Not sure if this is O.T. but it is in the interest of finding what fits, hot rodding, and adding a margin of safety to what will be a 60's style themed hot rod when complete (Other than the modern rear end). I picked up a 1997 Ford explorer/exploder rear because it was the same width as the stock 57 rear and figured I could make it work. It is a 4:10 ratio and has rear disc brakes! My good friend Don welded up new spring perches for me and it seems to fit in pretty well. Even the emergency/parking brake cables look like they are going to work out. I should have cut off the stock perches before painting because they look like they will be very close to the shocks when mounted. I will be sawzalling them off and doing some touch up. I may even be able to use the explorer sway bar although I might make up a pan-hard bar instead. As soon as I have more time I will be experimenting and updating my progress. Here are some pics of the rear and progress on my soon to be rolling ch***is.
The parking brake mechanism is a pain in the *** to re***emble, even with the right brake pliers those springs are theworst I ever did. Use the original cables and brackets if you can, I don't really care forthe Lokar brackets and cables.
You do realize that a sway bar and a panhard bar do two different things, and one of them does not replace the other.
The rear looks good in there, I am considering the same thing for my 55 chevy wagon because of the proper width and most of these rears coming with a posi. Does it look like the offset pinion will be a problem? I have read of people having clearance issues on lowerd cars. I was thinking of using a mustang rear instead of the explorer, as they have the pinion centered. The drawback to the mustang rear is that it does not have the 31 spline axles like the explorer, so I may buy stronger axles and order them with the correct 4 3/4 bolt pattern and then have the brakes drilled to match the chevy bolt pattern. I have also seen where people cut the axle tubes and swap the axles from one side to the other to center the pinon on the explorer rear. Any way you do it, you get a decent strong rear the right width with a posi and decent axle ratio for junkyard prices.
I also used an 8.8 from a 93 Exploder in my coupe, great fit and a great rearend IMO. I got a 3.73 posi but chose to go with drum brakes. Your setup is looking great.
I am not sure yet. When I get the body back on in a few weeks I will have a better idea. I may have to cut out a piece of the tunnel and do a little fabrication. Maybe just a little m***aging with a B.F.H. (Big Friggin Hammer!). If you can get the non offset center section it may save a little time. A word of warning to anyone who tackles this- the 14" wheels I had laying around did not clear the rear calipers. I am going with 15" wheels so its not a problem here.
I put a 8.8 in my 48 chevy and the parking brake was the easiest thing of the installation. I used all the exploder brackets , bolted them in and used a turnbuckle to attach the cable to the stock 48 brake mechanism.
What the heck do you do to get the wheel lug pattern straightened out so both ends take the same wheels?
You can use adapters to get the proper bolt pattern, but that will widen the rear track width. Another option is to cut the long side axle tube down to length so you can use another short side axle and that will center the pinion, then to make the width back to 60 inches you could use the wheel spacer adapters to the chevy bolt pattern and end up at the proper width. I was thinking of just drilling the chevy bolt pattern in the axles and brake drums or disks.
I plan on painted steel wheels with hubcaps or chrome wheels with baby moons. If I decide to go another route I will pull the axles and get them re-drilled or go with new axles. It doesn't really bother me that the bolt pattern is different from front to back- When they are hidden by hub-caps only I will know!
No, a panhard bar is not required with parallel leafs. I was simply wondering if he thought a panhard bar and a sway bar did the same thing, as his comment in the original post said "I may even be able to use the explorer sway bar although I might make up a pan-hard bar instead."
Nope- Just want to bolt something to the brackets on the rear. I am pretty sure I can get the explorer sway bar to work. The only issue I will have is clearing the spare tire well which I may not keep anyway. I may just cut them off and grind clean. Should have done that before I painted the rear!!!! Thanks for the info from everyone!
I've got Fords on the front and Chevies on the back... Wish someone told me they were supposed to be tha same......
If you poke around the Pull-a-Parts you can find these cheap. I pulled one from a 40,000-mile two-door explorer with 3.73 gears and a limited slip, complete with all the brackets and brake stuff for $150. If you do your homework, they have different ratios and even limited slip diffs...
Just an FYI. It is not a pan hard bar. It is a Panhard bar, pronounced "puhnard". It was invented by Panhard et Lev***or, a French automaker, and has nothing to do with, as one nitwit mag writer wrote, making it "hard to pan" !?!?!?!
I am using an 01 explorer rear in my 36 chevy, 4.11 gears, posi, 31 spline axles , disc brakes(older explorer are drum) I had steve at industrial ch***is here in phx shorten the long axle tube so I could run two short axles and center the diff. Pretty tough rear and super cheap compared to comperable 9inch. I think it came out to 56.5? inches after narrowed. fits perfect I think I paid around 300 for both rears from guys parting exploders on craigs list.
The only real problem is the axles are C-clipped... If you really abuse them they can fail. Of course they make C-clip eliminator kits for around $450, but that defeats the low-buckness...
may want to try it before installing the sway bar. explorer sway bar may be too stiff for a '57. may be rough as hell, especially on one wheel bumps
i did the exact same thing as you did for my stude. Eddie bauer edition. 4;10 posi with one side shortened.paid 150 for mine.i went to LKQ and bought another short axle for 40 bucks. It was cheap and easy.i have a narrowed 3;55 non posi 8.8 for sale minus the short axle for 100.00
I have read the 8.8 is similar to the chevy 12 bolt, uses some of the same bearings (sourced from the respected interwed). When I get to the point of serious horsepower I will upgrade the c clips. If I was building big horsepower or racing there are stronger options. The mustang rears are only 28 spline and those fox body guys are throwing down some power, 31 spline should last awhile. Plus replacement parts are cheap right now.
If anyone is worried about the missmatch bolt patterns, there is a ad in the parts cl***ifieds for a jig to drill your axles and brakes to the pattern you want for around $90.
Doesn't matter with the disk brake rear ends. The brake calipers will hold the axle in case of a failure.
Are they C-clipped for sure? I believe the truck 8.8 rear ends use the old 9" style pressed-bearing retention, and I believe the Explorer disc brake kits (supposedly all standard production parts) required the large/Torino style 9" bearing. Eli
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