Alright so I'm shopping for a new center section for my 60 Galaxie because the original one is finally going out. The car was originally a 223 inline 6 car with a 2 speed auto. It now have a 302 v8 with 289 heads a 270 grind cam with roller rockers and 2 4 barrels in it with a c6 auto behind it. My questions are... 1. What was the original gear ratio? 2. Was it 28 or 31 spline? 3. What gear ratio would you recommended for street performance? I was thinking 3.73 gears. (The car has 14" tires all around) Thanks guys
Definitely 28 spline, I think 31 spline came out in the mid sixties. I would go with a 3.50, 3.70's maybe be a bit much with short tires.
I've never seen any rhyme or reason to Ford gear ratios. You could have anything from a 2.70 to a 4.11. It would have been 28 spline for sure. Now is the time to do the math and figure out what you WANT to have in there. Plenty of online calculators available. Measure your tire height and figure a few hundred rpm for normal convertor slippage. 3.73s aren't going to be great on the highway with a short 14" tire and no overdrive. Devin
If the rear hasn't been messed with, it should have a tag on one of the carrier studs. Usually closer to the top. The ratio will be the first numbers of the bottom row. The first number may be very close to the nut and hard to read. A '60 fullsize with a six and 2 speed will probably be close to the ratio you are looking for. I attached a picture of a tag with the 3 50 visible.
I wouldn't go with anything more than 3.50's, 3.70's are going to make the longer highway trips a little more trying. If you do a bunch of long distance driving I'd find some 3.25's or even 3.00's if you're running a short tire (26-1/2" and shorter).
does your car still have the door tag? if so it has an axle code on it it will tell you what was in it when it left ford if your car is just a cruiser i wouldnt go more then something in the 3;20 range and either way id put 15" wheels and tires under it but thats just me