Rear End Options under Fenderless "A"'s, what did you use?

I'm looking for options on rear-end housings to use under a fenderless "A" sedan (Coupe..all the same). My current "A" coupe I have a mid-60's Dodge 8 3/4" and it works great.
Butt, I'm interested in other options if you have any.
Glenn

 

I used a rear out of a 73 ford mavrick (8") fits nice
Fullblast

 

8" out of a 66 Mustang!

 

I have a 40 rear for my coupe....dont know if/how it will work out just yet.

 

I used 66 Nova

 

65 Mustang 8", T coupe on A rails

 

mid 70's ford half ton 9" on home made rails and a cut down a 4 door body

 

use what you got i put that rear in the top 3 of strongest, plus you have it!

 

I've got a 36 rear end and 48 brakes.

 

'57 Ford wagon. ( early 9")

 

mid 70s granada works great on the modelAs that i have built in the past.

 

8" from a 1963 Ford Ranchero

I was really happy with the width of this one. I used a stock model A rear spring, and the over the axle spring mounts were welded about 1" from the backing plates. Seemed just about right to me.

-Blane-

 

i'm runnin a '50 ford pickup rear in my '30 coupe-ugly,but it's channeled,so you can't see it anyway..perfect width,and has the same bolt pattern as early ford....

 

I'm running a gm rear end aout of a 81 turbo trans am - works great too

 

I've ran an Early Bronco 9" rear which comes with the early ford bolt pattern on my A coupe.

 

32,
I'm not looking to replace the one in my "A", these ideas are for my NEXT "A" Sedan.
The 8 3/4 under my HotRod is Great, 3:55 gears and Sure-Grip!
Thanks!
GLenn

 

I think the banjo rear end is the best looking by far for a high boy. For a full fendered car I'd probably go with a nine inch ford.

 

Ok...
Thanks for your opinions and suggestions.

 

AHotRod
We're using an 83/4 from an A body(?dart) in our dodge coupe, granted its not an A but its relativley close.

Up north of me here the rear of choice for A Bones is the 8" out of an Explorer.

Of course non of that is trad, but it seems to work well.
You could always cut down a 9" Ford also, if you get an older one it will have a smooth back, nice place of a pin stripe or two.

S-10 rears are working out real well in a lighter car without too much mill, good width and they're a dime a dozen.

Nuff options for ya.

 

P&B'r...
I had heard that there is a difference in the S10 Blazer rear between the 2WD and the 4WD units. As for a rear that can take a beating...I've been told that there are guys out there with these 7.5" dia. GM rear ends under "light-weight" rods (1700-2600#s) with slicks and they are able to keep them alive.
I really don't want a rear that I have to narrow....been there done that a few times.
Keep the info rollin..............

 

AHtRD
I thrashed the devil out of an S10 2wd pickup rear for about 3 years. It was totally thrashed when I was done with it and a friend put it under his Big Block Cutless and is still running it. I do know that the Ring and pinion are chipped ansd he had to replace the all the bearings. But its a good width @ 541/4" flange to flange and shouldn't give you much problem under a car as light as an A-Bone.

I don't know the width on the explorer rears but the few guys I know that are running them are just bolting them in. They don't look goofey so they must be pretty close to the right width.

 

P&B....I never have built a HotRod yet that did'nt have to much power ( ) so I want something as reliable as i can affordably get.
Glenn

 

A friend has a full fendered A coupe with a souped 454 and an 8" Ford. He's been on the road for about 7 years and never touched the rear.

 

I haven't had any problems with the dana 44 under my car yet and I have been pretty hard on it. Mine came out from under a '50 merc but they were under lots of things. Later
Harrell

 

If you want to go sort of modern the Ford 8.8 under mid size cars is a good fit.

The exact same rear is under rwd Volvos at a fraction of the cost, and is often a locker with discs. Volvo used a lot of 4.10 and 3.73's so it is great with an OD box. 1987-96 are all ford pattern and SAE hardware thruout.
Perfect fit under an A and several rodders are even using the locating arms.

 

Anyone one using a 55-57 chevy rear? I have a '55 one with 3.55 gears I was thinking of using. I'm starting to collect parts for an A project. didn't know whether to sell it off or use it.

 

8 inch Sprint diff in my 30 pickup.

 

We are using a 57 Ford 9" also

Debb

 

KKL, Not to criticize your ride but looking at the picture I'm reminded of why I ALWAYS build a rearend for my customers and for my own projects. As you can see the pumkin is offset in the frame. On these small cars that we build, expecially the ones built hi-boy style, the offset centersection really looks bad IMO. When viewed from behind it gives the impression that it wasn't ENGINEERED correctly. Under a fat fendered car or one that is real low with fenders you can sometimes get away with it because it's not out there for everyone to see. I know there are some combinations that you can just BOLT IN but I've found very few that are perfect. I start with the wheels and tires I'm going to use, mock them up under the car so they look "right", measure the distance between the back side of the wheel mounting surface. This is your overall rearend width. From there figure how much the rearend needs to be narrowed to get this figure and compensate for how much the pumkin is offset on the rearend. This should give you the amount needed to be taken from each side (usually different amounts) to get your total width and the rear centered.
Sometimes you get lucky and can take the short axle and use it on the long side thus requiring only one axle that has to be shortened and resplined. I know it sounds like a bunch of work but the result is just another thing that makes your car look like it was done in a professional manner.

Frank

 

Fab, on a really low car like mine you might have to use a rearend like that.
I started out with a Truck rearend that was the right size, and boltpatern but it would not work because the perfectly centered pumkin made the yoke off center.
That would have pushed the driveshaft over a couple of inches, which would have left no space for one of the seats ( the seats are between the driveshaft tunnel and the framerails.)