Ford 9" story.8.8 not as strong but a bit more efficient. That second bearing on the rear of the 9in makes it plenty strong, bit the angle it causes the pinion to engage the ring, you loose some energy. And yeah pullimg a third member out of a 9in is aboutas easy a swap as you can get.......unless you have a quick change like a winters used in dirt cars and hot rods.
My bro in law and his dad have done a lot of work on cars. One time many years ago they decided to have a contest to see who could break the windshield of an old rusted out Hudson Hornet. They kept throwing larger and larger steel pieces at it and the windshield wouldn't break. Finally one of them took a complete 9" center section and he-manned it over their head. It bounced off the windshield without even cracking it. They then wisely chose to give up on the contest.
They definitely don't make things like they used to.