that inexpensive 8.8 explorer rear end is a COIL spring solution, you have leaf springs... a fair amount of design, fabrication and welding... all that and you do NOT have a 5 on 5.5 pattern when you are finished - if you have to sub out your welding and you have to buy new rims then it escalates quickly. if you have rims, etc etc then not having to replace all those starts weighing the financial scales heavily.
and if you found the threads I think you did you know it means a huge deal if you are west of the miss or east of the miss on the price of the 9".

 

Brian, I stand corrected, Sheridan Blue was first available in 1950.
The actual colors for the 1948 trucks were:
Black--M1724
Vermilion-M1722
Meadow Green-M14283
Chrome Yellow-M14301 (available 1948/49 only)
And Tuscon Tan-M14227 (for the 1948 grills)
The Birch gray was only available in 1949

 

Pat (xohm) I just saw your visitor message... gonna reply here so everyone who has something useful can add to the knowledge and experience (mostly so the smartasses can correct me if I tell you a lie)....

if you are stock right now you have a 5 on 5.5 pattern or "ford truck" pattern (5 studs on 5.5 inch spacing). the "ford car" is 5 on 4.5" ... and modern metric things get different.

the 57-72 1/2 ton 9" rear end option suggested are all 5 on 5.5 (you can also get shoebox bronco, a couple years of mustang, etc - I actually made a complete list using data from fordification)... short story you wont find the gran torino's or mustangs, donors really are 1/2 ton trucks and that's about it. in 1969 (the year of mandatory dual circuit brake systems) everything was unique to that year... you go to napa and ask for shoes and they will give you like 60-68, 69, 70-72 as 3 different part numbers... 69 is just a year to avoid too much stuff weird, so I advise a 70-72 rear end. You get wider shoes, self adjusters, etc - all the goodies.

here's the compiled DB (it's an excel file):
www.brainsbivouac.com/cars/1948/Tech/Ford 9 inch Rear Axle Master Database.xls

gearing ratio:
3.25 is pretty low, but I can't tell you don't do that without knowing tire size and trans gearing.... 6.00x16 - that's stock size 28.4" (optional was 6.50x16 - 28.9") with that size tire assuming you have a a stock trans I am going to suggest 3.50 (just about everyone here would suggest 3.50 or 3.70 based on real world experience).. I have a 3.00 and am running 29.5" tires (225-75-16) I picked that ratio because it was the best condition axle I found in a non-wrecked truck. Looking back 3.25 would be the absolute lowest I would go - I think 3.50 is where I should have picked.

If you are going to start changing things around you have to really really consider what you have and where you want to be, but take that as about 20% input and rely on 80% of your feedback to come from folks here who have done it wrong and then redone it right at twice the cost

here's a db of stock trans and an RPM calculator in an excel file:
http://www.brainsbivouac.com/cars/19...earing RPM.xls

In your PM you indicated you have tires already but I'll add it again so you have it all together if you need it in the future - here's some tire calulations taken from online sources comparing stock bias ply to modern radial dimensions and calculations
www.brainsbivouac.com/cars/1948/Tech/Tires.xls

 

I'm going to extend all that advice one further and suggest you do this... <b>drive it</b>.. if it is driveable then drive it, put plates on it, take it out for icecream and a drive in movie, run a tank full of gas through it fixing all the idosyncracy issues that crop up... then after you have 100 miles on it decide do you really hate anything stock so bad you want to change it. you might no hate the rear diff, you might decide the whine in 2nd gear is untollerable and a T-5 trans is a must (thereby nullifying the diff issue - stock diff with a T5 is perfectly acceptable)... put some miles in without pouring money into it... there are lots of basket case folks here in a hundred pieces, don't jump to add your name to the list.

 

Yes, I saw those complications on that 8.8, and was weighing the pros/cons of other 8.8s, but was already leaning towards de-risking the enterprise by going with the 72 F100, if I could find it.

No, I hadn't seen the geographic pricing challenge, and I've started looking, but haven't found it yet.

Let me guess, with my luck, I'm on the wrong side of the river, and can expect to pay closer to $300-$450 for a full rear beam out of the 72 F100?

On the plus side, it does look like the bolt pattern is the same on that axle, as on my 48 F1 - 5 x 5.5". Knock on wood, but it would be great to use my existing wheels, without having to mod the axle too much.

 

Cheaper this side of the Mississippi, but... even a '72 axle is 41 years old. What are the chances the truck it was in was driven to deliver flowers? Count on at least a minor refreshing, new pinion seal, new wheel bearings, new axle seals, new wheel cylinders, new brake shoes, new drums, some brake hardware... I paid $75 for my 9" and it ended up costing me about $600 before it was ready to bolt in. Would have been another $200 if my driveshaft had needed lengthening (still might).

I would never put discs only on the rear.