Technical Rear end help

Hi, I have 1953 Ford Customline that I just did a sbc motor and th350 swap on. The problem I have now is I still have the stock rear end which has 4.11 gear in. I basically can't drive it on the freeway. Need to know what rear end I can use that will fit right with little to no modifications. I've heard people talk about Granada and Maverick rear ends but no strong pointers on what exact year to look for. I did find a junk yard data base that has quite a few 75-77 Granada rear ends but not sure what to look for.

Thanks

 

this link should help you zero in on what will work once you determine what your current axle width is.
http://www.carnut.com/specs/rear.html

 

I used a 66 mustang under my 53. I used the brakes off the 53 rear end backing plates and all. Just install the Mustang rear with no axels. Leave the 53 backing plates hooked to the E brake cables, Put 53 backing plates onto the mustang rear and install axels. Probably need to change yolk on rearend side of drive shaft. OH I did have to elongate the center hole on the Mustang rear to fit over the centering pin of the springs.

 

52-54 Fords have 57.25" wide rears, so you'll need to stay close to that. Early Mustang 8", Falcon/Comet 8", Early Ford big car 9". Some say late model 8.8" Ranger/Explorers work too. You can get away with other later, wider rear axles if you use the right wheel & tire combo, but the rear wheel arches are low so getting tires bolted up or removed will be a chore. The stock rear can hold up to some abuse with a small block as long as you're not neutral dropping it at 5k rpm and doing big burnouts.

The 4.10 R&P option was for overdrive equipped cars, so why not just swap the TH350 for a 700R4 or 200-4R with overdrive?

 

An 8 inch out of a Grenada should be pretty close at 58 inches wide. This chart stolen off the net gives a number of common rear axle widths. http://www.roadkillcustoms.com/hot-rods-rat-rods/Rear-End-Widths.asp

 

Thanks guys. I think i'm going to run with the 65-66 mustang rear end. Seems to be the exact length. Anything else I should ask the junk yard about before I commit? They have 5 there on the yard that are all 8 cyl.

 

rare to find a wrecking yard with early Ford 8" rearends in stock. hope that they still have the aluminum tags with gear ratio on them. take a measuring tape to help verify.

 

You could swap out the turbo 350 for a 2004R and keep the stock rear that way with .67 overdrive you could cruise with the 4.11's no sweat.Example 4,000 RPM with your 350 would be 2,680 with the 2004R.

 

most 53 6 cyl auto trans cars came from the factory with a 3.4 rear gear. not e z to find. Most 53 had a 3.9 or 4.1 rear.