On the outside of the casing I would definitely agree, but do you think they only used plain old primer on the inside of the housing where it's in constant contact with extreme heat and oil? I'm not saying they used glyptal from the factory but wouldn't they be using something with better properties than red oxide?
on all the aftermarket 9" that i have built they never have any coating on the inside of the case. the at the contact point on the gear set it is below the oil level and does not have an issue of the oil being caught on the sides of the case. i have never coated or recoated the in side of a third member. the insides of the housings are not coated. a engine builder once told me that they did that on the engines because the proisity back in the 70s and older is inconsistant. he also said that the newer stuff refering to the 80s 5.0 ho blocks dont have these issues. so ford probly used the red primer to insure that the proisity of the case is not an issue. i suspect that the red primer will seap into the poors and thats all that is needed to keep it from leaking through. i would not waste your money on coating the inside of the case. yes thats a war case, they are weak cases, some people like the because of the extra ribs on them but i will not use them in anything but a stock application. randys ring and pinion sells those cases for $25.00 a case so if you think war cases are great theres a cheap sorce for them.
* That's not my case but yes I have a WAR case. I know that some people don't like them because they're supposed to be weak at the pinion bearing. I bought the rear for the the housing and spring perches. That said I wasn't planning on getting a different pot unless I found one somewhere with a traction-loc. I'm not planning on regular racing but still want to rear to handle some HP. Thanks for the words of wisdom regarding the coatings. Any advice for what I should be looking at as far as a reuild of the case and housing?*
The WAR case is not that weak. I dogged mine with right at 400 hp for years and it has not let me down. Call me lucky or what ever. I read on the internet that they are weak and they do not have a drain plug on the side. That's why I asked you about the drain plug. I'm not saying it is the best case to have...I'm saying don't believe everything you read on the net. The extra web and the metal vintge has to be stronger than the newer style. Like in the saying..."They don't make them like they use to." I could be wrong but that's my 2¢ on the WAR case. Bryant might know or seen first hand a WAR case coming un-glued at his job, but I never seen or heard of one myself.
That's what I read too. Mostly it was in comparion to the nodular "N" cases which are pretty rare but yes superior. I think the nodular case was developed in the early sixties because the WAR cases were't standing up to the abuse the SOHC Pro / Super Stock guys were handing out. I understand the WAR metal was more prone to flaking due to it's composition. Still, like you say they seem to be tough enough for your average street performance car. If I come across a C8 case that has a traction-loc in it I might swap it out but I won't stay up nights worrying about it.*
