Just bought a 66 f100 that I will do a crown vic suspension swap and possibly the 4.6 engine also.....
Question is I hear the crown vic rear end may be to wide?.....what do others do to get the same wheel bolt pattern as the crown vic?.....is there another rear that will swap in, mustang?.....

 

There is a build here on FTE that shows the CV rear will fit. Maybe in the bump or dent forum.

 

any others?

 

The Explorer 8.8 works well and you can get them w/ disc brakes and 3.73 Trac Loc....paired up w/ a CV front end you will be able to put a deep dished rear wheel then the CV b/c it's narrower and same bolt bolt pattern...example is using the 18x8 Mustang Bullitt's up from and an 18x10 (deep dish) out back..

 

Sadly I bought an explorer rear,,,,its just to narrow
even with 10 inch wheels its still 5 inchs to narrow.....I will look for a crown vic rear

 

Why not just get your current axles and drums re-drilled for the smaller pattern? I think someone on this forum has done that and could speak to it, but this is a common service offered by the major rearend shops as well as something a reputable machine shop should be able to handle.

 

I want to flip axle to lower it, I want 4 wheel disc brakes and the bonus is the wheel pattern is correct

 

Didn't the 80-85ish(?) very light duty 2wd F100's come with 5x4.5 bolt pattern axles? (I think I gleaned that from a ND post at some point, someone can confirm if I'm right or crazy.) The housing is also the same width as the dent sides. The wider housing would make it easier to run the high offset wheels that you would use in conjunction with the CV front without running a spacer.

Roadkill Customs cross references them for the 5x4.5: Wheel Bolt Pattern Cross Reference Database and Conversion Guide: 5 X 4.5

In theory a wider 73-85ish housing with the 5x4.5 shafts would net an axle with the correct bolt pattern and potentially no spacer needed for the wheels. (I've seen the 9" more often in Broncos past 82 than in the F100/F150's, I've had two 85 Broncos that had 9's.)

 

Some 1980/83 F100's have 5 lug wheels on a 4.50" bolt pattern, some have 5 lug wheels on a 5.50" bolt pattern.

1980/83 F100:

With manual disc brakes, the rear drum brakes are 10" x 2 1/2."

With power disc brakes, the rear drum brakes are 11" x 2 1/4" (as are all 1968/79 F100's & 1975/96 F150's).

1983 F100's could have either an 8.8" or 9" rear axle.

8.8" introduced in 1983, but the F150 & Bronco could have the 8.8" or 9" thru 1986.

 

Don't have all the details, but I seem to recall that beginning with 2010 model year Rangers pickups, you could get rear discs on the 8.8". Not sure if it was standard, or optional, but it should be awfully close to the width you need.
Worth looking into.....

James

 

A Ranger rear axle will be the same width as a Bronco II & Explorer, but will not be the same width as any F100/150.

See what the OP typed in post 5.

 

I have a 9" out of a 68 stationwagon that's the same width and 5 on 4.5. The shafts are 28 spline, same length and (should) swap right out. And a general disk kit (should) bolt right on.

I measured all this out for a dead beat buyer once.

So there were some passenger cars with the same width and 5 on 4.5 if you can find one? The initial differences were that the housing for the wagon was coil spring and linked where as the F100 is leaf spring. So the housing would do you no good. Unless you wanted to change rear spring setup? This one had air ride suspension as well from the factory.

 

I have a 1966 f100, I’ve had the truck for a few years now and have slowly been adding on to it and learning as I go as I am 18 now. I swapped the 352 for a 390 and put a new holly carb on it .. everything runs good but the truck is SLOW. I don’t have a tachometer but if I had to guess at 45 mph in 4th gear it’s running over 3 grand... the truck seemed to be miss matched with parts a bit and I figured the rear end to be a Dana 60 with 3.54 ratio... It is 8 lug all the way around and would like to figure out what I could put on the back as I can’t find a higher geared ring and pinion anywhere... I’m guessing the original was a Dana 40 or 44 ... just trying to get it back in action as summer is coming.

 

Post a pic of your door plate. someone here will decode it and tell you what the truck originally came with. F100s would normally have a 5 bolt pattern and a ford 9", dana 44, or a dana 60-2. F250s had 8 bolt patterns. If you're doing 45mph in 4th and over 3000 rpm, you don't have 3.54 gears. Buy a cheap tack and hook it up. Also, use a gps app or something and verify your speed.
These trucks tend to be on the noisy side so you may think the rpms are higher than they really are. Because of things done to my trucks, in the past, the speedometer in my '64 reads 5 mph faster than actual and the speedometer in my '66 reads 5 mph slower than actual.
And welcome to the addiction.

 

I agree, 3000RPM in 4th at 45MPH would be like tiny tires and a 4.56:1 rear end. If you go much taller than 3.54:1 you'll have to start every single time in granny gear or burn up the clutch.

Definitely get a tachometer.

How did you figure this?

If it is an open differential, lift one rear wheel off the ground (safely), then count drive shaft revolutions while you spin that wheel around twice.