I've got my eye on a 1951 Ford Victoria that has a 350/PG Chevy drivetrain but the original Ford rear. It apparently has pretty low gears and the engine is revving pretty high at "not too fast" speeds. Are higher gears available for the Ford rear? Anyone done a rear transplant with a Chevy bolt pattern rear (front bolt pattern is Chevy; 'nuff said about that) in a '51 Ford? What rear did you use? note: I'll look up the rear widths for the '51 and various GM rears; but I'm looking for real world experience. Did you use original Ford springs/shocks or something else? Also note: 700R4 or 200R4 is always a possibility. I don't know if the front floor/trans tunnel will take it without cutting and welding though. Anyone put a 700R4 or 200R4 in a '51 Ford? Advice for me? If I do put in a 700R4 or 200R4 am I opening a different can of worms with the original Ford rear? i.e., will it hold up at higher speeds, etc.? Same question if I find higher gears for the original Ford rear? Advisability with original Ford bearings &/or brakes.
The little hypoid rear in Shoeboxes was it's own little thing. They look like a tiny 8" or 9". Dana 40??? They are a so so unit. The oldtimers claim a hot flathead could shred one. It's like anything, if you abuse it it will not live long. 6 cylinder cars were 4.11 or 3.73. All V8 cars with standard transmissions were 3.73. Overdrive cars were 4.11. Fordomatic cars were 3.55. So it's possible to find a 3.55 center section. Shoeboxes are finicky about axle width. Too wide and you are into the quarters. Too narrow and you are into the wheelhouse. Brake Flange to brake flange on a Shoebox should be 61"(this data could be incorrect...always measure!!!!!). The width of a 55-57 Chevrolet is 60". I would run the original for now but I would be looking for a 55-7 Chevy rear axle. The spring pads will have to be cut off and new pads used. The Ford hangs below the leaves, the Chevy sits on top of the leaves. I would change to the Chevy axle mainly for the bolt pattern. I'm of the opinion two different patterns front and rear is BS. The Chevy is a much better unit. BTW it's a Victoria not Crown Vic. The first Crown Victoria was 1955. The first Victoria Hardtop is 1951 and it's the only Shoebox Hardtop. All in all, a neat car. Depending on how high the engine is mounted, you may have to do some floor work for the OD transmissions. This may be why a Powerglide was used. I sure do like an aluminum Powerglide though. The Shoebox has a drag link that interferes with the oil pan. A old trick was to mount the engine high but this gets into the firewall and transmission tunnel depending on what's used.
Amen on Crown Vic being 55/56 only. If it doesn't have the band over the roof it isn't a crown. Those Tri 5 Chevy rear ends aren't much stronger though. Checking some charts 49/51 Merc is 61 inches but I'm getting conflicting measurements on the shoebox 49/51 Fords so your first step might be to pull the wheels off and measure from wheel mount surface to wheel mount surface so you know the exact measurement you are looking for and not someone else's guess or not correct way of measuring. Some measure from backing plate to baking plate and that is more useless than tits on a male dog.
@atch and @F-ONE The ‘51 Fords got an enlarged transmission floor hump to accommodate the new for ‘51 Fordomatic. However, as mentioned, how the swapped power train was mounted may be a factor with a different transmission. If that does prove problematic, it would be worth studying which method of dealing with that is the best option......i.e. repositioning the engine or replacing the floor hump. As for rear axle width, i am highly skeptical of the 61” wms/wms dimension. I have owned a couple of shoe boxes and the last one got a Granada 8” axle which is about 58” wms/wms. The axle often recommended for Shoeboxes is the Maverick 8” which is 56.5”. Ray
The rear axle sits on top of the springs, and a 56.5" 8 inch out of an early V8 Maverick bolts right in after moving the spring pads in about 3/4" on each side. The stock emergency brake cables hook right up.
If that rear end is strong enough I would use the 200r4 and leave the rest alone.. If your changing drivelines I would use a 454 - Th400 - 3:08 rear end.. This drive train is one of the best, it will really get that Vicky moving. This will reveal the next phase, the suspension and braking. Were never finished with these cars..
It's the Mercury that's 61" according the data I have found. The best thing to do by far, is measure and know where and how to measure. Ray, It's maddening the data.... It shows 61" for 41-48 Fords 61" for Mercury....Supposedly Mercury, Ford F1 and Ford Wagon are the same axle with the Wagon rear having a 5x4.5 car bolt pattern..... Again the best case is to measure.
Yep, a tape measure is your friend. I think when those axles are referred to ‘as the same’, the reference is that they are all Spicer(Dana) style, the earlier models (‘49 -‘51 Merc all models; ‘48 - ‘56 F1/F100; ‘49 - ‘56 Ford wagons and ‘52 - ’56 Merc wagons and the Early ‘Birds). I believe the earlier versions are Spicer 41 and were replaced with the very similar Spicer 44 somewhere along the way. Another area where they differ is, as you mentioned, by width and among the models by wheel bolt pattern. Ray
I had Dutchman Axles narrow the housing on my 9 in to fit my Model A. They told me to set rear tires where they needed to be and then measure between the inside of the wheels. They narrowed the housing and set it up so the pinion was centered. It wasn't that expensive. The axles were the a bit costly.
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