I have an opportunity to acquire a complete drum to drum rear axle****embly from a '50 Ford. The price is right, but the question is, how strong is this setup? Is it anywhere near the famous Ford 9 inch? Thanks
Generally, the early ('49-'50) rearend is NOT held in high regard. However, it WAS used thru 1956 which meant it had to handle some fairly strong 292s and even a few 312s.
Not sure that the 1950 diff which was mated up behind a flathead and 1956 diff are the same since by 1956 they were running OHV engines. I'm pretty sure the brakes are different and possibly diff gears. I have a 1950 diff in my model A tudor which I've had on the road since 1986 and it has served me well. I am told parts would be hard to come by but so far the only issue I have had was with a broken yoke which was chromed and figured that chroming may been part of the cause. I run a 200hp 289 windsor engine with a stock C4*******. My gears are 3.7:1 running with 30 inch tires. Attached are a couple of pic's that were not taken for the diff but it can be seen partially which may also help in verifying what you have... I hope this helps.
I remember 49s & 50s had axle problems. They would snap just driving down the road. I think the factory fixed the problem. But I changed a few of them. Iceman
Back in the day I had a 51 Ford with a flathead and I broke 3-4 axles. Then a friend of mine gave me a set of "heat treated" axles from a stock car and that ended the problem.
i'd like to know more about this "heat treated" setup, as heat treating makes metal harder and less prone to wear, but also more brittle and easier to break... am i missing something?
Heat treating is more than just "making it harder"! It is possible that the original axle was too hard/brittle, so annealing, re-hardening, then tempering the hardness back to the correct ductility is what was done to make the axles live.
I would pass,,I've had 2 in the past,one under a 40 coupe and one under a 40 sedan,,go with a 9" and you will happy. HRP
HRP is right!!---Why fool with a flathead diff. when so many 9" are available? All the drag racers must know the answer.
Fiddy It depends on the process. For instance a iece of metal that is case hardened is really only hard on the outside. I think it was not a matter of heat treating on the ford axles it was a matter of poorr quality to start with from what i understand something that the ford motor Company had to over come. I know that We had a '50s with a valave in head engine in it when I was younger that snapped an axle then another and finally the fella that owned the local junk yard (quit a bit older ten us at the time) had us snag th axles from a '53 or 4. That pretty much cured the problem. We at least didn't snap another axle while we still owned the car and we didn't change our driving habits.
Find a 8-inch from an early Maverick,[fits like a glove] stronger than the stock pass car rear end. An older hotrodder once told me, the stock rear ends are like a card board box filled with Plastic gears!
Had a '53 with a stock OHV 215cid 6 cyl that I could break the axles almost at will. IMO, why go to the trouble to install a weak rear axle just because it cost a few bucks less? Will cost you mre money plus time, trouble, and grief in the end.
Well here is an update, after telling you guys how much I liked my 1950 diff and how well it has run since 1986 behind my 289 Windsor, a pinion bearing let go the other day. No real warning for very long before it gave up. It sounded like an axle bearing at first, I checked the oil level and all was fine and figured I need to look closer later but within another 20 miles it was all over. I am about to pull it a part to check what damage has been done with a view to either fixing it or going for a 9" diff in its place.
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