I've done a lot of 9 in Ford rears both narrowing and installing floater spindles. You nailed it with your methods of measurement and locating where you need to cut/weld. Really the only place where our methods differ is instead of cutting the tubs with a whizz wheel is I use a pipe cutter and instead of a tape measure I use a 3 ft. vernier caliper. Since most of your listeners will probably only do this one or two times in their lives , renting these tools is more practical than buying .The pipe cutter doesn't start cutting until you are happy with your location , makes a square cut , makes no dust or a lot of chips and when the cut is finished the weld bevel is already there.

That C-channel jig is brilliant!

@chrismullett6072

5 жыл бұрын

simple but smart wasn't it

@Mr572u

4 жыл бұрын

Putting a lot of confidence in the trueness of that c-channel. Still, that’s a good rig. I like your welds...

@EnormousDaisey77

4 жыл бұрын

@@Mr572u Hey, as long as the tape measure backs it up lol

O.K. . . so I'm late to the party by a few years. . . This set of 2 videos has provided more know-how and hands-on techniques than a plethora of other videos I've watched over the last few days on narrowing a rear end. I'm going to attempt your instructions to narrow the housing of a 1972 A body 7 1/4 Rear End. Yes, the axles will need to be cut to length but I'll take them to a machine shop as I don't have precise machining capabilities to re-cut the splines. Excellent technique and narration. Congrats from the heart!

That was one of the best axle videos I've EVER seen. Well done. Will be watching more of your videos. Even liked your tig habits. So many people are NOT welders. Again well done. Very informative.

I read a lot of the remarks below. I too have spent 52 working on car, trucks, and all type of machine. Yes I could point out things that I though could be do differently, but, it's my opinion you did a very good job of explaining the how's and why's! Your welding was good. The tensile strength of 309 SS rod is more than enough for this application. Nice job, take care.

@joecorrie1

4 жыл бұрын

Randall Summers yep the key word you said is “more than enough”? I’ve done a lot of welding repairs on truck frames, more then enough is not better

I had so many "How are you going to make sure that " moments and you addressed each one! Nice, great content!

Damned good set of videos, you cover the process really well. I was curious as to how you were going to align the two cut tubes and, as said by others, a brilliant idea. I appreciate the fact that you know that we all don't have the funds to buy the latest and greatest tools for doing the job and it's this fact that makes your videos both valuable and entertaining. Thanks Justin.

@brianhaw9398

2 жыл бұрын

You may be on to something. A large pipe cutter would cut it no problem. Some pipe is 3/8" wall or more on extra heavy but more people have access to an angle grinder.

Awesome video! I'm putting an 8.8 from an Explorer (4:10 limited slip with disc brakes) under my 1936 Chevy pickup and narrowing it as in this video will give me the perfect track width. I consider myself to be a fairly skilled fabricator but one of my mentors told me many years ago "when you stop learning you start forgetting" so I really enjoy watching videos like this. Thanks!

A true craftsman makes the job look simple! Thanks for sharing Justin!

That’s exactly the way I’ve always done it. One difference is I picked up a 6” pipe cutter. Perfect cut every time and I get a slight bevel for the weld. I also used old tube pieces for the clamps and a 6 foot threaded rod through the housing to keep it straight.

Watching this, I’m glad I’ve grown up in the metric system in Australia, Im at a age where they introduced it in my first year of school. As I’m working on a lot of USA cars, my metric/imperial calculator gets a good workout. Nice job, I fitted one of these to my 67 mustang, but left it standard length.

@alexjohnward

3 жыл бұрын

mm rock.

I will never do this, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching you work, and listening to your quality tradesman words of wisdom - thanks for sharing!! Cheers.

This is by far the easiest video to follow I've seen for this process. Poured a lot of hours into research and thought into the project, nice to find this before putting wheel to the tube. Thx!

Awesome, I’ve had one of these sitting in my garage for a couple years now, you showed me exactly what I needed to do, and I don’t have to buy an alignment bar. Thanks!!

Good work . Very well presented . Some very good advice for anybody doing fab work in general ,not just an 8.8 . Thanks for sharing.

You are a great teacher, talking to us not down to or at us. Thanks again!

I have no intentions of narrowing a Ford rear end but I needed to watch this video. Thanks for the info.

@low87dawg86

5 жыл бұрын

Same. Lol

Honestly a 10/10 video on how to narrow all axles Great job.

Your new camera operator deserves a raise.

@whitelightinggaming3737

5 жыл бұрын

I don't know he didnt catch the smoky and the bandit reference.

Thank you for this great video. I was going to pay like $1200 for someone to do this for me but after watching you, I feel I can do this with the help of a buddy who is a skilled welder.

Where you been all my life!?! Lol Cant wait to share your channel with my Pops. He's 76 now and doesn't get to do as much anymore. He will love this. We used to do a lot of this together when I was growing up, and I just know he will enjoy pointing out all your "mistakes"! Lmao!!! Great series guys! Thank you.

Again before i forget, tge vudeos are always top notch, the workmanship as well. Thanks again.

I can't believe some of the comments about uncentering the 8.8 obviously some people just can't PAY ATTENTION. Great informative 2 videos

@TheFabricatorSeries

6 жыл бұрын

I'll be honest - I never thought it would be that confusing. I would have shown in greater detail that it was never centered from the factory if I knew haha.

Man, what a master class in fabrication. Great video!

Great episode, I really enjoy your series, one of my favorite channels.

You really did an excellent job making this vid, great editing, no BS just the facts. Great how-to ideas too. Appreciate the emphasis on quality and craftsmanship. Thanks, I learned something. JD in MO

@arthureleclair29

6 жыл бұрын

,,,,yes,,,I feel the same......excellent presentation......

Great instructive video, Very good teacher. You laid it out nice and methodical. Constant measurements make it a pleasure !

The whole series was fabulously done, math wizard, lol - you were great, keep them coming.

nice man, i like the way you did that. i've narrowed & sleeved axles before and the way you did it works just fine. i will be doing the same on our F250/100 project. thanks!

New Subscriber.....glad to see someone letting cutting wheel pull. Sign of fabricator with experience

There was a couple of points in this video he said some stuff that sounded wrong but I watch part 1 and 2 fully and I give it to the man. He is a true fabricator. Real fabricators are picky and may measure a dozens times to make sure somethings right before they "all-weld" it up. I appriciate that. And that time in the 1st video portion of this when he took time to clean his work space for continuing I definitely I repeat DEFINITELY relate to. I'm OCD as a person in general and I've always believed that the best fabricators are ocd. Because just close enough ain't good enought. If it ain't perfect why waste ur time.. love it love the work and the precision I commend u my brother

Thank-you for this series, car mags etc especially like keeping it ambiguous and mysterious when it comes to this and other mods to motor vehicles, Cheers bud :-)

Great video. I wish this video was out when I was contemplating doing this but I couldn't find anything this good. I may have to look into this again later down the road. You got a new subscriber!!

Great videos . I love finding these series .

I had an 8.8 posi ready to go in my 1960 C10, even redrilled for the 5x5 then I noticed that the drive shaft hit the X bracing and the drive shaft tunnel. Wish I would have seen this before I sold the axle! Oh, well, got a refresher on how to set up a 10 bolt ring/pinion and carrier. Great job!!!! Saving this for later for sure!!

Awesome video...learned a boat load of tips and tricks for my axle!

Some great tips and tricks Thanks Justin

There's an easier way to find the center measurement of the sway bar. If you measure from the outside edge of one tab to the INSIDE edge of the other that will give you the center to center measurement.

Toledo Pipe H6S 4"-6" Heavy Duty Hinged Pipe Cutter US $129.99. Small investment, perfect, clean cut to the mm every time.

@daltonisrael9588

5 жыл бұрын

And it can cut an axle that clean?

@MrRotaryrockets

5 жыл бұрын

plus a nice 45 degree edge perfect... for welding

@horseblinderson4747

5 жыл бұрын

@@daltonisrael9588 it'll do the housing, you'd want to do the actual axles in a lathe anyway.

@bulldog45k

4 жыл бұрын

@@MrRotaryrockets 37.5 degrees is proper pipe bevel angle! 45 is too laid back!

@stillthepillar684

4 жыл бұрын

@@bulldog45k correct

As was some previous comments and suggestions, I preheated the housing prior to welding. Also as a guide to indicate deflection, I inserted the axle into the housing. By sliding the axle in and out of the center section and seating it into the outer bearing, you can feel any binding caused by welding deflection. When narrowing mine, the axle on the shortened side actually slid more freely, than the factory side. Worked as good as a $600 alignment kit, for one or two rear ends.

This is such an easy way of explaining, thank you so much

the 8.8 is okay for racing, but everyone I know uses the 9". Setting up a removable chunk is easier than removing the entire housing. I also agree with using the mittler tool is more accurate. But, you got your point across. GOOD JOB!!

@freedomfox8183

5 жыл бұрын

No doubt 9" is great man, but Try getting a Ford 9 in with two right side axels for 100-250... Can't beat 8.8 for the money

I agree a big pipe cutter works great and straight .

This is one of the best vid on how to do this thanks attempting to do my own now good skills

This is a excellent vid, lots of info on technique that we can all use. Shows what a guy can do with minimal jigging.....thanks a lot....

Great video... well explained and beautiful work!

Great video Justin

Great video and instruction my friend! Very clear and easy to follow.

You are awesome dude ! Nice info plain and simple . Vie got alto to learn from you thanks man nice job !

Excellent video and thank you. Clear and very informative!

,,,,I'm impressed.....Your video is direct and clearly concise.....I do metal work, and respect your talented style. You would make a great shop instructor.....I'm still not a fine weldor,,,,,You are....I'll check all your videos......Thanks ......

Very educational video, cheers! And I agree with you, red sway bar bushings are cooler than black sway bar bushings.

Very nice and informational video! Thanks for posting it!

I used this video to widen the Explorer 8.8. Same principles applied, but added a section of tube and used 2 long side axle shafts. Thanks for the inspiration.

@obran003

3 жыл бұрын

Did u do this for a new edge mustang? I believe my stock rear end is also 20.25” on each side...

@patrickschliesing1294

3 жыл бұрын

@@obran003 For a Jeep project.

You do nice work. I don't agree with all your methods, but they seem to work well for you. Kudos.

Good job with your "alingment" jig and as usual very good welding. One possible tip may be to use a chop saw on the tubes as you can align them perfectly.

@braedentrebell3718

2 жыл бұрын

Chop saws are misaligned a tad, nothing beats a straight edge

Excellent How To episode Thank You for sharing!

I learned couple tricks here!! thanks a lot.. Awesome Job.

awesome- you do great work and are a good teacher-- thanks for sharing

Need an episode about finishing the rest of the rear end, axles, bearings and seals, gears, cover, and brakes please...

Good job!! I've tubbed somewhere around 100 cars and that's how I've been doing it for years accept I use two pieces of angle with pads welded on it for the clamps. This method works on any rear end with a round tube. Some ford 9" rearends the tubes are not perfectly round and I have a jig tool for doing them.

When you are marking the tube i used a plumbers pipe cutter to give me a straight line like a lathe will give you.

Love your series man! Just getting into TIG myself and actually working on a Ford 8.8 for my El Camino.

@Beobout6

4 жыл бұрын

mathew shackelford : Hello Mathew. I love watching these videos but I don’t understand why people shorten these axels. What is the advantage of doing this? Thanks. Beobout6

@mathewshackelford8037

4 жыл бұрын

@@Beobout6 It's because they are putting them in different vehicles than what it came from and the pinion isn't "centered on the axle. BY shortening them for their specific application, they are putting the pinion in the center. The original axle was 27" on side and 30 on the other. So, they shorten the long side, get two passenger side axles and boom, they have the same length axle on each side...pinion is where it needs to be.

Great video i enjoyed watching. I have been doing this type of auto fabrication and restoration for about 40 years. Only thing i would not do is grind down the welds. But good job fun to watch.

@randyoehlert9571

5 жыл бұрын

I still prefer the 9 inch.

Great video. You need a porta band tho. Best 300 bucks you’ll spend. Cut off wheels get old. ...take it from a pipe fitter welder of 15 years. Also, grab a 10 dollar pipe wrap and some soap stone. Then you won’t need to mess with tape and markers.

excellent video, well made and easy to understand.

This would be a great High School shop project. If you can do this as well this guy, then you have learned valuable skills. If your dad or someone gives you a rear axle assembly, and want to build your first hot rod, or truck project, it's great. If you need to purchase a rear from a junkyard, don't. I'd buy a housing from Moser, Strange, or Currie, to your specs. Great video. Thanks for posting.

Really good video , keep up the longer ones I prefer those, I know they take longer to do and edit , just finished watching the Time Attack rollcage parts 1&2 , really good got some very helpful info, I have the same bender as yours and the info you give explains it some much better than anyone else. so a big thumbs up and keep them comin . Keith from the land down under where we pay way to much for any decent tools..

@TheFabricatorSeries

6 жыл бұрын

Keith J Thanks, Keith. We decided to make the jump back to the longer format for the most part. There's still going to be some quick episodes due to production scheduling and content, but it will be a good mix at least.

Wow lots of great information! Being pickey is a good thing when building a part that could kill you or others be watching more from you very good instructor!

Thank you for sharing your time and Video 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻😇 😇! Great Job with normal shop tools!!! Best Ever Video!

New subscriber, wish I found you years ago!!! Awsome how to teachings!! Awsome!!

Ain't fabrication fun? You make it look easy. Thanks man.

Great vid! I don't know anything about anything, but I'd sleve the joint to add some strength. That way you're not completely depending on your weld strength, and it'll help you keep things lined up.

@Georgehanes-GJH105775

4 жыл бұрын

or two near half sleeve plates to make getting it on easier. I'm also not a good welder, so I'd just do it as insurance for the joint.

@pamoffa

4 жыл бұрын

I thought the same thing maybe add a collar. But if it is tried and true and strong enough it's good. Adding a coller is also 3 points of weld and 3 break points though. Who Knows except for time tested

my friend built oval track engines and countless street engines, he bought an old lathe to cut/shorten axle housings and drive shafts, Justin is a very good fabricator, I bet he could build a simple lathe just to cut axle housings

If you want center to center on you sway bar brackets you can measure inside to outside and that's your C To C No math needed. Great video!

Fantastic job and great video. As good as your welding skills are (and they are very good) what impressed me most was how you kept the face of the cuts so square using the cutoff wheel. I have nowhere near the experience that you do but the few times I've tried to cut a cylindrical tube with a cutoff wheel and keep the faces square - lets just say some of the cuts haven't been pretty. I'd also recommend keeping the guard on or face protection using the thin wheels as they can come apart pretty easily if you screw up

Who the hell gave this a thumbs down? Great video Sir

Thanks for showing all that good other stuff

Awesome craftsmanship !

This guy takes precision to the extreme. 😁

@lovebigbootie69

5 жыл бұрын

If he did then he would use a REAL narrowing Jig.....not channel steel!

Suggestion for the next 1? Or 100? Cut the tube like you did, but do a final prep on the diff side of the tube so you don't have to keep removing the c channel. You then only have to grind and fit the shorter outside part of the tube and you won't be fighting those clamps every damn time you remove a tiny bit of material. Love the vid! I learned a lot!

Ive taken the cut off and slid it inside after I "C" cut it , It aligns perfect ,strengthens the seam and gives you a backer to weld against.

@irwin6794

4 жыл бұрын

How do you get the cut off out after its welded?

Perfect timing i am about it do this in 2 weeks

@luvitwenuswallo

4 жыл бұрын

How did it come out

Just one piece of advise from a fabricator with 40 years experience. Leave the convex bead on the weld-do not grind it off flat. That adds a LOT of strength to the weld; more than you think.

@lovebigbootie69

5 жыл бұрын

Ditto

@strattuner

4 жыл бұрын

I agree and to hell with looks,strength is everything on a rod

Outstanding work and video. Thanks

Narrowed my rearend this morning using the exact directions. I forgot to make an alignment notch. I can tell you that if you forget there is a factory seam on the inside of the axle tube. I used it to reference making a notch after the fact. The rearend turned out perfect. Exactly 17 3/8" to the outside flange all the way around. I used a 99 Explorer rearend and it had identical specs to the one in the video.

Actually, you should have a very slight gap in order to get 100% penetration of the weld. Tube and pipe welds should always have 100% penetration. If you are trying to fuse the root pass you may or may not get that penetration.

@jasonochs8369

7 ай бұрын

Problem with that is it gives it a chance to shrink. No gap can still shrink but you at least have the Edge of the tubes touching to help ensure your dims

Great videos, both 1 and 2.

Hi Justin , Awesome video man my pops was fabricator if he was still around ,man he would say you got good skills mad skills, love your perfection. Keep up gonna sub👍👍👍👌

Awsome Love the 8.8 I have a Ranger I Learned a lot

The c channel is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Nice job, thanks for posting.

Very very VERY good tutorial man.

Great work

Great vid you are a great craftsman

Very nice Job on the rear

Hi Justin. Thanks for the good video. A few comments if I may. 45 years in industry has taught me that work related damage to your body may be subtle, but cumulative. We enjoy your video and want to see more for a long time to come. Take care of yourself Man. Use PPE: Skull cap, face shield, ear protection, dust mask, leather gloves.... Your method to shorten this axle is sound and completely adequate.As long as you V the joint surfaces deep enough, the filler rod puddle will penetrate to the inside diameter of the tubes. The er70 rod is actually stronger than the tube metal. Even if a locomotive crashed into the thing, the tube would bend before the welds broke. The axle splines are designed to be a slip fit. They can actually tolerate a small amount of misalignment . Manufacturers work to specified tolerances, often times to tenths of an inch, rather than thousandths or ten thousandths. Chances are your modified tube is straighter than what the factory built. As far as bearing life goes, the really critical work would be to disassemble the axle and completely clean the housing and 3rd member parts. Precision bearings do not tolerate ground up metal and sludge very well.

Thanks for this video. Very informative

I like that you were very careful with the measurements, how worried you were about the axle tube not warping but then it looked like you leaned all your body weight on the outside shaft while tack welding the 3rd and 4th tack.

@TheFabricatorSeries

6 жыл бұрын

rbspider The 3rd stack was in front of my face. The 4th tack had my body hanging over it. You sure you watched the right video?

I can say you did a great job. I like the 9 inch Ford rear end for circle track racing so much easier to change gear ratio and dependable as heck. But great job

@matthewvarnam4302

2 жыл бұрын

I know someone who is putting 1,500 hp on a 8.8 Ford Rear End in Drag racing so your not gonna break a 8.8 on a 500 hp Circle Track Car.

@billywaynehuggins8567

2 жыл бұрын

The axles won't stand it on an 8.8 Plus change the center section is so much easier with the 9 in the