I'm talking about the units that mount underneath the truck in the original location, so to speak. I know Doc had some issues with his for mounting and not sure what exactly the problem was. crossmember? (it was aftermarket though, I think)

 

Hey Dave,
I've been "bothered" by the $700 disc brake conversion kit cost in your post - that just seemed pricier than I remembered. I've seen some people use the one off of Speedway Motors - It does not include a new master cylinder & booster but it comes in at $250-$280. I think you can get creative on sourcing the master cylinder & booster & beat the $700 price originally discussed. There I feel better.

Ben in Austin

Deluxe Disc Brake Kits: 1948-1956 Ford Half Ton - Speedway Motors, America's Oldest Speed Shop

 

My issues were specific to the 302/C6 combo and a generic tranny crossmember. IF I had tried to mount that booster (which came from CPP) on a completely stock setup, it would have worked beautifully.

 

Okay just my 2 cents. My 52 has 3.33s with the original dana 44 just swapped gears. It has all the original front end. I am running 15 inch radials. I have gone 80 with no problem. The brakes are fine and it handles well. My only problem is cross winds move me around from time to time. It is very crucial to have the correct caster and get your front end lined up so it does not want wonder. The more caster the harder it is to steer, but it goes down the road nice and straight.

 

I am going to agree with fifty-two_f1. Between my self, my brother, and my dad, we have owned 4 running (and several not so drivable) trucks. Two nice F-1s and two F-2s. Both have the same front suspension, steering, and axle. The F-1s with a tight steering box, good kingpins, and a proper alignment handle comfortably at 70 m.p.h. The stock brakes on my brothers current F-1 can lock all four 215-85R16 radial tires. Peddle pressure is fine too. The stock suspension and steering are fine for high speed use, if in good shape. If yours aren't 50 m.p.h. won't be much fun anyway.

The two things that really do affect higher speed use are gearing and side wind. As far as side wind, the side of your truck is the same shape no matter what brakes or front suspension you have. If it gets really windy, slow down a bit.

The original trucks from these years came with 3.73, 3.93, and 4.27 rear axle gear ratios. The most common is 3.92. With this ratio the engine starts to feel pretty wound out past 55 m.p.h. The best thing to do is get around a 3.00 to 3.25 ratio in the rear axle. I think you should be able to find 3.08 ratio ring, pinion, and carrier (if necessary) for your Dana 44 axle. This is the best option in my opinion.

 

55 miles (smiles) an hour...nice..just got back from a short run on the highway ..and all the traffic was doing 40 mph..good info here ..drive your truck enjoy it ,,,my truck will not do 55 so what ..I still get people smiling at the old girl ...getting the thumb's up from all kinds of people passing me ..I LIKE my truck ..go play get off'a this thing and enjoy ...

 

PLEASE provide details on the re-gearing -- I assume this is the stock axle with a new carrier, R&P? '52's have a D-44, 48-50 are D-41, but it has never been clear exactly what is needed to use modern parts in the D-44's of this era. I have heard the bearings are different compared to newer units, spider gears are different, etc. By all means please start a new thread with details!

 

Ross, Jordan has been swamped and doesn't check in that often anymore. In case he doesn't see this, I'll tell you what I know. He used a modern Dana 44 R&P and carrier. I think it came out of a Jeep. I don't remember him mentioning anything about the bearings being a problem. The biggest issue was the spider gears. He had to use the stock spider gears because the stock axles have a large, obsolete spline on them. If I remember correctly, he said that he had to bush the new carrier so that the stock spiders would fit. I'm pretty sure that he said he used flathead V8 cam bearings as bushings and they were a perfect fit.

 

Yes!I'd like to have the gears swapped out in my'54,too...it winds up WAY too fast...3.92 now...so 3.00 to 3.25 is the ticket?

 

It was out of a jeep cherokee. I cannot remember the year. The rest of the info Joe stated was correct. The spyder gears are a pain but I have put about 3000 miles on that rear end with no issues.

 

So you had to use the cam bearings to make the original spider gears fit on the cross-pin? Thanks (both of you) for the info!

BTW -- as far as the OP goes... The thing that really surprised me about my 3.92 gearing was installing a tach. It is surprising how low the revs really are at speeds where I previously thought it was "really winding out". I think we're all just so used to steep OD gearing on modern 4-cyl cars that we forget what a V8 at 2,500 sounds like.

 

Dont mean to but in on this Thread.. But does anyone have a T5 with the stock rear end 3.92 or close. My question is what rpm are you running at 65-70. I know there is a lot of other factors to consider just trying to get a rough idea to keep what I have and not change to a later model.Thanks

 

ya know i forgot about my 52 , the customline . it has seen 75 , stock as a rock including that miserable exhaust that ford crippled 'em with { soon to be changed ! } . don't know what gear it has but it's just a plain ol' 8rt outta a 53 truck . the oe flatty is donating it's head { eab's milled .010 } to my 53 .............

 

Yea I used cam bearings. He had some extras so we cut it down the side until it was a tight fit and pressed them in. We used the lathe to run it down to the perfect size

 

For a rough idea, you can figure on a 30% reduction in rpms when in 5th gear. If you were turning 2600 rpms at a particular speed, that would drop to about 1800 in o/d.