1950 Ford F1 Axle and Gear choice
 

hey gents...just looking for some input on which axle I should choose for the rear end and what gear ratio would be the most advantageous. I know that the Ford 9" is an ideal choice but the 8.8" Explorer rear end is very common.I am looking at dropping a 350 in the truck and am unsure of what I should be looking at ratio wise. also, should I replace the front axle? I am not aware of what options I have for a front axle and if there are any advantages to swapping it.

It depends on what performance you want out of the truck. I like decent gas mileage and cruzin' so my choice would be a 3:00 gear for a non-overdrive transmission. If you have OD then something around 3:70 would be nice. If you want a smoother ride consider dumping the straight axle for an IFS. The nine inch is the easiest rear end conversion... :)

If you use the 9", you will still have the factory bolt pattern so all rims will still match.

8.8" would have a different bolt pattern.

You can also get a disc brake upgrade for the factory front axle.

Is the axle a dana 44 or a 9 inch? A dana 44 is a popular unit with 4wd guys, ratio swaps are as close as the local 4wd shop, or your garage. The dana 41 which I think was only on the early F1's doesn't have a suitable gear swap available. A 9" is easy to swap gears. The 8.8 does have the small bolt pattern, but if you're swapping to discs on the front you can get a small pattern rotor.

I am looking for information on swapping out my Dana 41 to a Dana 44 in a 1950 Ford F-1.

The truck has the original 8BA Flathead and 3 speed transmission. The Dana 41 has a 3.92 ratio rear end. The truck has 15" wheels. At 2500 RPM. its going 41 MPH in high gear.

I have asked around and have been told that gears for a Dana 41 have not been made in years that I need to swap it for a Dana 44 which has an abundance of ratios available.

Does anyone know the closest rear end from another car or truck I could get from the junkyard to make this swap. I would like to a rear end that fits with a 3.00 ratio but if I have to change the ratio I can. Getting the rear end to fit is my main goal without a lot of modifications.

I am not sure about the Dana 44, but as said earlier, a 9" Ford is almost a direct bolt-in, proper bolt pattern, and relatively inexpensive and available. If going that route, look for a pre 1973 F100 as they are the correct width. I am running a 3.25 9" Ford in my 50 and am happy with overall performance for a DD (behind a 289/C4 combo).

Here is an article on options:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/articles...rential-swaps/

Is this also true for a 49' f1?

Read the article linked above

:-X19 yes did it twice

From the article: "The 1948 through 1960 all had an approximate 61-½" from axle flange to axle flange."

The 48-50 Dana 41's are externally identical to the 51-on Dana 44's.

MTCW - just because someone says something is a direct bolt-on, doesn't mean it really is. What ever you choose....make sure the pinion angle between the axles are correct for your install. If not, shake, rattle and roll.

Exactly right! The perches on the correct 9" are spaced the same as the D41/44; the lug pattern is the same; the e-brake hooks up directly; but other than that, fabrication is needed. The driveshaft will be an inch too short; need new spring plates and u-bolts; need to come up with lower shock brackets; and yes, the perch/pinion angle need to be set to the correct angle. There are many threads on here about the swap. Compared to some other swaps, it's easy.

With any worn parts and bushings, softened stock or aftermarket springs, caster shims and radial tires the beam axle will ride quite well. The steering gear box can be replaced with the power steering box from a Toyota 4x4 solid axle truck or the newly manufactured PS box from Classic Haulers Home - Classic Haulers F-1 Parts or CPP you can have power steering with a quicker ratio to boot. The stock drums will stop just fine if the wheel cylinders are replaced (along with the 65 year old hard and flex lines and the master cylinder with a dual circuit style for safety) or if you have the extra money or drive in hill country/plan to tow a trailer or heavy loads disk brakes can be added to the beam all for < 1/2 the cost of a MII style IFS. However the Jag IFS is almost a bolt up on the F1 with excellent geometry, disks and power steering, are inexpensive and parts are readily available.

The best rear axle ratio is much more dependent on what tranny you use than the engine. If you use a non overdrive tranny, either manual or auto, and do a lot of highway driving you'll probably want something in the 3.00 - 3:50 range. If you are using an OD tranny and/or want 'spirited" acceleration with a non OD (and gas mileage isn't important) then consider something in the 3.50 - 4.11 (with a 3.70 being about the ideal ratio).

Thanks guys for the feed back. I am new to the forum and appreciate the response. I originally posted to the thread about "1950 Ford F1 Axle and Gear choice" and got a great web site for a article published in 2004 by the forum users as a group that has worlds of information on what I am looking for.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/articles/...rential-swaps/

According to the article, the 57 to 72 F100 works best with the (5x5 bolt pattern) I plan to contact the junk yards and put a wanted on craigslist for one of these rear end assemblies.

This rear end fits but what the article did not say was what ratios were offered in these F100 truck rear ends. Does anybody know and were there different ratios for these model years? As I stated earlier, according to a calculator I found online a 3.00 ratio is what I need . Someone said this is to high and would slip the clutch. One reason that they may be mistaken is that the tires have been replaced with P225/75/R15 tires which are smaller than original. Anyone have a thought