Gentlemen,

I am using the original rearend with the AOD from an 85' cougar....the question is will the rearend be okay for awhile or should i get the 8.8 or 9 inch rearend??? I rather get one from the junkyard and have it rebuilt with posi trac 3.73 gears in it...eventually i will get the rearend but what is the best solution for mileage and easy swap in without a lot of fabrication??? I need to know what type of vehicle i need to be looking for...the lincoln versaili took the engine from has a rearend disc setup but is that the right one for my third baby???? H - E - L - P !!!!!



James
54 Ford F100 302/AOD - ours
01 Ford Explorer XLT V6 - hers
01 Ford Supercrew XLT Triton - his


" Why buy a truck if its not a F-O-R-D!!!!! "

 

Sell that Versailles disk brake rearend to some streetrodder or muscle car guy. They are the right width for early Mustangs and Camaro's. Going price is about $350-500. Then get a 9" and use an aftermarket disk brake kit. The Lincoln disks were not that good of a brake and they are expensive. For rear disks, check out www.quickperformance.com for the kit. I have not dealt with them personally but they were recommended to me.

 

Thanks!!!!

Now the question I have is what exactly or close to the original year rearend will fit in the old dana spot without any problems?? Dont want to start torching the rearend of my truck!!! I know there is a vehicle with a 9 inch that probably goes right in without any problems.



James

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 07-Jan-03 AT 02:51 AM (EST)]H - E - L - P !!!!!!!!!!! :-staun

 

James,

Any 9 inch out of an F100 up to about 72 should be the correct width and bolt pattern (5 on 5 1/2). You may have to move the spring perches, but that's about it.

 

Here’s some choices for you;

1. 57-72 F100 – is supposed to be a perfect fit. You don’t even have to move the spring perches. However it gives you the 5 X 5 ½ bolt pattern. By using axles and backing plates from other vehicles you can change this to the more desireable 5 x 4 ½ bolt pattern. This is a common legend which seems to have been proved to be true by several folks in this forum recently. (See recent posts by BlueOvalRage and others)

2. 1971-1973 Mustang/Cougar – you’ll have to move the spring perches (but that’s easy enough) and it gives you the desireable 5 X 4 ½ bolt pattern. These come in both 8” and 9” rear ends and both 28 and 31 spline (9” is stronger and 31 spline is stronger.)

3. 1989-2001 Ford Explorer – 8.8” rear end. Only comes with 3.25/3.55/3.73/4.11 gears. However, 89-94 has drums, 94-97 has drums or discs and 97-01 has discs only.

4. Apparently the 1989 Lincoln Mark VII rear end is supposed to fit as well (according to F100 Connection.com) but I know nothing about it.


There are other possibilities as well but the above are the most commonly used Ford ones.

Regards,

 

I put a 9" from a '71 p/u into my '53. It was perfect width and the perches are in the proper location for the width they were not in the proper location to give the proper pinion angle I would have needed to put shims under the leaf springs but I replaced the shackles with the 2" drop shackles and this corrected the pinion angle. I also had to have new "U" bolts made due to the extra length needed to fit around the larger axle tubes.

Just a little extra input.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 07-Jan-03 AT 05:20 PM (EST)]Gentlemen,

I knew you guys would come through for me....now i got to go junking again for a rearend....told people this was the best website forum on the net!!!!!!!

Hopefully i can find one out there since the weather is not that bad right now and get some good highway gears.....any recommendations on gear i should use with a 302/AOD combo for best highway gas/mileage output???

What were the gears for the rearends of those vehicles???


James

 

For what it's worth, I found a 9 inch rear fm a 61 Ford truck to bolt in my 55 panel. The front end is Volare (small bolt pattern). Instead of switching axles, etc. I just had a local guy redrill the axles for the small bolt pattern; he also did the drums for $75, and I got them back in a few days.

Paul

 

do you take the axles out to redrill them? with a -72 9" would i have to change the driveshaft lenght? the truck now has a ch@vy 1/2 ton truck rear in it.

 

<<<do you take the axles out to redrill them? with a -72 9" would i have to change the driveshaft lenght?>>>

Yes you have to take the axles and drums to a machine shop. Not all machine shops will do the job. You may have to change the driveshaft length but it's hard to say for sure.

'fenders

 

without knowing what size tires you have and how you plan to use the truck, it will be vague on gear ratios. For a good all around gear, I would use a 3.50. I have that in my 56 but am going to replace them with 3.70's for a little more performance.

 

Gentlemen,

Just want to use it as a cruiser...but get some good highway mileage...also the front rims are 15x7 on 235/60 and the rear is 15x10 on 255/50...cant tell you how close due to the fact i am in korea still...think thats what i have on the rear...tell you better in about a day or so...wife has to look at the tires for me... :-)



James

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 08-Jan-03 AT 08:21&nbsp;AM (EST)]James,

With the AOD and the 50 series tires in the rear, I'd go with a minimum of 3:50 and even in the high 3s for a rear end ratio.