marry christmas everyone, i am looking for a complete rear end out of a 57 ford for my 55, i was told it would be a direct replacement, i have a 390 with a t10 four speed in the car now with the stock rear, i believe it is a 3.91, car at 50 turning 3k, figured be easier to change to 9in, i live in the louisville ky area, thanks for any help
Check the HAMB cl***ifieds and if you need it shipped there is this Social Group:http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=214 Also be sure to check out this to find one: http://zoomthelist.com/
Listed here are rear ends and the width measurements:http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/group.php?do=discuss&discussionid=18186&pp=20&page=2 One that is not listed and a very good alternative is the 8.8 from 1983-1992 Ford Rangers many of these are Posi and measure 56.5" which is a little narrower than your OEM which is a plus,many of these can be had in Pull-A-Parts in the neighborhood of $125 go here is a chart to help you hunt the right donor:http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/Ford-8_8-axle.shtml Best bet for your needs would be one with a 4.0 V6 with automatic trans.
thanks for the info, I will start looking, I am not too hard on it just looking for a little better highway gears, steve
Best of luck finding one. A year ago I found that these (57) easy swap rears had pretty much been already taken by those that came before us. When I would find one, the seller thought it was gold and it was never local. I considered that you don't know what you are getting in a used one and it could mean a lot of time (sandblasting is just a starter if you want it to look good) and parts; it is 57 years old. I also considered sizing. I wanted much wider rims/tires, so a shortened rear was in order. I found the cost and effort for shortening can be substantial and you really need to know what you are doing to get it right. I also did not want to be spinning just one wheel. Traction control was not part of the rear engineering in 57, and I was putting a lot of ponies under the hood. When I added up all the costs, time, and considered the pluses and minuses, I concluded that a new one was the way to go (I plan to keep the car a long time, put miles on it, and go to shows) (maybe even a day at the drag strip). If you think your mileage is bad, my 55 came with a 4.11! I don't know what other ratios were available that year or if aftermarket exist, but might be easier/lower cost than replacing the whole ***embly. This is my 9". As previously suggested, the 8.8 is a good alternative rear, readily available, very reasonable in cost, may offer traction control, and should stand up to the FE. So you have options. If I become aware of a 57 available, I will send you a PM.
I think the 8.8 from a late model explorer is the better choice.They are very easy to find and very reasonable in cost. I purchased a complete rear end with disk brakes 3.73 positive traction and an offside axle from another rear. It cost 105.00 for the pair and having the housing cut down for the shorter axle was 90.00 dollars which included new spring perches. I did get lucky on the cost to cut the housing down. That could be a bummer if you can't find someone who will do it reasonably. I did read an article where another HAMBY pressed the housing out, cut if off and pressed it back in, seemed like a good way to me. Another good point for the explorer 8.8 everyone one I looked at had 31 spline axles. Ralph
When you are out hunting the Salvage yards you may want this info along:http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/Axles.html
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