My goal is to swap the original diff out of my '54 F-100 for a more modern FORD 9" rear with a lower gear ratio, better brakes, and easier parts availablity. I printed out a copy of an article called "1948 Through '60 Ford F-1 and F-100 Rear Axle Swaps" off The Forum to go junk yard shopping for a suitable axle.

The article says the "Holy Grail" for an easy bolt in swap was an axle from a '69 to '71 F-100 with code "WFE-C". So I went to the junkyard and found a 1971 F-100 (Fleetside) and looked at the tab on the differential which reads:
WDM-AC 1FA
3.25 8.7 317A
The Factory tag on the drivers door stated the axle was a "C 17"

No WFE-C I could find.... So a couple of questions come to mind:
Does the WFE-C appear on a tag or the casting?
Does Stepside and Fleetside models make a difference in differencials and codes?

Is this diff the Holy Grail by another number?

Jeff

 

I don't know where you found "WFE-C" as it isn't in the tech article here:
1948 through 1960 Ford F-1 and F-100 Rear Axle (differential) Swaps .: Articles
A quick google search comes up with that code is for a:
Comet '68-'69
Fairlane '68-'70
Montego '70
with 4.30:1 gears which isn't what you want. What you currently found is what you want. WDM-AC is a 63-79 with 3.25:1 gears.