1952-59 Ford 53 rearend

i have a 53 2 door ranch wagon with the stock rear end the car had a 6 cyl with overdrive i am trying to figure out what the rear end is and if it is worth keeping i plan to narrow it

 

Man, a wagon would be cool...have you tried the "lovefords.org" website??? They have a bunch of little "decoding" pages on there...you may be able to find out what rear-end came in that baby that way.

 

If the rear has a removable back plate is more likely a Dana 44 which Ford used in the wagons up to 56, TBirds (55/56). This rear was used in other cars as far as I know. Parts are available. If it has a removable center section (like a 8 or 9 inch) it is the run of the mill rear Ford used. Good replacements (bolt in) are 65/66 Mustang (8 inch), 57-59 Fords (9 inch). You might be lucky to get a 65/66 Mustang ( 9 inch), but they are rare.

I don't know how they compare strength wise to a 8 inch, but they were the heavy duty rears of the time.

Another option is a V8 Maverick, a little shorter but I do not know if the spring perches are in the right place.

 

well im not so concerned about much lining up im tubbing choping channeling cuting building my plan is for it to be only 41 inchs tall when im done and and push her around with a 500 hp small block so i will make it fit if it suits my needs i just dont know what i need is a dana 44 going to work to my advantage

 

Don't know enough about them to give any kind of advice on the Dana's, but with 500hp I would go with a 9 inch..