currie begins every custom build with the proper length heavy-walled axle tubes, housing and axle flanges.
We’re using the heavy-duty...
We’re using the heavy-duty Centurion housing, shown here with mock-up third member installed. Note the width of the housing compared to Currie’s standard 9-Plus housing. A CNC-machined housing flange, notched for large diameter ring gears further strengthens the housing.
The Centurion housing accommodates...
The Centurion housing accommodates 3-inch axle tubes with up to 7 inches of engagement and rosette weld holes for strength.
One of the advantages of having...
One of the advantages of having a custom rearend built for your project is that any suspension brackets can be slid onto the 0.188-inch wall DOM axle tubes and left loose until the time arrives to tack and weld them into place. Here, the axle flanges are installed and the length of the housing is double-checked before the flanges are tacked in place.
The rearend assembly is tacked...
The rearend assembly is tacked together and a serial number is stamped onto the axle tube at this point before it moves to the welding room. This allows Currie to maintain a history of every rearend that the shop builds.
Antispatter is applied before...
Antispatter is applied before the housing components are welded up to maintain a nice, consistent weld.
The result is strong welds...
The result is strong welds with minimum spatter allowing the end user to paint or powedercoat the rearend with minimal cleanup.