rear end questions

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volare360rt

volare360rt

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Location
tillsonburg ontario
Good day everybody
first I wanna say this is my first post on this great site-I havent needed to post,can usually find what I need.
I am currently working at getting it on the road-its sat way too long
been working on it for over 15 years
Its my dads car that I am gonna be getting-just need the cash-he has a 32 ford 5window coupe he needs the cash for-milners from american graffiti painted blue
the car was originally from Texas-the the body is mint,the interior was scrap
BUT the old man had a 67 fastback with a bad frame-but decent int
the 318 gave way for a 360,I am gonna overhaul the tranny,I have a kit
I have been collecting parts for the last few years,as budget permits
it has no power stearing,no power brakes,the only power is under the go pedal :)

anyways
years ago we swapped the 7 1/4 with a ford 9" that we were given
the problem is it is way too wide,the rims I wanna use is under the wheel well lip-and 373 open gears
I measured it at about 61" from axle flange to flange.
I do have a F body 8 1/4,(77 volare)I would need to literally dig it out to measure-it is currently under a car that is buried under alot of junk
the chart shows it measuring at 54.3-now is that axle flange to axle flange?
I can assume so BUT I dont wanna spend a day and dig it out from under the car and find out it isnt much narrower-I know it wont take much of a beating,not without work,but I just wanna get the car on the road(if I can keep my dad out of the car I should be able to contain myself so it doesnt explode LOL)

my current budget is NOTHING-well I have to justify everything spent
but the car doesnt need much more to get it around
if it works I will need a drive shaft-can cut the fbody one
side marker lights(for some reason they disappeared when it was tore apart for paint)
tires-I have some for the front-the back will need to be replaced-after we get the motor rebroke in :)
the front drums have to go,but I think I can live with it to get it resafetied and running.need ucas for the fbody spidles
exhaust tail pipes,gonna get something bent up locally-the headers on it are very rusty,but will work till I can afford tti's



anyways
thanks in advance
 
I don,t know where you live?,but you should look for an A-body 8 1/4 or 8 3/4.Even a B-body rear will work.I believe the f-body rear won,t work.Good Luck.
 
well as I say I dont have much of a budget to get the whole car around
if I could find an axle cheap I would,I have looked a bit,so far nothing but I dont think it would be cheap

I see you are in ontario as well,where abouts?
I am London area-sparta is the closest strip,alto grand bend and cayuga are not that much farther away
anything in your area?

from the list an F body axle is narrower than a B body
the 9" puts the tires right under the wheel well lip,not good
according to the chart if the F body is narrower than a B
I know it will put the wheel out farther,but I dont plan on running a huge tire for now-eventually but for now I want it driving
 
The f-body rearend is approx. 2" wider than an a-body rearend if I remember right and your measurement you think it is verifies that cause an A-body rear is 52-5/8" wide. Should work alot better than the Ford 9" since it's pretty close to the original size needed. Not positive if the f-body driveshaft will work but you can try it.
 
OK
I found out the measurements are from HOUSING flange to flange
I need to remeasure the 9"

Fishy68-thanks-I guess I will have to dig the 8 1/4 out and measure it

the wheel track is about 6" wider for the F-3" for either side-according to allpar pages
the wheelbase is supposed to be .8" longer the the Fbody so drive shaft should be doable-maybe :)
but if I have to redo the spring perches I may move the axle back that 3/4 inch,center the rear wheels as well,

when I did the 9" I just welded in a 1/2"piece on the side of the perch-its been 10years+ but if I remember correctly it basically bolted on,just needed to shorten the drive shaft

anyone else with any more info?
 
Just remembered the F-body rear also has wider spring perches. Their 44-1/2" center to center where-as a A-body is 43" CTC so you would have to redo the perches. BTW: How could you do the perches different to move the axle back? Also remember that moving the axle back does center the wheels a little better but also takes weight off the wheels so you get less traction. Another thing to watch out for is to make sure your rear spring shackles are still at a good angle. Not too much or they'll bottom out.
 
Fishy's right. The F-body spring perches are about an inch farther apart than the a-body. I think Mopar Muscle put an F-body 8¼ in a 69 Dart in one of their articles. I know they moved the spring seats on the axle and maybe had to roll the outer lip under on the rear wheel wells. Sorry, I have intermittent Alzheimer's and can't remember more of the details.

Other things you will need:
  1. If the Cuda has a 7¼ rear, going to an 8¼ or larger rear end will require shortening the drive shaft.
  2. If the Cuda has a 7¼ rear and you are going to an 8¼ or larger rear end, you will need U-bolts & spring shackles for a 3 inch axle tube. The 7¼ has 2.75 inch tubes.
  3. Remember to have a complete emergency brake cable linkage, including the hookup in the drum. The old cars used one cable to connect everything, the newer ones used three.
 
Volare360RT,I,m in Oakville.I do alot of T&T at Cayuga,it,s about 1 hour away for me.I have an 8 1/4 A-body rear,sure-grip 4.10,s for sale.Only problem is it needs 1 axel.I broke it at Cayuga and replaced it with an 8 3/4.
 
the spring perches dont bother me-welding is no prob
a plan is the inboard spring relocation-wider tires :)
just take that into account when putting them in
-years and years ago I put a 351W into a mercury bobcat-made it a bolt in

the car was a 7 1/4-but the shaft was cut for the 9"

Pettybluedart-you have a PM
 
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