I am in the middle of building my 29 fenderless coupe and I mocked it up using the 67 ford 1/2 ton pickup rear end I thought I was going to use. At 60 inches wide, it seems like that rear end might be a bit too wide for my liking. There's quite a bit of space between the quarter panel and the inside edge of the tire. I want to keep the 5 X 5.5 bolt pattern because of the early ford wheels I'm runnning. Can anyone think of any other ford/merc rear ends that would be a bit narrower and still have the 5.5 bolt pattern? Thanks.
I have a 74 Maverick rear in my 36 Ford. Check out this link, it list the width of just about every rear end ever made. Good Luck!! http://www.quickperformance.com/Technical Info/sus_measure.htm
S-10's are what my car building buddy likes, they keep the tires tucked in VERY close, but you'll pick up a little room with adaptors to 5 on 5 1/2 adapters. The 4x4 rears are wider than the 2wd, and they're 40 bucks at the local pick your part here!
Try measuring the '57-'62 for truck 9" axle, I believe they are narrower. Have been involved in a couple builds that employed the early F-100 axle and it fits the Model A body well. I can't even Believe the intrest in S-10 **** on this site My Parents own an S-10 and those things are the Biggest pile of **** !
try finding a t bird from about 63 to 65 i think they are about 56" if i remember correctly, i had one on my 29 tudor that i was building before i sold it as far as for a s10, dont do it, why would you run a adaptor when all they are good for is breaking off the studs, trust me i tow quite a few of them in a month
where are you measuring this 60 inches? backing plate to backing plate , or wheel mounting surface to wheel mounting surface...?
I have used S-10's with adapters on a few builds with no problems.They are cheap and plentiful. Roundy rounders have raced with adapters for offsets for years!!!
I had the same issue, when I asked Keith at Dutchman to make the axle tubes for my quick change I told him I wanted 60" from wheel mounting surface to wheel mounting surface. He asked me a dozen times why I wanted it 60"................I told him because that's I measured. Well, I was wrong and my American's with the 275x65x15 tires looked like there was a mile between the tire and side of the wheel well. So..............I sold the American's and had special steel wheels made that have a negative 6" offset to get the tires closer to the body and I switched to 16's from 15's.......................depending on the tire wheel combo you are using you can always change them.................. The perfect width rearend for a Highboy is 56.5/57" depending on the wheel and tire combo you are going to use. IMHO
I've got a 55 olds for mine,if I recall,I think its going to be just right,but I haven't measured it in a while.
Early Ford Bronco 66-76 I think are the years are a perfect fit and the right bolt pattern you are looking for. That is the route I wanted to go for my A coupe, but couldn't find one around here for a reasonable price....I went the S10/adapter route.
There is a post in a thread someplace on the HAMB that has just about every single rear axle ever made with dimensions. Its fairly easy to drill the axles with another set of holes for your bolt pattern
Here is a site that will give you most of the info you need; http://50chevy.freeservers.com/Suspension_Widths.html#Suspension
Early Broncos had 9-inch rears with a 57" bolt up to bolt up width and a 5x5.5 bolt pattern. I just picked one up for less than a hundred bucks complete. Look in 4x4 forum cl***ifieds.
Just picked up a 66/68 Ford 8" at a local Cougar s**** yard that is 54'' wide w/center pinion. going to use in a fenderless Model A coupe. Plan to use with a vintage 283 with less than 300hp. Plan to keep the build light. Truck axles are HEAVY!!! Great for hauling dirt but not so good for speed. A good shop can cut a 9" to any width needed.
Why not try a 67 jag independant r/e looks good when powder-coated and polish the aluminum. Have this on my t-bucket with quick change center section from speedway looks really nice.
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