Perfect Donor Car?

[2old2fast]

Zandoz , You're in the south , there should be older cars still in the wrecking yards . Find a ford granada or merc monarch , they made them up thru '79 , most have 8" rearends , centered pinion , narrow width , I paid $65 brake drum to brake drum , granted it's probably a 2.96 gear , but that's easily changeable.
dave

 

[Zandoz]

Zandoz , You're in the south , there should be older cars still in the wrecking yards . Find a ford granada or merc monarch , they made them up thru '79 , most have 8" rearends , centered pinion , narrow width , I paid $65 brake drum to brake drum , granted it's probably a 2.96 gear , but that's easily changeable.
dave

Well, being in the south is more like a technicality than a reality....were only a few miles south of the Ohio river, and Cincinnati...it gets me inrouble, but I refer to it as Cincinnati Lite....LOL. Most of the yards that I know of have been pretty well cleared of stuff prior to the mid 80s. Around here Ford 8"ers are almost as pricey as the 9"ers. The last 8" I saw for sale was only $50 less than what I can get a complete 8.8" rear end assembly for including brakes, and that was just for a housing. On top of the price, the 8" rears are drum, and I was hoping to get disks...and they are narrower than what I was hoping for. <shrug>

 

[2old2fast]

That's a shame , in the last few years w/scrap prices high , I fear that many yards have gone the same way!!

 

[Zandoz]

That's a shame , in the last few years w/scrap prices high , I fear that many yards have gone the same way!!

It sure is a shame. Many of my best gearhead memories from the past involve scouring the old bone yards for treasures. We almost always came away from a trip to a salvage yard with treasures we didn't know we wanted/needed when we went in.

 

[meangreen]

A lot of junkyards now days won't let you past the sales counter. Luckily, here on the east side of Florida, there are a couple of yards that will let us look and sometimes pull our own parts. The bad news is there is very little stuff earlier than about 1999 or 2000.

If you're buying individual parts, take a look at Toyota Pickup rear ends. They are beefy, plentiful, available in several ratios, many are posi-track, and they have a 5 on 4 1/2 (Ford) bolt pattern.

As for drive shaft fitment, both my coupe and my track-T have Chevy trans & drive shafts with Ford 8-inch rears. The mismatch problem was solved on both cars by special U-joints. I told the dude at my local Advance Auto Parts what I was doing and he handed me a U-joint that is made just for this purpose. I can get the brand and part number if your local parts guy can't help.

 

[Zandoz]

A lot of junkyards now days won't let you past the sales counter. Luckily, here on the east side of Florida, there are a couple of yards that will let us look and sometimes pull our own parts. The bad news is there is very little stuff earlier than about 1999 or 2000.

If you're buying individual parts, take a look at Toyota Pickup rear ends. They are beefy, plentiful, available in several ratios, many are posi-track, and they have a 5 on 4 1/2 (Ford) bolt pattern.

As for drive shaft fitment, both my coupe and my track-T have Chevy trans & drive shafts with Ford 8-inch rears. The mismatch problem was solved on both cars by special U-joints. I told the dude at my local Advance Auto Parts what I was doing and he handed me a U-joint that is made just for this purpose. I can get the brand and part number if your local parts guy can't help.

I had a Toyota PU...loved that thing. I'd still have it today if daughter had not let a friend of her boy friend work on on it . It's looking like I'm going to need every inch of the Tbird units 61.5" width with my widened body. As I remember it, and there's a good chance I'm wrong, the Toyota standard pickup rear end would not be wide enough. A T100 axle would probably be more than wide enough, but they are pricey around here, and I do not know what bolt pattern they are.

I've seen the conversion U-joints, but since I will need to have a drive shaft made up for this, I'll first try to have one made with a Ford yoke on one end and a GM on the other.

 

[meangreen]

My son's sedan has a '77 T-bird (9-inch) rear. I don't know the width, but he had to add a 1 1/2" spacer/adapter to each side to get the tire clearance needed!


I have always cut my own drive shafts. I probably have done 20 or 25 over the last 40 years. I only had one that I had to do over. It was in a stock car and at 7,000 rpm it rattled my teeth. Apparently, when I was truing it I must have bumped it off center while welding. Anyway, if you want to see the process I use to cut my own drive shafts using common tools it begins here: http://www.clubhotrod.com/hot-rod-talk/30400-another-build-thread-yep-my-track-style-t-17.html

 

[T-Test]

I had a Toyota PU...loved that thing. I'd still have it today if daughter had not let a friend of her boy friend work on on it . It's looking like I'm going to need every inch of the Tbird units 61.5" width with my widened body. As I remember it, and there's a good chance I'm wrong, the Toyota standard pickup rear end would not be wide enough. A T100 axle would probably be more than wide enough, but they are pricey around here, and I do not know what bolt pattern they are.

I've seen the conversion U-joints, but since I will need to have a drive shaft made up for this, I'll first try to have one made with a Ford yoke on one end and a GM on the other.

I use early 1970 to about 1988 Lincoln 9" rear ends that are over 60" wide so I can go around the mountain curves faster than I should.

 

[Zandoz]

I use early 1970 to about 1988 Lincoln 9" rear ends that are over 60" wide so I can go around the mountain curves faster than I should.

Do you know what axle ratios those had? I'd think they would be similar to the Crown Vics of the era, and those have a numerically lower ratio than what I'm looking for. I'm looking for something like the 3.73s or 4.10s to try and wring a little bit of snap out of the little V6.

 

[old round fart]

Watch the weight and you will have more snap than you can believe. My bucket had a 3.08 in it and I could out accelerate most motorcycles! Rear end ratios are easy to change if what fits is not to your liking.

 

[Zandoz]

Watch the weight and you will have more snap than you can believe. My bucket had a 3.08 in it and I could out accelerate most motorcycles! Rear end ratios are easy to change if what fits is not to your liking.

What engine were you running? I'll be running a little 2.8 GM 60 degree V6...135 hp to begin with, and never likely to be even 200. If I have to change engines I'll go to a Buick 3.8, but hopefully that will be a ways down the road. Weight has been the enemy since the beginning of designing this thing. It's going to be a short wheelbase bobtail design. 2x4x1/8 frame rails. The 60V6 is a couple hundred pounds less than a SBC. On the front I'm going with a mono-leaf spring and a tube axle. On whatever rear end I end up using, either aluminum coilovers, or air bags. Coosa board for the floor, instead of marine plywood. At this point, I'll be the heaviest thing in the car....LOL

 

[meangreen]

Be careful using Lincoln rear ends. Some of those old boats used a 9 3/8" rear. They look just like a 9-inch, but gears are NOT interchangeable and there are no performance parts available for them. Gear ratios are usually 2.75 or 3.00.

I'm using a 2.5 four-banger and 5-speed trans from a Chevy S-10 in my track roadster. I just ordered 3.55 gears for the Ford 8-inch rear. That calculates to 2386 rpm at 70 mph in 5th gear.

 

[Zandoz]

You're braver than I. Seeing several "Don't try this at home" warnings about DIY work on the 8.8"s is what prompted me to give up on the 96-02 Crown Vic units. They are the wider width I need but most are 2.73 or 3.27 with a lot less 3.55 lockers around. The Camaro that my engine and tranny came from had 3.42 gears, and I want more of a jump than just going to 3.55 gears. As far as I can tell, the 87-88 Tbird Turbo Coupes with automatics were the only non Mustangs to come with the wide width 3.73 gear axles. I found one locally...now I'm just hoping it's still there when I get the $$$ together.

 

[T-Test]

Do you know what axle ratios those had? I'd think they would be similar to the Crown Vics of the era, and those have a numerically lower ratio than what I'm looking for. I'm looking for something like the 3.73s or 4.10s to try and wring a little bit of snap out of the little V6.

Mine came with a 3.05 and changed to a 3.73 later. 305 engine with about 200hp and weighing 2000lbs will still scare you.
Get the rear end you want money wise and ask for help to fix it the way you want it. Someone close to you will be glad to help.

 

[RPM]

Have you considered the popular S-10 rear end. Some have disc brakes, posi, and most are 3:73 ratio?

 

[EX JUNK]

I have an S10 in my car as do quite a few other guys and they look great and work great. This thing of having to have a Ford rear is greatly over rated. IMHO

Jim

 

[Zandoz]

Have you considered the popular S-10 rear end. Some have disc brakes, posi, and most are 3:73 ratio?

With my widened body, and as far back as I want it to sit, an S-10 unit would be too narrow.

 

[Zandoz]

I have an S10 in my car as do quite a few other guys and they look great and work great. This thing of having to have a Ford rear is greatly over rated. IMHO

Jim

I'm not set on having a Ford unit. What originally got me looking at the Ford 8.8s is their availability for a reasonable price, the ratios I'm hoping for, and the disk brakes.