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Project Max Effort Cougar - The Ultimate Track Day 9-InchSpeedway Engineering Builds A Bulletproof Rearend For The Project Max Effort Cougar. From the March, 2011 issue of Popular Hot Rodding By Christopher Campbell Photography by Christopher Campbell
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Rendering by CorteX Racing Much more than a 9-inch rearend,... Much more than a 9-inch rearend, this housing holds secrets to track-day traction. Filip Trojanek of CorteX Racing created the 3-D model along with the spec sheet. Most people think there isn't much that can be done with a solid axle to increase handling characteristics. There are dozens of variations and theories for suspension systems to plant it, but the housing itself-well it's just an archaic piece of technology that holds the axles and gears, right? That may be what sports car types who favor IFS would have you believe, but it's actually far from the truth. Remember, NASCAR still runs only solid axle rearends for both circle track and road race series, and trust us, those guys don't have just any old 9-inch in the rear. That's why we got in touch with Speedway Engineering in Sylmar, CA: to find out the best ways to increase lateral grip on a solid axle. Speedway Engineering has been building hot rod, and pro-level rearends for over 35 years and many big-name NASCAR teams trust them for precision, like Richard Childress Racing (RCR). Specs on NASCAR rearends are guarded like national security matters, and have to be precise enough to pass a laser-guided inspection. Speedway has a standard ordering... Speedway has a standard ordering form, but Filip Trojanek of CorteX Racing prefers to create his own spec sheets. So what's so special about these rearends? It's all about the camber and toe settings. Camber and toe in a rearend? Absolutely! Just as front tires entering a hard corner perform better with some static camber and toe, so do the rear tires, and those numbers have to be perfect; the tolerance is less than a .003-inch variance to meet Speedway's standards. Have you ever welded on a rearend housing? It's warped. We can't tell you how much, since every housing reacts differently, but we'll guarantee you that you've changed the factory settings significantly. As a matter of fact, rubbing your hand on one spot long enough on an axle tube can cause as much as 1/10th of a degree change. That's not much, but you get the idea. That means Speedway has to control warpage all the way through the build process to make sure customers and race teams get what they pay for. Here's where things start... Here's where things start for our '67 XR7 Cougar project: These Superlite steel stampings and 1.88-inch wall tube are the beginning of our specially spec'd Speedway Engineering Grand National series 9-inch floater rearend. Though they have standard housing configurations, when you order a rearend from Speedway, it's essentially a custom-fabbed housing every time. The shop has a blend of high-end equipment and extremely experienced eyes that are hands-on with each housing. There's no automated welding here, just artists like Juan Alaniz, who lay a flawless bead. As shop foreman Frank Farell likes to say, "He can weld anything except a broken heart and the crack of dawn, but give him enough time and he could probably figure that out too." We believe it, just look at his work in the photos. Pure art. There are a few proprietary points that we can't show you, such as exactly how Speedway dials in the negative camber and toe in their housings and the multiple stages of stress relieving that ensure that a housing's settings don't change during shipping. This rearend isn't for every car. While the tires may love it in the corners, it's certainly not ideal for planting the tires for drag racing, and it will wear tires out a little faster, but no faster than a few track days. Nevertheless, if you've got bucks invested in your chassis and suspension and are looking for more grip through the corners, you couldn't possibly do better.  Step one is to create the...  Step one is to create the centersection by tacking it together in this simple fixture. Speedway uses this method since it allows them to create custom packages, plus they have more control over how precise the centersection is. For example, our Cougar's is a Superlite center with a heavier-duty 10-gauge cover, which is necessary for our upcoming suspension package.  After ensuring it's correct...  After ensuring it's correct and on centerline, the housing moves to the welding fixture. Here, Juan Alaniz lays a continuous MIG bead around the housing inside and out-no stopping allows for consistency. After finishing a faster and lighter bead on the inside, the housing has to cool naturally as any artificial cooling-even a fan-will exacerbate the normal warpage.  Using this simple but highly...  Using this simple but highly effective fixture, Alaniz sets the ring into place and welds it solid. He'll also give it a few well-placed taps with a hammer to help minimize the machining necessary afterward.  Speedway has really tight...  Speedway has really tight tolerances for their housings and to ensure the billet steel ring gear flange is a true 3/8-inch thick without adding unnecessary weight, it's lightened on the backside.  After cooling, the housing...  After cooling, the housing heads over for machining to eliminate any warpage from welding, and to ensure the ring is perfectly flat. Amazingly, only a few hundred thousandths are removed-that's why Speedway can say their ring is the thickest and strongest available. Holes will also be drilled in the ring here for the studs.  The housing is then flipped...  The housing is then flipped over and a specially configured program for Max Effort's housing cuts perfectly located holes for our drain, fill, vent, and oil cooler bungs.  To rough-in the notches for...  To rough-in the notches for the axle tubes, a plasma cutter makes quick work of the steel. From here it'll be hand-ground and finished to perfection.  Once the notches are finished,...  Once the notches are finished, the housing gets line-bored to ensure the axle tubes enter perfectly on centerline.  Our rearend will be using...  Our rearend will be using -1 degree of camber and 1/64-inch toe-in per side. It's aggressive, but still perfectly streetable. What we can't show you is the proprietary process by which Speedway dials it in with their snouts. Here Alaniz welds the hubs solid after using a fixture for placement as Brian Kelley turns the housing slowly for him.  ARP studs are pressed into...  ARP studs are pressed into the ring to mount our third member. Then it's checked for trueness with a standard nodular Ford part. It slid on and off like butter. The axle tubes are now tacked into place and double-checked before Alaniz welds them solid in the order of top, bottom, front, then rear, as quickly as possible to minimize warpage  With the axle's tubes welded...  With the axle's tubes welded in, Alaniz moved on to the drain, fill, vent, and oil cooler bungs. Look at those beads. They almost look too perfect to be hand-laid, but they are. From here the housing will move on to its first round of stress relieving.  Rather than the standard NASCAR...  Rather than the standard NASCAR truck arm or leaf-spring pads Speedway typically uses, Max Effort's rear suspension is of a different breed and requires these massive mounts.  Another joint innovation between...  Another joint innovation between CorteX and Speedway; a tube with 3/8-inch QA1 rod ends will be used for additional bracing of the Watt's linkage plate against deflection. This bar is simply for mock-up, check out PopularHotRodding.com for a web exclusive story on how to make your own such braces with QA1 rod ends and bungs.  We're going to keep you in...  We're going to keep you in suspense on the suspension until a later installation, but here's a small preview of the mighty torque arm mated to the adjustable Watt's linkage plate. Speedway worked closely with CorteX to make sure the geometry and placement was ideal for our Cougar; it's set at 90 degrees.  Since our Watt's linkage mount...  Since our Watt's linkage mount is so exceptionally rigid, especially near the weld on the housing, it actually makes a perfect spot to place a jacking point. A drain hole is left to ensure any moisture has an escape point. Note that all the welds have been wrapped on the brackets to eliminate stress points and prevent cracking.  Using a 9-inch third member,...  Using a 9-inch third member, Frank Farell attaches a simple tool with a digital level to rotate the housing for 88 degrees on the housing for 2-degree up pinion angle.  Almost complete, the housing...  Almost complete, the housing is now pressure tested to ensure no leaks are present. Street and mild track cars might be able to get away with small leaks, but guys lapping ovals in packs at 150 mph can't afford the possibility of oiling the track.  We're no NASCAR team, so our...  We're no NASCAR team, so our specs are proudly stamped on the outside of the housing; 2 degrees up pinion angle, -1.0 degree of camber per side, and 1/64 inch toe-in per side. For you secretive types, stamping inside the housing is an option.  Here's our completed Cougar...  Here's our completed Cougar rearend, sans its strut braces for now. Beautiful, huh? We're going to hate hiding it under Max Effort. Want one? Our rearend is a truly unique piece and only available through CorteX Racing. This basic design will fit many Fords from the '60s to the '80s, but they can be custom tailored for almost any car.  Remember what we said about...  Remember what we said about welding causing warping? All those brackets have tweaked our housing pretty good, so Kelley uses weld and quench to pull it back into spec on this fixture with multiple digital levels. After this, the housing gets a third round of stress relief, then back on the fixture to make sure it's still perfect. If not, the process repeats until it is.  This brake bracket may not...  This brake bracket may not look all that innovative, but it's actually part of a revolutionary system from Baer Brakes. It's rated for extreme track use and also solves a long-nagging problem for owners of floater rearends. Watch for its introduction in a future installment.
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