which rear end?

[Ranchero50]

I you are going CV front end that I'd go ahead and get the matching 8.8" rear, then weld the perches on at the bump width.

[ultraranger]

Beware the big Ford passenger car 9-inch rears by around 1974-up had 5 x 5" lug patterns.

The big T-Birds of the up to 79 vintage had 4.5 patterns with 9" rears. Lincolns shared the same rear ends as the Granada and so forth with a 4.5 pattern with 9" rears and some had rear disc brakes which is a popular conversion for vintage mustangs. Never seen a 5.5 on a Ford passenger car of that vintage. T-birds, Rancheros, LTD's etc all had 4.5's.

Remember in the mid to late 70's cars were downsized for fuel economy because gas prices went way up! Rims from my 77 Bird would fit on my 64 Bird, and my LTD wagon!

There are LOTS of combinations out there without cutting or modifying your axles, all with 4.5 patterns. Just look around or find a lug pattern chart from a custom wheel mfg as they have listings for most vehicles.

You don't have to cut or re-spline axles if you find the right ones, 28 spline for conventional and 31 for posi. Typicality the rear ends had different length axles on right and left sides so there are plenty to chose from. Lots of Ford parts are interchangeable, that's how the factory saved money.

Example, the backup lights on 64 to 66 T-birds are the same as the cargo lamps on lots of later model Ford pickups, the ones above the rear window on the cab.

Good luck....

The '77-'80 Lincoln Versailles were close cousins to the '75-'80 Ford Granadas and Mercury Monarchs. The 9-inch rear ends on the Versailles came standard with factory disc brakes but, the same 9-inch disc brake rear ends were also optional on the Granadas/Monarchs. They had a 5 x 4.5" lug pattern.

However, the Granadas/Monarchs/Versailles weren't full-sized passenger cars. They were an intermediate sized car and they will have a narrow housing width (52-1/4" wide, minus the axles and brakes). They will be much narrower than a Bumpside 9-inch housing and even more narrow than a Dentside/Bullnose 9-inch rear end. A Versailles rear end will be perfect for an early Mustang but very narrow for a Bumpside pickup.

Full-sized cars like a mid-late '70s model Ford LTD, Station wagon, Lincoln Continental or a Lincoln Mk IV, etc., will have a wider 9-inch housing with the larger 5 x 5" lug axle pattern.

The axle housing in the fore ground to the right is a (disc brake) 9-inch housing I have from a '79 Lincoln Versailles. The 9-inch rear end housing immediately to the left of it is a drum brake housing from an '80 model Mercury Monarch. These would be very narrow for a truck.



This is the '79 Versailles 9-inch disc brake rear end housing compared to an '81 F150 9-inch 'Torino' large axle bearing flange rear end with a 5 x 5.5" lug pattern. The '80-'86 Bullnose 9-inch rear is the same width as a dentside 9-inch rear end (ALL Bullnose 9-inch rear ends came with 31-spline axles). The overall width difference of the Versailles housing is ~7.750" narrower than the '81 F150 rear end housing (this is excluding the Bullnose axles/brake assemblies).



The simplest solution to getting a 5 x 4.5" lug pattern in a 9-inch rear end with the correct width housing would be to locate a 9-inch rear with a 5 x 4.5" lug pattern from an '80-'83 F100 Bullnose pickup.

[jmfattdaddy]

I need help I just bought a 77 ford f100 and rear end separated on way home , the whole spindle came out , I wanted to replace rear end anyway so I can have discs on back , any suggestions on new rear end?

[HIO Silver]

I need help I just bought a 77 ford f100 and rear end separated on way home , the whole spindle came out , I wanted to replace rear end anyway so I can have discs on back , any suggestions on new rear end?

Umm... rear axles don't have spindles. Do you mean that the wheel and axle came of the axle housing?

Rear discs sound good but there are probably better things to spend it on at the moment.

If ya gotta have'em for bragging rights, visit TSM Manufacturing's website.