Rear End Options under Fenderless "A"'s, what did you use?

[AHotRod]

I'm looking for options on rear-end housings to use under a fenderless "A" sedan (Coupe..all the same). My current "A" coupe I have a mid-60's Dodge 8 3/4" and it works great.
Butt, I'm interested in other options if you have any.
Glenn

[Fullblast]

I used a rear out of a 73 ford mavrick (8") fits nice
Fullblast

[Levis Classic]

8" out of a 66 Mustang!

[34Fordtk]

I have a 40 rear for my coupe....dont know if/how it will work out just yet.

[Toqwik]

I used 66 Nova

[286merc]

65 Mustang 8", T coupe on A rails

[52plybizcoupe]

mid 70's ford half ton 9" on home made rails and a cut down a 4 door body

[thirtytwo]

use what you got i put that rear in the top 3 of strongest, plus you have it!

[Stovebolt]

I've got a 36 rear end and 48 brakes.

[metalshapes]

'57 Ford wagon. ( early 9")

[lefturn]

mid 70s granada works great on the modelAs that i have built in the past.

[Blane_S]

8" from a 1963 Ford Ranchero

I was really happy with the width of this one. I used a stock model A rear spring, and the over the axle spring mounts were welded about 1" from the backing plates. Seemed just about right to me.

-Blane-

[STUKA]

i'm runnin a '50 ford pickup rear in my '30 coupe-ugly,but it's channeled,so you can't see it anyway..perfect width,and has the same bolt pattern as early ford....

[Rainer]

I'm running a gm rear end aout of a 81 turbo trans am - works great too
http://land.heim.at/pampa/251635/DSCN1957.JPG

[Reggie]

I've ran an Early Bronco 9" rear which comes with the early ford bolt pattern on my A coupe.

[AHotRod]

32,
I'm not looking to replace the one in my "A", these ideas are for my NEXT "A" Sedan.
The 8 3/4 under my HotRod is Great, 3:55 gears and Sure-Grip!
Thanks!
GLenn

[AV8Paul]

I think the banjo rear end is the best looking by far for a high boy. For a full fendered car I'd probably go with a nine inch ford.

[AHotRod]

Ok...
Thanks for your opinions and suggestions.

[porknbeaner]

AHotRod
We're using an 83/4 from an A body(?dart) in our dodge coupe, granted its not an A but its relativley close.

Up north of me here the rear of choice for A Bones is the 8" out of an Explorer.

Of course non of that is trad, but it seems to work well.
You could always cut down a 9" Ford also, if you get an older one it will have a smooth back, nice place of a pin stripe or two.

S-10 rears are working out real well in a lighter car without too much mill, good width and they're a dime a dozen.

Nuff options for ya.

[AHotRod]

P&B'r...
I had heard that there is a difference in the S10 Blazer rear between the 2WD and the 4WD units. As for a rear that can take a beating...I've been told that there are guys out there with these 7.5" dia. GM rear ends under "light-weight" rods (1700-2600#s) with slicks and they are able to keep them alive.
I really don't want a rear that I have to narrow....been there done that a few times.
Keep the info rollin..............

[porknbeaner]

AHtRD
I thrashed the devil out of an S10 2wd pickup rear for about 3 years. It was totally thrashed when I was done with it and a friend put it under his Big Block Cutless and is still running it. I do know that the Ring and pinion are chipped ansd he had to replace the all the bearings. But its a good width @ 541/4" flange to flange and shouldn't give you much problem under a car as light as an A-Bone.

I don't know the width on the explorer rears but the few guys I know that are running them are just bolting them in. They don't look goofey so they must be pretty close to the right width.

[AHotRod]

P&B....I never have built a HotRod yet that did'nt have to much power ( http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif) so I want something as reliable as i can affordably get.
Glenn

[porknbeaner]

A friend has a full fendered A coupe with a souped 454 and an 8" Ford. He's been on the road for about 7 years and never touched the rear.

[Harell Los Angeles]

I haven't had any problems with the dana 44 under my car yet and I have been pretty hard on it. Mine came out from under a '50 merc but they were under lots of things. Later
Harrell

[286merc]

If you want to go sort of modern the Ford 8.8 under mid size cars is a good fit.

The exact same rear is under rwd Volvos at a fraction of the cost, and is often a locker with discs. Volvo used a lot of 4.10 and 3.73's so it is great with an OD box. 1987-96 are all ford pattern and SAE hardware thruout.
Perfect fit under an A and several rodders are even using the locating arms.

[Revhead]

Anyone one using a 55-57 chevy rear? I have a '55 one with 3.55 gears I was thinking of using. I'm starting to collect parts for an A project. didn't know whether to sell it off or use it.

[spark]

8 inch Sprint diff in my 30 pickup.

[KustomLincolnLady]

We are using a 57 Ford 9" also

Debb

[fab32]

KKL, Not to criticize your ride but looking at the picture I'm reminded of why I ALWAYS build a rearend for my customers and for my own projects. As you can see the pumkin is offset in the frame. On these small cars that we build, expecially the ones built hi-boy style, the offset centersection really looks bad IMO. When viewed from behind it gives the impression that it wasn't ENGINEERED correctly. Under a fat fendered car or one that is real low with fenders you can sometimes get away with it because it's not out there for everyone to see. I know there are some combinations that you can just BOLT IN but I've found very few that are perfect. I start with the wheels and tires I'm going to use, mock them up under the car so they look "right", measure the distance between the back side of the wheel mounting surface. This is your overall rearend width. From there figure how much the rearend needs to be narrowed to get this figure and compensate for how much the pumkin is offset on the rearend. This should give you the amount needed to be taken from each side (usually different amounts) to get your total width and the rear centered.
Sometimes you get lucky and can take the short axle and use it on the long side thus requiring only one axle that has to be shortened and resplined. I know it sounds like a bunch of work but the result is just another thing that makes your car look like it was done in a professional manner.

Frank

[metalshapes]

Fab, on a really low car like mine you might have to use a rearend like that.
I started out with a Truck rearend that was the right size, and boltpatern but it would not work because the perfectly centered pumkin made the yoke off center.
That would have pushed the driveshaft over a couple of inches, which would have left no space for one of the seats ( the seats are between the driveshaft tunnel and the framerails.)

[LUKESTER]

I'D rather have the driveshaft straight, and the rearend look crooked..... LUKE

[Pancho]

Frank, When you center the 9" rears doesn't that offset the yoke really far to the right side? Is that not inportant from a drive line geometry standpoint? Will the u-joints allow for this offset? I'm really curious since I had planned to do the same thing as KLL but after looking at the photo I can see the drawback to it in a hiboy. I already have an original rearend but haven't come across any good way to convert to an open driveline.Can an original stand up to "spirited" driving behind a Buick V-8?

[metalshapes]

[ QUOTE ]
Will the u-joints allow for this offset?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, there should be no problem with that.
Lots of trucks are built that way and it works fine on them.
Besides, when the axle goes up and down, the driveshaft runs at an angle too...

[fab32]

U-joints are made to work at an angle. A perfectly straight running u-joint will not last long. If it is not running at an offset the needle bearings will Burnell (a term meaning to imbed) themselves in the cross. You can see this when you take a u-joint apart and there are little serrations running lengthwise in the bearing surface of the cross. Usually this is the result of lack of lubrication but it can present itself if the joint is run at a 0 angle. In this case the needles have stayed stationary and imbedded themselves into the metal of the cross. When the u-joint runs at an angle the needle bearings roll back and forth and distribute the grease between the wearing surfaces minimizing wear.
There is no production vehicle made that I'm aware of that has the driveshaft running perfectly true to the centerline of the vehicle. If you don't believe it watch the next time you have yours on a hoist. Look down the center of the car and you will notice a slight angle (some more than others) of the driveshaft. If the u-joint can work in an up and down motion (which it does constantly while the car is in motion) having the driveshaft at an angle (within limits) is no big deal.

Frank

[Pancho]

Fab32, What is an acceptable offset? How many inches? I think I'm going to have to center my motor in the frame just because of the size.So assuming we're measuring off the centerline how far can a guy go? Also what will this offset do to traction? I think I'll use a PeteandJakes four link with a Ford transverse spring. I've never had an A before but would assume that the short wheelbase coupled with light weight will make for some traction issues. Bob

[fab32]

Pancho, As far as there being a limit I don't think you would reach it unless it was a 18" driveshaft and it was offset 6". At that time it would be too much and would require some centering of the yoke. I had a Ford van rear once that had a 11" difference in the axle lengths. It came out of a special built vehicle for the power company, and I couldn't believe the driveshaft angle it had. It apparently worked because it had over 60 thousand miles on the odometer when we pulled it out. It wasn't scraped because it was worn out, the body was literally rotting in half from our lovely salted Michigan roads.

Frank

[AHotRod]

286 MERC.
Thanks for the TIP on the Volvo rear!
Sounds interesting........

[telecaster_6]

I used a 58' ford 9" under my A sedan.....ended up too narrow once i got it Z'd and channeled to death though....had to have crazy offset wheels made...

[KustomLincolnLady]

Fab, thanks for all the info. I am new to the world of the model a, so I am learning a lot! We've always had 50's custom cars. I never noticed that in the pic till you mentioned it. It's been bugging me all day. Rob just got home and I read your post and asked him about it.
He said that they took all that into consideration and it didn't really bother him. The car is going to sit pretty low, it will be channeled and won't be able to see much of it. I love reading all these posts about model A's giving me a lot of lessons http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[AHotRod]

I agree

[Tudor]

yeah - this is friggin awesome - I am going volvo hunting

does anyone know if any modern rears have the 5 on 5.5 pattern?

[Boones]

59 Ford 9" going in my Sedan A... the offset factor bothers be some but I figure I can live with it.. it has a 3:50 posi..... the volvo set up is a good to know thing

what width are they (mount surface to mounting surface??

[AHotRod]

Next?

[warbird]

Revhead,
My "A" roadster's been running a '57 Chev rearend for the last 35-40 years. I hear tell a previous owner managed to blow it up once, but I've had no problems with it.

[Mutt]

Revhead - I ran a '56 housing from '65 till '95 when I peeled the fourbar bracket from the housing at Indy. (Wasn't double sheared). Now I'm running a '57 housing (Double sheared) on my T. Check the axle splines for twisting. If yours are twisted I have a couple of sets of axles. It should hold up fine under a light car.

Mutt

[AHotRod]

Excellant info coming in.............

[Rude Dude]

I used a nine inch rear out of a 67 mustang

[Sixcarb]

55 chevy's work nice.

[AHotRod]

Cool http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[Rusty]

I used a 57 chevy rearend. Worked great and looks cool. Very traditional. Just have to use adapters to run the early ford big bolt rims.

[Kiwitinbeater]

I used 57 to 64 Ford Half ton pickup.A bit narrow for the Z`ed frame on the Sedan but with 50 Merc 15" wheels Reversed it`s fine.I also offset the Chevy 6 an inch and a half to the passengers side so it gave me more room to drive the thing,lined up a bit better to the offset pinion on the 9",plus by using the pickup rear you keep the early wheel pattern so it matches the 40 brakes I have on the front.Hope this helps....

[jerry]

i'vealways been partial to the 60's olds/pontiac rears. nice smooth housing. lots of area for striping!


jerry

[bustingear]

S10

[Hackerbilt]

Heheheh...but can you trust the rear axle recommendation of a guy who calls himself... BUSTINGEAR? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
I'd say S10 would be fine with a stock small block V8.

I like the 9 inchers myself but they ARE overkill in most vehicles. I've heard they have additional drag due to the tooth contact layout that causes them to be a little harder on gas as well. I wonder does that carry over to the 8 inchers?

I HAD a 9" bargained for...looks like the bugger is gonna give it to his brother instead! Blood is thicker than water they say...but I did ALL the guys welding for the last several years! free....! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif
Oh well.
I DO have an S10 rearend....!?!? Hmmmm....Maybe, maybe not.

Bill

[bustingear]

Really, the stock S10 gear ratio in this one is to high. Makes burn outs hard to do. This car is a top end car with a P-Glide and a 4800 rpm manifold. I get em in the end.

The handle comes from when I raced stockers and had welded the spider gears on a poncho rear end and it let go when I was in a pole position. very hairy and was hit twice. This was on A 4/10's asphalt track in NC.

[AHotRod]

BustnGear.
Nice "A"!
What are you running for a trans and engine?

[bustingear]

I hate to say it on the HAMB but......350 chevy. That is what the frame was welded for. Powerglide. Lumpy cam. Demon 625 Road model. Not the new JR Baby shit. They are hard to set up, but when you get it right, they really throw the juice down. $2.00 per gallon Ouch!

[AHotRod]

yea...my "A" has twin 500 CFM AFB's, butt I've got it tuned very well, and runs great on 87 octane.

[Hackerbilt]

Ahhhh....shattered spiders! Been there...even with a 9"er!
Damn...YOU lost them in a scary spot didn't you! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

The only reason I shy away from the S10 I have is the 4.10 ratio it has. I have an excellent T350 tranny and plan some highway driving so it might get a little buzzie on the tach. I have word out for a 700R4 but I do love those little T350's...never had a 700R4 before!
This S10 has a locker of some sort as well so...I MIGHT use it.
It just looks so SMALL after the 9 inchers ya know!?!?
I tend to worry too much...

I had a welded Datsun 610 rear axle in a SBC Datsun sedan before and that ALMOST lasted thru a summer of street racing and daily driving!
Eventually I shattered the welded spiders! Hahaha
Just had to remember not to nail it coming outta water unto dry pavement. Oop's...I forgot! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Didn't bust anything like an axle or C&P however...they were kinda SMALL too, believe me!

If you use your head, just about anything will be reliable on the street!

Bill

[AHotRod]

The 7 1/2" GM rears scare me with HP.
And the 8" Fords are getting tough to find around here.
and the Mail-Order Rear-End Guys are .......well....there as an option.

[brianf31]

I'm running a 9" out of a 69 Mustang. It allows you to run 3 3/4" backspacing (which is pretty common) and still lower the car. You'll have ample clearance between the i/s of the tire and the body. It probably wouldn't look to good on a high-riding car (unless you run a good bit more b/s).
The '67-70 Mustang and Cougar rears , whether 8" or 9", are 59 1/2" from outside the drums (wheel mounting surface). The 9" in these cars is the "light duty" model (small bearing, small housing). So they're a little lighter than the big car (Torino, etc.) housings. Also, you can interchange 8" brake hardware with the small-bearing 9".

[AHotRod]

BTTT

[AHotRod]

btt