two cents;
people use 9" cause they are built to take gobs and ferocious amounts of
power. the 9" comes from it being a 9" diameter ring gear.
most camro... from 74-81 have a 10-bolt(which is the number of bolts in the
ring gear) but they are a 8.5" ring gear. then theres the 12-bolt(12 bolts
in the ring gear) which is stronger...
but the ford 8" is a great axle. many options for gear changes and simple to
change gears if you have another "third member" (the center/front section
that unbolts carrying the gears with it...) allowing for realativly fast and
eassy gear changes.
if youre under 450HP and you have a medium car/truck <4000# you can almost
never break a 8" ford. i run a 10 bolt in my 4000# panel and they are
actually a lesser quality rear compared to the 8"-even though the ring gear
is bigger-the whole axle setup is not as strong or good. so.. 350/350/posi
and fat tires should be able to never kill an 8"
your mechanic is smart and right cause an 8" is strong, easy to find, cheap
and really unbeatable(plus-the bearings are pressed onto the axle instead of
the cheap chevy style of the bearings actually riding on hte axle surface
causeing wear and ... if the axle ever breaks inside the housing-it slides
right out the side-taking your fender and wheel with it. if a ford axle
breaks insdie the housing-it is retained antil you actually unbolt it. hope
this helps-im sure some of the list guys can correct me but thats my two cents
mark
http://customclassics.org
northern california
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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