Anyone know if there's a definitive answer for this subject or a more accurate source? Having spent alot of time on the 'net looking for info about the width of a stock 40 Chrysler rear-end, I found a chart that listed all '37 - ' 48 Mopars at 60". OK, fine.... (yeah, I know.... I shoulda measured it on the car.) But, with that tidbit of information on hand, I bought a '67 (or '68) Coronet rear-end that supposedly was 59.6" No problem, only about 3/16" per side difference, right ? Now, none of the sources I read up on make it exactly clear where this dimension was taken from....I would think it be Wheel Mounting Surface-to-Wheel Mounting Surface. Maybe I thought wrong. After getting the rear-end out of the '40 Chrysler and up on a table to measure...it measures 61 3/8" from WMS to WMS And, the Coronet rear-end measures 60 1/8". Big difference. Had the chart info been correct, the swap would've been ideal. The track width may be what they were referring to, but they don't mention it, and if it is in fact the track width, why would that be more important than WMS to WMS ?? IMO, the track width is just a reference dimension....as it all depends on what wheel/tire combination you're running, and whether the wheel has a modified backspace or offset. I'll probably go ahead and get the wheels & tires that I'll be running and see if it all fits between the springs or inner fender wells without rubbing. May have to make some spacers and put in longer studs. ugh Woulda been a lot less stressful if the info had been somewhere near actual measurements.
..those are 2 of the many sites I looked at.... the 1st one lists Mopars at 60 - 62" (?) the 2nd one.....60", isn't correct for the early Mopars either, at least the one I have.
None of those sources are reliable either. Carnut's numbers are based on the factory-reported tread width, which is changed by wheel offset. (It's a good ballpark number for comparison, but not the same as the actual flange-to-flange of the axle.) Sometimes it's the same as the axle width and sometimes it's not. My proposition is that we start a HAMB thread and get a bunch of guys to actually physically measure their rear ends and post the results for all to see. The problem is that a lot of guys measure from backing plate to backing plate (which isn't the same) or otherwise don't measure correctly.
I measured these: The stock WMS to WMS of the rear end width of a 49-51 Merc is 61 1/4 inches. The stock WMS to WMS of the rear end width of a 1940 Ford is 59 1/2 in.
For Mopar, try http://www.moparts.org/Tech/Archive/axle.html Go to axle lengths for 8 3/4's. There is a bunch of infomation there related to what you are looking for.
thnks dblgun, some better info from that site; and these dims are what I got when measuring the Coronet rear-end too Rear end widths, drum-to-drum: A BODY '66-'72= 57 1/8" B BODY '62-'63= 58 1/2" (And '64 Max Wedge) '64 = 60 7/8" (Exc.Max Wedge) '65-'67= 59 1/2" '68-'70= 60 1/8" '71-'74= 63" '71-'73 wagon= 64 3/8" C BODY '65-'69= 61.75" '70-'71= 63.0" (Chrysler & Fury) '70-'73= 64 3/8" (and '69 wagon) IMPERIAL '65-'66= 61 15/16" '67-'69= 62 5/16" '70-'71= 59 3/4" '72-'73= 64 9/16" E BODY '70-'74= 61 5/8" A100 '65-'70= 61 3/4" D100 '65-'71= 63 15/16" '72-'74= 64 3/8" ........................................ ........................................ Spring perch widths (center-to-center) A BODY '66-73= 43" B BODY '62-'70= 44" '71-'74= 47.3" C BODY '65-'73= 46" E BODY '70-'74= 46"
It would be good to have a Tech thread to capture all of the axle data...who is volunteering to take charge? I have had the Mopar numbers on my site for sometime now http://www.qualityengineeredcomponents.com/?page_id=1023 and some Ford numbers that I found...I think they are wms numbers but not positive as I haven't had the opportunity to verify 65-66 Mustang 57.25 inches 77-81 Granada/Versailles 58.50 inches 64 Falcon 58.5 inches 66-69 Torino, Ranchero, Fairlane 59.25 67-70 Comet, Cougar, Mustang, 59.25 inches <VAR id=yiv972817652yui-ie-cursor></VAR> 71-73 Mustang 61.25 inches 70-73 Ranchero, Fairlane 9" 61.25 inches 70-71 Torino 61.25 72 Ford Van 3/4 ton 68 inches 73-86 65.25 inches 57-59 Ranchero and station wagon 57.25 inches (narrowest 9" housing) 66-77 Bronco 58 inches but has 5-on-5 1/2 inch diameter bolt circle 79-93 Mustang 7.5 and 8.8 57 inches Lincoln Mark7 LSC, SVO Mustang and Fox Body Saleens use a 59.5 inch wide rear axle 94-98 Mustangs use a 58.5 inch wide rear axle 99 and newer Mustangs use a 59 7/8 inch wide rear axle
Maybe adding spring pad center-to-center dimensions would be an added bonus. If, say, I wanted to put a narrower 10 bolt into my 70 camaro the spring pad info could be really useful.
Does anyone know what the measurement is from the wheel hub to wheel hub on a 69 Chevelle is? Id like a comparison between that and a newer 90's Caprice. I have no idea what that one is either.
I like the idea of a definitive HAMB list but ONLY if all the input is based on the SAME measurement -- and that should be WMS to WMS And the first post should tell what that mweans and how to measure it (yah I know, basic, but you gotta start somewhere). I know what hub to hub means but that is not WMS to WMS.