Im working on a 1963 Mercury comet that had a 170 and I am swapping the rear end to something heavier and I found a Ford rearend that has a tag on it that says WCZ-E2 2.80 3LC 630 Its out of a 64 Mercury Comet. Is this a good rearend for my application..? is there something better? I am running a 289 with a cam/intake/carb nothing crazy just a daily beater
The other thing I was going to add is, I have a late 60's bronco out in my bone yard that has a narrow wheel base it was a factory v8... any thoughts on what rear end it has (possible a 9"?) and if it would be close to my merc?
I would not consider the 64 Comet rear end any better than the 63 rear. A factory V8 late 60's Bronco rear end is a 9 inch Ford. Most come with a 3.50 ratio or better ( 4.10 ). A LOT of them are POSI Post the tag code here ... or go to the internet to decipher. http://www.fordification.com/rearends-ford01.htm ... is where I look The Bronco has the spring pads welded on the top of the rear axle tubes. The Comet needs them on the bottom of the axle tubes. The Bronco is 58 inches wide measured from Wheel Mounting Flange to wheel mounting flange. It is narrow enough to fit under the Comet but the Bronco uses the old Ford pickup wheel pattern ( 5 on 5.5 ) . Some folks find this objectable ... but that fact also makes the Bronco a GREAT candidate for early Fords. I have a Bronco under my 32 roadster.
I have been told that a 57/58/59 Ford car rear end is almost a direct bolt in for the 64 Comet ... and they have the standard Ford car pattern on the axles. They are also the narrowest 9 inch Ford rear end ever made by FOMOCO. I would sell the Bronco rear and buy a 57 Ford rear ...
the 64 rearend....is it an 8" with the removeable third member? and 5 lug? 2.80 ratio sounds like a reasonable rear for a small block driver....
It has a removeable third member, the website I checked out to decode it said it was a 7 3/4" with a 2.80 ratio... the old axel was a 4lug and tiny appearing compared to this one that is a 7 3/4" Deuce..Im not certain but im fairly sure its alot smaller... It has a removable differential cover instead of the removable third member..
If you're planning on putting some kind of big engine in there later, then go for a 9", otherwise the 8" (never heard it referred to as a 7.75, but not surprising) should be fine. That's what they used with mild V8s as original equipment.
oh By the way would the WCZ-E2 2.80 3LC 630 Rearend out of the 64 Comet (factory v8) have factory limited slip or posi? any way of telling easy without disassembly and what do I need to do to spruce it up to make it reliable for awhile, the donor car had 80k miles on it.. just change the gearlube in it? or perhaps a rebuild of sorts?
they coded the tag for tracklock, it would say 2L80 if it were....not 2.80 which means open diff I would go thru the whole thing, but you'd probably be ok changing seals and fixing the brakes, if it does not look like it was leaking, then don't even bother with the seals.
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