I was looking on moser's site and found the bolt in housing for $585. The picture shows the housing w/ the third member on it?

http://www.moserengineering.com/mose...ts.asp?CatID=8

Is that just for the picture or does it actually come with the third member?

 

Probably a dumb question... but whats a third member?

 

That price is just for the housing. No third member, no axles.

The third member is the part of a 9" that contains the ring and pinion that slides into the front of the housing.

 

With the moser rear do I reuse the factory calipers and rotors?

Thanks
Travis

 

Yep, just the housing. This realization is the main reason I discount claims of "quick gear changes" by 9" owners. Sure, if you unbolt the torque arm, remove the driveshaft, and manage to unbolt the member from the front ... then all you need is to swap in that ENTIRE 3RD member spare you have waiting for the swap. It's honestly on par with saying 12-bolts can have "easy gear changes" by unbolting the PHR, LCA's, shocks (very easy, all 21mm bolts), and sliding in a spare 12-bolt you have in the pits.

I have yet to meet a 9" owner with a spare 3rd member.

I don't discount it's totally possible, and probably done in some circles, but the cost for the spare center section just isn't worth it IMO.


Now if you're talking about strength and availability of parts... no question.

(I'm still torn between 12-bolt and 9"... although that GMC 14-bolt with rear-wheel steer looks interesting to)

 

Yes.

 

"14-bolt with rear steer" Thats insane!

What did that come in anyway?

 

Hello, my name is Q. Nice to meet ya

 

The 2000? GMC C3 was the only truck originally, then it propigated to the 2500's and 3500's (3/4 ton and 1 ton trucks/Suburbans). Personally I'm still waiting for Bob Lutz to drop one in a Tailblazer and wedge a LS2 in there... bring back the Typhoon!

GM's got a patent on the design right now, but in a few years everyone will be adding them to their truck line I imagine. It's essientially a normal 14-bolt rear, but instead of the brake backing plate hub bolting to the axle housing, they bolt to a cast or forged steel bracket. That U-shaped bracket mates to a similar U-shaped bracket welded to the end of the axle housing via an upper and lower ball joint. Obviously the axle has a flex joint itself... directly inside with the 2 ball-joints pivot axis, but essientally it's just a front solid-axle design like a 14-bolt or Dana 60.

The patent involved probably has to do with the steering algorythim and the mechanisms involved. To my knowledge hydralic steering on the street is illegal, but hydralic assist is not. The steering arms are controled by an electronic motor, but uses hydralic assist, and has built-in spring return should the unit fail. Total sweep is ~15* I believe... but making the steering assembly accurate, durable, legal, and intuitive in use is the tought part of this all.

All said and done it looks like a simple swap in for a standard 10 or 14 bolt left-spring rear. The descriptions I read say the computer control box is independant of the PCM, and only uses gear, speed, and front steering signals to operate. Tapping the tranny's VSS sensor, running a power line to the trunk, and finding a place to mount the CPU is fairly simple... but making it all fit in a tight place like a F-body would be tough, especially tire clearance once it starts moving them side to side. As for the steering sensors, I dunno how they gather that info, but I imagine a little time and effort could work it out.

The qudrasteer was like a $6000 option on the C3... but recently it's come down a fair bit. I belive it's about half that cost now.

 

Thanks crzhrs!

 

I have 3 spare center sections...not braggin or anything like that.

 

We swapped the 3rd member in George Baxter's 8-second 30th SS convertible, in the pits, at the PRO/Edelbrock Nationals last weekend (5/23).... took about 2 hours. He has "several" lightweight, bolt thru center sections. The swap is complicated on a car like that by the fairly exotic TA mount, and the pinion shaft speed sensor setup. The change in rear axle ratio was judged necessary because the extreme heat/humidity was keeping trap speeds for the blower cars in the Xtreme Street class under 160MPH.... and it didn't make sense to go through the traps at under 8,000RPM

 

2 pro's swapped one out in 2 hours? sounds about right I'd guess. In a competative racing environment obviously this makes sense... but not all of us have the funds to plug a few grand into center sections that collect dust 99% of the time.

BTW how'd Baxter do? It's been a while since I've heard about his vert. He doesn't run a T56 anymore does he?

 

why 3? Do you race competatively (have one set up for Auto-x, one for street ratios, and one for Boneville)?

 

The very first pass on his new motor a month ago netted an 8.76 @ 160MPH. He was running consistant 8.8X's at the PRO/Edelbrock event. Been running a TH400 for at least 4 years.

I have videos of all this, should be available in the next day or so.