I have a 1938 Ford and looking to convert to parallel leaf springs and small block Ford V8. I have a good 67/68 Camaro 10 Bolt but have also located a freshly rebuilt Granada 8 inch rear end. What' confusing me is the previous owner indicated a Maverick V8 rear is ideal for these years but that only seems to be the case if you want to run very wide rear wheels and need a very narrow rear? My plans include a mild 302V8, 15x6 and 15x7 steel or alloys and minimum outlay of time and cash. May use the setup after lowering for the front or go to MK II. I think Ford in a Ford is preferable but it depends on tradeoffs and a 9 Ford inch seems like overkill in addition to hard to find inexpensively. I found a lot of good info on pros and cons for different rear ends but wondering if there is a "cookbook" for the most simple and cost effective conversions for the 35 to 40 Ford car frames. Lots of good info in these HAMB threads but not too much on "why and how to" from a frame modification or effort standpoint. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/search.php?searchid=12956877&pp=25&page=4 What rear end fits a 48 Ford? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22112&highlight=ford+rear+end+widths Sp. is a 58 inch wide rear with 43 inch spring perches ideal or do I need to continue looking for the narrower Maverick rear?
a Granada 8" rear is a good fit at about 58" wide , i have used several in `35-`40 Fords. of course , it does depend on the offset of the wheels but you should be fine with 15 X 7 as you have found out , the Maverick 8" is a bit narrower at about 56-1/4". i have one in my `36 , but i'm using deep dish 8-1/2" wide Torque Thrust wheels. to use 15 X 8 steel wheels i need a 1" spacer because the rear is to narrow for them as as said , the wheel offset makes a difference
In addition to the Ford in a Ford thing, I like Ford 8" & 9" rear ends better than the GM 10/12 bolts simply because the ease of working on them and the ability to recondition bearings at the axle ends. The 10/12 bolt axles use the axle itself as the inner bearing race and if you have a bearing failure the axle itself is damaged and requires replacement. On the 8"/9" Fords the axle bearings are complete units and if they fail, do not damage the axle shaft. If ring/pinion service is needed, the third member drops out of the housing for easy service on the bench. The GM are integral with the housings and you either work on them in the car or pull the whole axle housing. Ray
Why not try to find a donor ford product that has all you need, engine , ******, rear and bunch of other stuff taht can be utilized ?
I have used Granada's and 57-59 car, the 9'' has a larger gear ratio range but for me 3:00 or 3:25 in a 8'' with 275 75 15 on 7'' wheels works great. And as said above, the 8'' or 9'' is simple to work on.
Lets See What Your Starting With. Another Build In Progress Always Inspires. Plus As You Can See I Like 38s.
I just swapped a Lincoln versailles 9" rear into my '36 Ford sedan, taking out a 10-bolt in the process. Using ch***is engineering rear leafs, it went right in without having to move the mounting pads on the housing. Good luck with your project.
I have had two of the Versailles disc. brake rear ends and both have come out of Granada Gia's, and like Freeze said the the Granada and 57-59 fords bolt right in with the Ch***is Engineering parallel leaf springs.
I installed a 68 camaro rear axle in my 38 ford coupe using the Ch***is Engineering parallel leaf spring kit . Very happy with the results, although I did have to use lowering blocks to achieve a more preferable ride height.
Get your wheels FIRST. Remove the rear from the car, set it on blocks or whatever at the ride height you want, set the wheels under it where you like the look, measure between the wheel faces and get a rearend that is that width. Done.
X2. I have a 79 granda rearend under my model A coupe, its almost too narrow for me. You may want to consider a slightly wider rear.
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