Here are a couple of questions for you guys out there that are familiar with Ford rear ends. I have been told that Ford put a 9" rear end in some 56 station wagons and sedan deliverys. Is this true? Second, is the 9" that was put in cars starting 1957 the same width as the stock rear end in my 56 Victoria? The gear set in my Victoria gave out and we're having no luck finding new gears so we're beginning to explore other options. Thanks

Wichita,KS

49-56 Passenger cars used aTimken differential. Mercs, Wagons, Sedan deliveries and F-100's used a Dana 44. None of the these have gear sets that will interchange with a 9".

http://ford-y-block.com 

20 miles east of San Diego, 20 miles north of Mexico

John  Did the 55 and 56 mercs have the same dana 44 as the 55 56 ford wagons,birds and police cars ?  Carl

Thanks for the reply John. I guess what I'm asking is not whether the gear sets will interchange, but was the Dana 44 a 9"'? Also, how does the width of the 9" differential in the 57s and up compare to the width of the stock 56 rear end? How much modification is required to put a 57 rear end under a 56?Thanks

Wichita,KS

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I'm not John, but the 54 thru 59 had the same width rears, wheel mounting surface to wheel mounting surface. Spring mounting pad were the same (or within a 1/2 inch) - but I am not sure of this for the 59. The Dana 44 did not have a removable center section like the other sedans had.

54 Victoria 312;  48 Ford Conv 302, 56 Bird 312
Forever Ford
Midland Park, NJ

To answer one of your questions.....No, the dana 44 used in wagons, police cars,  all cars that came with a 312 and sedan deliveries in 56 is not a 9 inch.It's completely different from any other rear end Ford used.

 

Paul,

Boonville,MO

And with the Dana 44, i found once here that  the crown wheel carrier offset was different depending on the ratio gearset in the diff, and was difficult to match different g/sets to get setup done, just my expeirence.

  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

Carl:

I believe the wheel bolt pattern was different on Mercs in that era, but have no way to verify that.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

Yes.

 

The ’57 & ’58 car housings are a bolt in under the ’55 & ’56 Ford cars.  Even the parking brake cables hook up correctly.  The ’59 car housing is the same width as the ‘55/’56 car but the spring perches are slightly more outboard on the '59 housing which ideally needs to be relocated to accommodate the narrower width springs of the earlier Fords.  U-Joints are different from '56 to '57 though so some work in that area will have to be performed before bolting up the driveshaft.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

I put a 57 9" under my 56 and it was basically a bolt in. Only thing I had to change was the rear joint on my drive shaft. I used the big truck yoke (3 3/4") so I could use the bigger stronger U-joints, but if I remember correctly the stock 57 yoke was the same size as the 56 so no cutting required? Please correct me if I am wrong on this.

I love the smell of burning rubber in the morning!