replacing The rear end / differential
 

Hey guys,

I am told by the PO that the differential is missing a tooth on the main ring. He says I need to change the whole rear end and that it will involve welding. Is he right or can I find a bolt-on replacement? Do I need to have the spring pads welded at the top of the springs, or what? And should I replace the rear brakes as while I have it all apart?

Thanks!

tyler
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ictureid=79555
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ictureid=79552https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ictureid=79553https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ictureid=79554

I know there are some threads on what rear ends will pretty much bolt right on....Of course you have to have 25 posts to search I think. Let me look.

Maybe someone smart will show up before I find anything.

By the way congrats on the new purchase. It's going to be a great experience for you and your son.

Hello, Welcome to the forum. That coil spring is not stock or required. It might uncover the fact that your springs may be shot and that is why they installed the coil. Check out the other threads on substitution rear axles and differentials that will work. It will also likely give you a more highway gear, particularly if that rear is not the 3.92, but is the higher ratio. I hope that this helps and you will really love the journey. I am! Ciao, Steve

You have a lot more problems with that setup than just the "missing tooth"...what are your plans for this truck? The reason I ask is because if you are going to build it into a reliable driver then you may want to pull out the whole assembly...shocks, springs, brakes, rearend, etc and replace them with new parts. That muffler clamp setup for the shocks is kinda scary in itself. Good luck...

I can't imagine how the po knows there is a tooth missing on the ring gear. That rear access panel hasn't been off in ages.....

The only rear that is totally bolt in, no welding is an original 48-52 F1 axle.

Ford 9" rear end from 57-66 F100 is almost bolt in, requires a driveshaft adaption to add approx 1.25" Also need to do something with spring plates and larger U bolts due to the larger axle tubes
Ford 9" rear from 67-72 has wider brakes, but takes more fabrication on the shock mounts in addition to the above mods.

Others will work, but mods are similar to the last one.

Yes, replace everything on the brake system. ... stopping is more important than going.

Yeah Charlie, I think that is the realistic plan. Pull out all of it and put in new stuff.

t

I did a rear end swap on my '48 F1 as well..
Hang on there a second on dissing the coil springs guys - I have a question... I am only a lil bit familiar with the "Heavy Half" (overbuilt half ton), but my rear end looked dang similar to his and I believe mine is a heavy half. Instead of 8 leaves there are 9, plus secondary coil. If a guru of the heavy half can comment I would like to hear. I have this hunch we may be looking at a heavy half in this picture.

All of these old F1 (the half ton) in this forum's years, use 5 on 5 1/2 bolt spacing with a 61 1/4" wide rear end.

That said, a ford 9" rear end from 57-72 is "a direct bolt on" (for me) no fabing clamps, no fabing shock mounts, etc. I went to the junkyard and found 6 choices on my first day out, picked the 72 (which has auto adjusting brakes), and then went for the gear ratio which would give me the desired highway speeds (driving it home was 43mph redlined the whole way on the tall gears in a dana/spicer 41). I picked a 3.00 ratio.

The 9" rear end has a 3" tube (you need 3 inch U bolts) and my '48 dana/spicer was 2 1/2", so be sure to take the U bolts and top plates with you if you get a junk yard salvage. (take penetrating oil, a very large long breaker bar, some bandaids for the knuckles, and if you got (and the junk yard will let you in with it) a little propane bottle to heat up the nuts and bust em loose, they are a BEAST.

The one thing that did not work perfectly, my shock mounts were wider, so the bolt ran through the mount, shock, mount. Now they use a long bolt and go mount, (dead air), mount, shocks.

Before you pick a rear end and haul it out, figure out what your gear ratios are for every gear in the tranny, figure out your tire size (I am currently looking for 225/70/16 as that is 28.4" the same as my original 6.00x16 tube. And then plug those numbers into a ratio calculator: Gear Ratio Speed Calculator<table style="width: 132px; height: 20px;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><col width="132"><tr height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt; width: 99pt;" height="17" width="132">
</td></tr></table>Be sure you want that gear ratio before you haul it out and decide you really wanted a shorter or taller set of gears.

Feel free to PM me or post here (I prefer to share with all) if you have more questions on this, I have more calculators and such helped me with the decisions. The Locker or limited slip differential are preferred both by racers and because you have better traction in wet/snow don't get stuck as easy. So look for an L in the tag - 3L00 instead of 3.00 Very little chance of finding in trucks as all the lockers were in cars (wrong width) and bigger trucks (dana 60 rear ends etc - no Ford 9").

mtflat, the PO owned the car since about '58. He says the differential rumbles/growls and you can feel it when the broken tooth spins through. But I am sure you are right that the diff hasn't been opened in years--1985 at the most recent I would guess. He may have looked at it back then and that's why he parked it.

So it sounds like the rear end will require welding after all.

Hey Tyler,
I went with an 8.8 Explorer Axle - You get nice disc brakes with that one - Plenty of them out there - I don't think I paid more than $125 for it & I got the Ebrakes as well. It does require some welding to adjust where the shock mounts are mounted - not a huge job - you can get somebody to come by & take care of it for you if you aren't equipped to weld.

If you are going to put in a Mustang II front suspension at some point you might want to look at the 8.8 rear ends so the wheels match up in front & back. Just more things to think about - Welcome aboard...

Changing out the rear end is good first step - it's much more straight forward than replacing the front suspension/axle. If you are going to take the bed off to do the job you might consider doing the gas tank relocation while you are back there...

Ben in Austin

Oh, a thought for you on time/ difficulty, it took me a full saturday at the junk yard to find and pull the old (no heat, and short breaker bar), a half of sunday to pull the dana 41, and a half of sunday to put in the 9". So as far as difficulty, this was 10 nuts, 2 bolts, a brake hose, couple e-brake clips, a couple dozen shots of PB blaster - this is not a 100 little fiddly pieces hard project.

If you go to a junkyard that has lots of choices, then buy it as a "complete rear beam" (agreed $125 is right on price), and take the best brakes shoes / hubs you can get... The 72 I picked had both the best set of brakes and the best ratio, so I got basically brand new brakes as a bennie.

This is a one weekend project - as long as you push to get up early, don't spend 2 hours drinking coffee first, and work hard you can certainly get it done in one.

If you look at the shop manual and operator's manual, there was no such truck as a Heavy Half. Here are the designations for 1948 US trucks.

F1 half ton
F2 3/4 ton
F3 heavy 3/4 ton
F4 one ton
F5 1 1/2 ton
F6 two ton
F7 two and a half ton
F8 3 ton

All F1's had 8 leaves up front and 10 in the rear. The coil spring "helpers" were probably added in the 70's and purchased from JC Whitney. I bought a set for my 77 F100 back then that looked just like those... and just as worthless. Instead of adding usable payload, the spring pack bottoms out creating a solid pack between the axle and spring. Talk about a rough ride!

Ford's helper springs were flat leaf packs located above the regular springs.

Very nice 51 tyler - looks like a great solid project - even 5 star deluxe trim. Has a few mods - I wonder what that radio and panel came from?

F150 so called 'heavy half ton' introduced in 1975. Only the springs/shocks are different, but these same parts were available on F100's as an option.

Nice truck Tyler. For what it's worth, I have 2 original DANA 41 rear ends laying in my shop. You're a long way away. But thought I'd mention it. I can't tell if you still have your original spring hangers or not in those pictures. The stocks were 3.73.

I agree with Mtflat, never heard of a "heavy half" in our period trucks. Sounds like NumberDummy cleared that up.

What rear end do you think you want? Here is a great guy that I bought a pair of mirrror from. Who is selling a Dana 40 rear end... 1948 1949 1950 Ford F1 Parts

Just some additional info on the u-bolt shock mounts, Ford used that same style of set up on the the super dutys, my '02 F-250 shocks are mounted the same way.

Depending on your plans for the truck, if the gear is missing a tooth, and the truck is mainly going to be a stocker for cruising just replace the ring and pinion. It is not hard to do and you learn more along the way.

Good Luck.

Whoa! So I CAN replace just the diff parts, rather than the whole rear end/axle?! I thought it was all one part. If I am gonna replace the drums etc, should I then go ahead and do the whole rear end like some are suggesting, or can I do this piece-meal and get 'er on the road sooner/cheaper rather than later/costlier?

I need to order a shop manual.

t

The guilotine clamp is not attached to the shock, if you look at the pictures closely. The shock is attached to the lower spring plate. The clamp is only holding the lower bracket for the coil, which is not factory, like number dummy said. As for the rear diff, I'd open it, and see what is actually wrong with it. Could be easier and cheaper to fix it as opposed to replacing the entire rear axle assembly. If the actual carrier is good, and the cross pin, side gears, spiders, etc. are good, and it only needs a ring and pinion, those are not expensive. A good Richmond set can be had for fairly cheap. A decision as to the final intended purpose of the truck will effect the choice of gear ratio, and differential type, as much as any other factor. If it's a performance oriented goal, then a 9" can get VERY expensive converting to posi, with the right gears, and finding the right nodular carrier. If it's a more towards stock, than rebuilding the current diff could prove more cost effective in both finances, and time. If it's a nice street cruiser, an 8.8 would be a very good choice, as they are less expensive to build than a 9", and are far more plentiful.

The parts for a dana 41 are hard to get, so keeping it original means fighting that now and in the future. The choices of gear ratios are less (in the 48, you had 2 options - neither of which got you over 55 mph).

If you want to do quicker and open up more options later, a swap is the way to go. You can finish a swap in a weekend, whereas dropping it, disassemble, reassemble, and reinstall probably will add a day.

Pro / Con list
1) speed - the swap will be faster
2) cost - breakeven, hard to find parts + new brakes might run you as much as junk yard full beam
3) future - the swap will give you a lot more options (add a locker from JCWhitney for $500 if you want)
4) safety - automatic adjuster brakes are no more or less safe than manual if attended to, but if you are a neglectful driver then modern brakes probably are better.

I went with a swap because of all 4 reasons, I seriously considered the ford 8.8 as well. I've kept the dana 41 in case I want to sell it as original, just a day of wrenching and it could walk out the door the same way it came in.

And who knows, if I ever have issues with the 9", I might go to a 8.8 with discs. (or if I do the mustang II IFS swap and get discs up front)

I would say the biggest driving issue for me was time, I want to start enjoying my truck (it sat for 8 years while I had no money), so the swap was faster, got me a drivable road gear and better fuel economy, got me better brakes, opened more options.

If you want to piece it together to get on the road sooner and save money then that is what I would do. Just make sure that brakes and the like are operating correctly first so that you and your family don't get hurt.

As far as replacing the whole assembly that just depends on cost, parts availability and what your ultimate goal is with the truck. Heck there are enough guys upgrading on here all the time that you can probably get a good used stocker rearend for darn near free to get you by for now and then figure out which way you want to go later.

Another thing I just thought to suggest since you are just starting out, and self proclaimed "not a car guy" if you go the swap route and go junkyard be sure what you get from the yard is in good shape, don't trust the tag, or assume everything is perfect shape. Things end up in the junkyard for a reason - mine had a smashed front nose clip and a worn through brake line. Spin the wheel and count the number of driveshaft turns - does it match the tag, if you get a locker block one wheel and see if the locker works right, inspect all parts of the brakes - any missing hardware, etc. Be sure to drain the old diff oil out and replace (manual specifies 100weight summer, 90 weight winter I believe (manual is with the truck at the shop right now so not sure). No sense taking your "missing one tooth" rear end out to put in one with two teeth missing :P

It also doesn't hurt to get the warranty from the wrecking yard... Sometimes it's good to get... I paid an extra $150 for a 1 year warranty on my daughters rear end...

That is so tempting!!;)

Can't take you anywhere. Typical fighter pilot.

Gentlemen...and lorolr :)...thanks very much for all the advice. Between this thread and the other active one I have on here, I have a much better understanding of the whole rear end replacement issue. I have read the articles you've sent me to etc. and I pretty much "get it" now. I am still unsure about whether or not I will need to do/hire out welding or not, but I will get that figured out. I still have some questions though...

What gear ratio do I want in order to make the truck freeway-worthy? Higher or lower?

How do I know if the differential and associated gear ratio is right for my transmission?

How difficult is it to make sure the pinion angle/ drive shaft angle / tranny output shaft angle all match and are correct? I am concerned that if I am inaccurate I will screw things up.

Has anyone done business with "Total Cost Involved Engineering" out of So Cal? I am considering buying a rolling chassis from them. Here is text from the email they sent me after a phone call...
"Tyler, as I mentioned, the chassis is boxed front to rear, is 8 inches tall for additional rigidity, has the nut-zerts welded into place to eliminate through bolts and provide ease of assembly. Also, the brake booster, master cylinder and pedal assembly along with the brake lines are included and installed. Rear end is brand new from Currie featuring a Nodular case, huge 31 spline axles, big bearing and brakes. Our chassis features 11” disc brakes, and I will add them to the rear at no cost, along with a free front sway bar and upgrade the brake lines to stainless steel."

They want $8300 plus tax for the chassis and $500 shipping. Can anybody vouch for the quality of their chassis and how good a deal this is?

Again, thanks for all your help!

I have a TCI chassis. I like the metal works part of it. Everything fit perfectly. The down-side is that it's been sitting in my garage for about 26 months(never been driven) and virtually every rubber part has dry rotted and needs replaced. The other down side was after spending $800 for delivery to my home, the chassis showed up at the warehouse and they called me to come and get it. I explained to them that I paid for home delivery and I want it brought to my home at which point they say that they can't get a "big truck" up in my neighborhood. So I called TCI and my vendor explaining that full length school buses come up here 4 times a day and that my neighbor drives his semi and trailer home ever day. They refuse to deliver, and I refuse to hire somebody to go and get what I paid to have delivered. At this point, TCI couldn't care less. Finally, the trucking company put it onto one of their box trucks and deliverd it. So, before you buy, I'd find out who the trucking company is and make sure they're willing to deliver to your property instead of leaving you holding the bag. That little fiasco cost me about 3 weeks of my vacation (I'm a teacher) when I could have been working on my truck. I bought it through Tim's Hot Rods on the west coast ( Tim's Hot Rods ) who I'd highly recommend as he kept pushing from his end and didn't leave me stranded like TCI.

Gear ratio depends on several things, but simply a gear in the range of 3.50 works for either OD on non-OD trans, tall 16" wheels/tires or shorter 15" combo. I have combinations of all those in different trucks and in my opinion 3.50 is about the best all around setup for whatever you might throw at it.

Drop to 3.00 and you'll notice take off lagging some but will run with lower rpms and better mileage on the hwy. Go above 4.00 and you get neck-snapping takeoffs, but will max out quicker on the freeway.

That said, my favorite is 3.50 with an OD trans. Even 3.25 w/ OD could work for me cause I'm old enough that leaving black strips on the pavement behind me has lost much of it's appeal. (except in the Shelby : ))

If you have an OD trans multiply your rear end number by the percentage output to see what it comes out to. Most OD's are in the neighborhood of .70 final output. So 3.50 x .7 = 2.45, which is a great freeway final ratio.

All non-OD's are 1:1 ratio so the rear ratio isn't affected 3.50 is 3.50.

Driveline: Buy a $10 magnetic angle indicator at your local parts store and you won't mess up your driveline angles. You want your trans output shaft to be the same angle (but opposite direction) as your pinion input shaft.

If those two are close to the same angle you don't have to worry about your driveshaft. In practice, if you get the trans and pinion within a degree or two of each other it will work. Most trans sit about 5 or 6 deg down angle. Position your pinion 5 or 6 deg up and you're good to go.

The "angle" of the driveshaft doesn't matter - it can run up, down or side to side. What you need to match is the movement of the U joints.

If your truck is raised significantly, 9 deg of angle will start destroying Ujoints on a regular basis. fwiw

Before doing anything, why not pull the rear cover and investigate this "missing tooth". That sounds funny to me. Honestly, I've never heard of a tooth breaking off either a ring or pinion in anything like normal use (drag racing maybe). It costs you nothing to open it up and see if there really is a problem, or if the PO heard a bad U-joint or wheel bearing and drew the wrong conclusion.

Thanks for the info. Sounds like customer service follow-through was a bit lacking. That is too bad. You mentioned the rubber parts dry rotting. Is that because it has been sitting for 2+ years, or are you suggesting that the rubber part were of inferior quality and not a good buy? Would they have dry rotted if you had gotten your tuck assembled and on the road sooner?

Thanks,
Tyler

OK, thanks for that explanation mtflat....

So a lower gear ratio is better for driving at higher speeds, like on the freeway, and the higher gear ratio is better for acceleration, short races etc? Since this is for my son, I think the lower option is better. And we'll get better gas mileage, right?

I am still not sure what transmission I have in the truck, but I am betting it does not have overdrive. It is an automatic that was put in back in the 60s or 70s. So a 3.25 or 3.5 would be ok with that?

I guess I am misunderstanding something here about the gear ratio thing. Let's say you have a 4.00 differential. So for every 4 turns of the transmission output shaft/drive shaft, you get 1 turn of the wheels, right?

Wouldn't that mean that the LOWER gear ratio would give you quicker acceleration? If you have a 3.00 differential, it would take only 3 turns of the drive shaft to get 1 turn of the wheels. Theoretically, if you took it all the way down to a 1.00 differential, every turn of the drive shaft would give you a turn of the wheels.

But apparently it is the opposite. You say a 4.00 diff gives you the break neck acceleration, but tops out sooner, and the 3.25 diff gives you slower acceleration but a higher top end speed.

So what am I missing? I must be doing the math backwards but I think that's because I am misunderstanding the gear ratio concept of differentials. Can anyone straighten me out?

Thanks guys.

t

This from my other "Bought it!" thread, but is better suited here...

Quote:
Originally Posted by 51PanelMan View Post
Stick with what mtflat said in his post to your other thread. Also, read this article, 1948 through 1960 Ford F-1 and F-100 Rear Axle (differential) Swaps .: Articles. It'll explain everything to you.

I read the article and it is very informative. I understand a lot more now. But a couple of questions it brought up....

1. The axle width is measured from axle flange to axle flange...so what is an "axle flange"? How do I identify that part? Can anyone post a picture of an axle flange? Or even better, a picture of a tape measure stretched across from axle flange to axle flange?

2. I can't remember what my other question(s) was...they say the memory is the second thing to go...and I can't remember what the first is....Oh yeah....now I remember (my other question, that is). Are there any other articles here on exactly HOW to do a rear end swap? Step by step instructions? The link in the above quote/post talks all about choosing a new rear end, but is not really a how-to-install-it article.

3. Will the axle width screw up wheel/tire clearance on the fenders. How close is close enough?

Thanks!

T

"Wouldn't that mean that the LOWER gear ratio would give you quicker acceleration? If you have a 3.00 differential, it would take only 3 turns of the drive shaft to get 1 turn of the wheels. Theoretically, if you took it all the way down to a 1.00 differential, every turn of the drive shaft would give you a turn of the wheels.".... Ty..Don't get too worried about the terms used for gear ratios. a 3.00 will be more highway friendly than a 4.00. As mentioned earlier, a 3.50 ratio is a good compromise.As far as axle flange it's the round plate that the brake drum fits on that has the lug bolts your wheel bolts to. Maybe someone here can post a pic of their wheel/ tire/flange width combo with specific meas. on each component. Bill

Hey Tyler,
I'm not sure why you are considering a entirely new Chassis for $8K. I would go that route if your's is bent - been in a prior wreck, etc. This whole discussion started based on a hunch that a tooth was missing in your rear differential. I don't think I'd spend $8K based on a hunch. There will be plenty of places to spend money on this truck - Why not take your son down to the salvage yard & get the guys to pick you out a nice 9 inch Ford rear end with decent gears in it for $150. Drop it by your favorite mechanic's place & in a day you will be good to go. Drive it for a bit & see what else you want to change. That wood bed looks a bit past it's prime - that's another pretty straight forward upgrade - Lot's of pre-made bed kits on-line.

Ben in Austin

Hey Tyler,
As long as we are passing along lessons learned - I'll throw out an observation. If you take a poll of the folks on this forum you will find that the vast majority have trucks that are not running & are in different phases of major de-construction. Once you start pulling them apart they seem to stay apart for a real long time. Take small bites - replace the rear axle/gears, then do brakes or bed, etc. Ripping out the entire chassis is big & you may be out of commission forever.. If you can get it running then fine tune it all the while driving it.... much better. (I went the major surgery route & I've been out of commission for well past a year).

Our truck is also a father/son project - I wish I had left the engine a lot less powerful - I wish I had stayed with just tuning up the 289 we had in there at 190HP vs the 351 Windsor we have with Edelbrock top end for 400 HP. Less power in teenage boys hands might be better.

All the wisdow I've got - Good luck over there.

Ben in Austin

The fenders on an F1 have a good bit of extra room, but not unlimited space. So you want an axle with about the same width as the stock setup. You have some flexibility with varying the wheel backspacing.

57-72 F100 Ford 9" axles are the same width as your stock axle so you keep the axle flange to flange measurement of 61.25" or brake drum face to drum face.

The swap is easy. Block the front tires. Put the truck frame on jack stands just in front of the rear wheels. Unbolt the U joint at the pinion yoke. Next unbolt the big U bolts holding the axle to the spring packs. Careful here, it will be completely loose at this point. Roll it out from under the truck, roll the new one in and using new U joints (for the larger axle housing) bolt it in place, keeping the spring over the perches.

Depending on the year you may have to adjust the pinion angle and you do that by adding caster wedges or shims between the spring pack and the spring perch. Find a longer sliding yoke for the slip joint in the driveline (a driveline shop should be able to fix you up). Thats it

quote: "I am still not sure what transmission I have in the truck, but I am betting it does not have overdrive. It is an automatic that was put in back in the 60s or 70s. So a 3.25 or 3.5 would be ok with that?"

With an automatic and its smoother acceleration you could probably even get away with a 2.75.

Ben, I have a few reasons for considering a new chassis. Please lend me your wisdom on any or all of them...

1. The truck needs more mechanical work than just the differential. I'd like to change the whole front end too and several other things. It was suggested to me by a couple of people who know what they are doing that a new chassis MIGHT be no more expensive than keeping the old one and MIGHT save time rather than doing all the work with everything in place on the old chassis.

2. I am trying to do this project in 18-24 months rather than 5 or 6 years. So time is a consideration. It isn't the ONLY or even the top consideration, but it is important.

3. I am trying to be honest with myself. If keeping the old chassis is cheaper but leads to more complex/difficult/discouraging/tedious work that leads me to procrastinate on and/or give up the project altogether, then maybe a new chassis is a worthwhile expense. I am trying to figure out how much more difficult the job will be if I keep the old chassis.

Thanks,
Tyler

Thanks for that info Ben. I have gotten conflicting advice about what is faster, cheaper, more efficient--tear it all down at once or do things a little at a time...New chassis or old chassis...etc.

I agree with you on HP and engine thing. I am gonna see what I can do about that.

t

Thanks mt! I am pretty much getting the picture here. Thanks again for all your help and info.

t

I put mine together mostly stock configuration for just that reason: most of the trucks that are sitting after several years are undergoing major transformations in power plants, transmissions and drivelines, suspension, steering, etc. etc

It takes a lot of labor and brain energy to make upgrades that actually work well. For instance you decide to change the transmission to something newer. You need an adapter plate to make it fit the engine. first thing required is to remove most of the original cross member that the pedals/brake master cylinder bolts to and then fabricate something else in it's place. If automatic you've got to lose the clutch pedal which is on the same shaft as the brake pedal. Next you shorten the driveshaft, keeping the u-joints in sync and the angles equal. etc etc

You can see how one change begins a domino process and unless money is no object, most of us have to wait for the checkbook to catch up to the project and that='s long build times.

A stock rebuild is definitely the fastest and cheapest way to go. Parts are easily accessible, you unbolt something and bolt the new piece in the same place with no custom fabrication required. The only guys who will say differently are either dealers or a newbie that has just spent a bundle on his own pile of parts and wants company. (this ought to be good for an argument : )

Changing rear ends is the single exception to the problem. It's easy, straightforward and upgrade rear ends are easy to come by in most areas.

Re: cost of the TCI complete chassis vs mod'ing the existing; you can pay professionals to get the parts and install them on the existing chassis. "Snook" on here went this route for similar reasons, and you could ask him, but I don't think that part of it cost him anywhere near $8k. He went the full MII / 4-link /disc brakes / 9" route with many upgrades. In a matter of weeks his truck went from totally stock to completely fabricated (chassis-wise). Not that he's done, but he leap-frogged at least a year. If there are shops you trust in your area, talk it over with them.

Hey Tyler,
I won't argue against replacing the entire chassis if you are set on replacing the front suspension. I went the more piece meal approach & just the Mustang II front suspension cost $5K with installation. I think the concern for going with the chassis is it's a long road to get it all back together - you could easily run out of funds or patience before you get to the endzone. From a safety standpoint going the TCI Chassis route gives you 4 wheel disc brakes, independent front suspension & power steering, & a 4 link rear end. Those are all major positives for a young driver.

------------------------------
A less drastic approach would be to throw a rear end in there as it's pretty straight forward & cheap - & hold off on replacing the entire front suspension instead get the front king pins replaced & the stock front end rebuilt for like $800 - $1,000 & see how it drives. Replacing the front end witha Mustang II is a big effort & major surgery - there are a lot of guys on here very happy with a nicely rebuilt stock front end.

--------------------------------

If you can get it running & stopping fairly quickly I'd argue for less major surgery & more tweaks... (This is coming from a guy who did the major frame off approach - it's a loooong road). What's the engine look like? Is it a keeper?

Ben in Austin