Inside Ford's Most Popular Rearend - Hot Rod Network
When it came to sourcing a rearend for our project 1956 Ford F-100, and wanting to keep the running gear "all Ford," there was really only one choice — Currie Enterprises. They've built tens of thousands of rearends over the past 50-plus years, especially since their axles became synonymous with the performance aftermarket in the '80s. However, these days you'll find very few, if any, Ford parts inside a Currie... With the availability of original parts drying up (face it, you don't see many 8- or 9-inch rears in junkyards these days) Currie undertook to produce its own axle center housings, gear cases, yokes, and differential carriers. Building an axle housing to a customer's required width (which previously would have been referred to as narrowing an axle casing, before new parts were used throughout) is the "easy" part, as assembling the differential is somewhat more... The retainer plates use the same studs that hold the drum brake backing plates in place, but our rearend will be using Wilwood discs. Currie can supply rearends with Wilwood discs, or with 11-inch drum brakes, using Ford-sourced internals and drums of their own manufacture. Source: www.hotrod.com
