That rear end was marginal behind a 312 y block, which was the reason the Tbirds, wagons, police cars, and pickups used the Dana 44 till the 9” came out. Those applications used it even behind the 292. Parts are hard to come by. Which means if you break it in Timbuktu, you’ll be looking for a whole new rear end on the road. There’s alternatives out there, from the 9” to the 8.8s. And you’ll be able to pick the ratio suited for the new use. That 400 is a torque motor (if it’s a camper one). Plan accordingly.
As stated, those 49-56 Ford rears used in most of the cars were not very strong and there are almost no parts for it. Unless you baby it, it will probably fail. A common swap for those cars uses an 8" rear out of a 70s Maverick and is almost a bolt in. Although not as strong as a 9" or 8.8", unless you hammer it, it will hold up to 300 HP fairly well. I put one in my 53 behind a healthy 302 and it works fine. An 8.8 out of an early Ranger PU is close in width and easier to find.
Where are you located? My buddy here in Maryland has a 9" out of a '57 Ford. He was going to use it in his '53, but now he is selling that. He's asking 300 for the rear. Gene.
Are you bolting 10 inch slicks on it a and trying to run 10 seconds on the drag strip or just driving it on the street? If you are putting super sticky slicks on it trying to hook it up hard no it's not going to last, but if you are use cruising around on the street having fun then it should not give you any issues. Now if you are going to do mast amount of dipshitness, burnouts, smoke shows, doughnuts etc... It likely won't hold up ether.
I'm running an 8 inch out of a Maverick in my '54 Ranch Wagon. WMS to WMS at 56 1/2 was perfect. All I had to do was move the spring perches. Another almost bolt in is an 8.8 out of an early Ranger. Again 56 1/2 WMS to WMS. But if you can't find an earlier one, a later one can be shortened to the correct WMS to WMS by using 2 short axles instead of one long and one short one. That way you only have to shorten the housing and not an axle as well.
Another vote for an 8.8… early rangers are 58” and are drum rears… perches DO have to be moved but the 28 spline are the smallest and are really strong, have one in my 56 club sedan(390/4- speed) 4:11 gears… no problem.
x2. That's what I'd run. Easy to find, easy to get parts, lots of OEM ratios to choose from, many with a limited-slip too!
I have that exact rear in my '60 Falcon, although it now has alloy axles, an Eaton Detroit TruTrac, and SVT Cobra discs.
The Jalopy Journal
