Johnny Cola "The Kid" gave me this 53 Ford Pick up for helping him out. It's kind of neat as it had a Caddy Motor/hydro in it. I don't think it was put in for Hot Rod reasons as much as it's what was around as the time. Anyway, the body panels are all super solid and I am giving them to my dad for a 55 he just picked up, it has the big front brakes that Tuck was looking for so that's cool too. I mostly just wanted the steering box and maybe the rear end, which I thought at first was a ford truck 9", but it looked goofy so after looking at it closer it dawned on me that it was the Caddy rear end that they got the motor out of. So, Is this 57ish Caddy rear end the same as the Olds/Pontiac ones? Seems like it could be. Is it worth fucking with? Thanks, Bob
Bleed the backing plates RULE, thanks for keeping me in mind! You guys still planning on making the the trip to this neck of the woods this weekend? "the kid" has a cool as coupe by the looks of it. cant wait to see it in person. we can all go rip shit up and eat square pizza's.... Tuck
Take a PIC OF IT.... Take a pic of the centersection, Is it a POSI? pull an axle and count the splines??? Do you want or need a pontiac rearend? Let me know... I got one that I'd like to get rid of........ LUKE
Funny thing about the Caddy/Hydro swap into the Ford. There's a '52 F1 here in The Mountain that a guy bought for its Caddy engine and trans (he restores Caddies). I wonder if they used the rear end too. He's sorta weird, I don't know if he'd let me look.
I owned a few 48 - 50 F1's in my day.....years ago. It was fairly common, at least in my area, for them to have a Caddy rear end when they had a Caddy/ Olds or 430 Lincoln. They needed a rear end that was NOT geared so slow.....the donor car rear end worked out great. In and around Charlotte NC in the early 70's......a lot of guys would buy a complete old Caddy/Pontiac/Buick or Olds and put the complete driveline in a old Ford pickup. I am sure it was common elsewhere also. I broke tradition and bought a 66 Chevrolet Highway patrol car that was wrecked. BigBlock Chevrolet 427 with a 400 turbo. Got a 60 Ford F100 9" and a car 3.50 center section. Went real good but would not stop in a 50 acre field .
I'll try to take a pic, but I figured someone smart could just tell me if they are the same or not. I'm trying to figure out weather it is worth pulling this rear end or not. I do realise it will have high gears, but is it that same Burly rear end that the pontiac Olds have? Luke I might need that Pontiac rear end you have if this dosen't pan out. Tuck I think we are coming, I have to get ahold of the guy though. Anyone? I thought you guys new everything.
Bob, I am not sure about the Caddy rearend, I always have heard the Buick-Olds-Pontiac were the same (Buick had the f'd up enclosed driveline though, so most people call it a Pontiac/Olds rearend). The P/O rearend looks kinda like a big early Ford 9-inch, in that the rear housing is round and smooth, and of course it has the bolt-in third member in the front. They are physically bigger than the 9-inch, and should have a 5 on 5 bolt pattern, unless it was changed to match the truck fronts. Should be 11 or 12 inch diam brakes. Your rearend could very well be the same, I just am not familiar with the rearend that Cad used if it was the same as the P/O style.
Bob, if you are going where I think you are going, remember to keep an eye out for what we talked about. Take some pics if you can, pretty please!
Hey Bob- The Cad rears are the same as o/p rear ends in the sense that the centers unbolt out of the front, and I know that the pinion bearings were the same on B/O/P and Cadillac from like '52 to '59, leading me to believe that the centers are the same. They changed the center section a little bit in 60 (even though the rear end housing is still the same) and went to a smaller pinion bearing (I just went through this whole bullshit for my '59). There should be a single digit number stamped onto the center section (at least that's how they did it in '59) and if you can read the number I can probably get you the gear ratio if you want. If you're really lucky, it'll be a rear end outta a hearse or an ambulance, cuz those were the higher gear ratio-ed rears...I know a guy out in SoCal that used to race Caddys back in the 50's and he told me that the hot ticket was to go to a junkyard and pull a hearse center and stick it into a regular cad to go drag racin'....And it just so happens I know where there's a '60 Caddy ambulance sittin in a junk yard......
I believe Caddy is all by itself. The Hollander manual doesn't show any parts as interchanging with Poncho/olds. I think you got an orphan there, Bob..Caddy only.
man, I still am in need of pontiac parts, seems like they are everywhere but where I am (sigh) whine, whine, piss moan....blah blah....enough of that from me... ROCKY, man I know I am like a little yappin chihuahua, but once again, I am in need of your vast knowledge of things pontiac...I know I posted here a while back inquiring of what would be close to a bolt in replacement for the rear in my '56 pontiac, the time is drawing near for my going to drive it home from arkansas, and I still havent located anything. There is a fellow here that has some 55 56 and 57 chevy stuff, and says he thinks he has a rearend...i know the bolt pattern is different, and the u-joint is probably different as well...but other than these two minor (minor to me, I just want my car here so I can work on it!!!) differences, is there anything else that would throw a kink in plans of this being a temporary fix? I know a place in Ft smith that I can pick up an adaptor u-joint while I am there...is the driveshaft gonna be too short or too long? e-mail me at deadelvis1@oz-ar.net if you would be so kind, sir...thanks...
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