I am building a 62 falcon wagon for a daily driver, long distance cruiser, trailer hauler. It is powered by an I6 OHC alloy head cross flow from an Australian falcon. I am currently setting up the rear suspension as it will be bagged. I currently have the 7.75 Ranger rear almost set up, and I'm just about to have some Steely's made. I chose the Ranger rear because of its narrow width, and the fact that it came with a front disc brake conversion as well for a good price. Most 8 inchers are too wide for the early round bodies But then... I found an 8 inch maverick rear for sale by my house for 200 bucks, so I have to decide quickly what I'm going to do. The conundrum is this... the 8" has 2.9 gears, so I will have to buy a new gear set and probably rebuild the pumpkin as well is change the axle bearings. After the $200 price, it adds up quick. The Ranger rear that I already have came with another gear set that will work with the overdrive ****** and the tire size that I plan on using. it's out of a newer car and doesn't need an overhaul. but... the 8" has a centered pinion ( the driveshaft will be slightly askew if I use the Ranger rear), is stronger and looks more "proper" if that makes sense. the deal breaker seems to be this... how strong are the 7 3/4" ranger diffs? can i pull a small (but old and probably heavier than a modern equivalent) trailer, or a race car behind it with out breaking it? hmmmm...
Isn't it a 7.5 rear? I have one in my coupe...it isn't gonna break unless you hit the **** outta it, AND, more importantly...with traction. So... just don't do any hard launches w/slicks AND the trailer.
the crossflow with a four barrel will probably put out low 200's in the HP arena. It's possible the Ranger diff is a 7.5, as I am not too familiar with them. I measured the diameter of the extra ring gear I have, which was 7.75, but these could differ based on ratio... thanks for the input guys!
Ranger would be 7.5". The 4-cyl. and V6 Mustangs through the 80s and 90s use the same size ring & pinion too. They are usually good to ~ 350 hp. cheers Ed N.
Ford put the 7.5 in Mustang GT's in 1985. Of course, they changed it to the 8.8 the next year. I did the same thing to my 85. But before I swapped it, I ran the hell out of it. They were only rated at about 210 hp, but it was a 302 with 4bbl Holley. It never broke. The transmission let go twice, but the rear end was fine. I would think you would be fine with the 7.5 as far as strength. I agree the 8" would look the part more, though.
The 7.5" will be just fine unless you do some hard launches, as others have stated. You may want to keep your eyes out for a V6 pinto or a mustang 2 as these both came with a narrow track 8" rear end. There are a lot more parts available for the 8" rear end and it is more easily serviceable. The brakes from the 7.5" will bolt directly onto the 8" as well so there are no headaches in changing brakes over. I would go with the 7.5 but keep my eye out for an 8" in one of those cars, they usually come cheap and it never hurts to have a spare sitting around should anything happen to that 7.5.
The Rangers that came with the 7.5 were the four cylinder units, and the light duty V6. Any four wheel drive with trailer tow option carried an 8.8, often with traction Lok. The rear axle you have will have very small brakes, if its in good shape, it should do what you want, but please put on the ten inch brakes for your own safety.
Now that you're feeling good about using the Ranger differential: If you wanna go with an 8", I think I have 2 '65 Falcon V8 ones that should have 3.25 gears (open drive) and a Maverig 8" (probably lower numerically than 3.25, open drive). I'd have to check with someone else that mentioned they might want one of them. The price for one would be $100 at the most. They all need brakes. Thanks, Kurt
Not entirely true. The 8.8 didn't appear til the rangers were 5ish years old, I think the better rear end coincided with the intro of the 4.0 V6. Honestly, I wouldn't build around the 7.5 or 8 inch, even though they'll work fine behind a 6 cyl or unabused V8s. 8.8s are dirt cheap in junkyards, and have awesome used performance parts availability because of the 5.0 crowd. This enables you to cheaply fine-tune the gear ratio or carrier type later on, and also bumps the overall desireability and resale (should you ever sell). Quite simply, the 8.8 provides expansion room. Good luck either way.
Don't be afraid of the 7.5 I made lots of locked, slick equipped dragstrip p***es in my '79 Capri on one and it never whimpered. If you will be mainly using it for driver status you'll be fine.
Do any of the 8.8's come with leaf spring suspension, or are they all coils and wishbones confused? Thanks, Kurt
Late 80s thru the 90s ranger and explorer were leaf spring 8.8 applications. Many light duty rangers have the small rearend all through that time frame though.
I like drop out (hotchkiss style rears) for the ease of repair and changes. But it sounds like this ranger piece is plenty strong for wwhat you are doing. Hang the ranger rear for now and look around for a better deal on a 8"that doesn't need redone and with the right gears, if you think you may need it latter. Good luck!!!!
the only 8.8 that would have the width requirements for an early roundbody falcon would be a relatively rare unit, 91-92 only with 4.0 engine. later rangers have wider axles
I had an '86 ranger - with the 2.0 motor. I eventually swapped in a lightly warmed over 327 and 'glide. I beat the snot out of that rear for several years - never did blow it up. It amazed me. I do suppose the lack of traction helped quite a bit. I did get enough traction once to spin both tires on the rims once - of course that was while I was pulling a trailer full of wet concrete! I always planned on blowing up that rear end - somehow it hung in there.
If you use an 8 inch out of a Maverick the third member will not be centered. I have one in my model A and it has the pumkin offset to the drivers side with the yoke coming out off center of the third member so that the drive shaft is centered. I don't know if you can tell what I am saying from these pics or not. EvilKazeevil
Thanks so much for all the valuable information. I will bump up to the 10 Mustang drums in the back. Thank you for that bit of wisdom. Too bad I already threw away the 10 inch backing plates I had laying around from another project! Now I just have to figure out the best place for the panhard Rod, (currently in mock-up mode as a broom handle) and I should be good to go. peace you all.
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