Need some info on Lincoln Versaille rearend, pleae

[dave Robertson]

Thanks for the info, guys. Based on what I've learned here I'll give the Lincoln rearend a pass and resume my hunt for a Maverick 8-inch.

FWIW, Ther is a local boneyard here (Tacoma Washington) that has a Maverick differential, complete, still attached to the original Maverick. I'll give you their number if you want it.

Or you can do what I did thanks to Enjenjo's Tech section to the old site.

Take a 8" mustang II 4 bolt differential and convert it to 5 bolt by getting some Granada 8" axles and cutting them to the correct length using the 4 bolt axles for a length pattern. Really simple and cheap, too. I got the 4 bolt housing complete for hauling it away Then I got a complete granada axle for $100, I wanted a complete axle to utilize the larger granada brakes because the MII brakes are tiny. You will need to redrill the Granada backing plates to the smaller pattern of the MII but that is no big deal. The MII axle is 57" hub to hub and dropped right into my 56 ford ranchwagon

Cheers,
DaveR

What is the width of a stock granada rear?  

They are pretty narrow them selves aren't they?  ...57"?

Thr Granada is a bit wider than the MII .... it is 57 3/4" . Unless you are running super wide wheels the extra 3/8" per side will not be apparrent so it should work in almost all 50's applications without modification. And you should be able to pick up a complete Granada 8" diff at any boneyard for about $100. I locatede my 3.50 8" pumpkin at a swap meet for $100  so there ya are!

Pretty cool, huh?

Cheers, Dave

[Dirk35]

I too was wondering about the Explorer rear-ends.

I drive my Explorer daily, but have never really loooked at the rear, other than I know its disc brakes.

Hey Mike, if worse comes to worse, if ya know of anyone near Oklahoma, I know of a 8" rear from a 1974 Mustang II(oroginally a V6 engine car), that the yard owner will sell for about $75, which he will pull. I already harvested the front suspension from it and gave him the rest of the car to haul away.

It wouldnt be worth it to ship it though if you can find one closer.

[dave Robertson]

I too was wondering about the Explorer rear-ends.

I drive my Explorer daily, but have never really loooked at the rear, other than I know its disc brakes.

Hey Mike, if worse comes to worse, if ya know of anyone near Oklahoma, I know of a 8" rear from a 1974 Mustang II(oroginally a V6 engine car), that the yard owner will sell for about $75, which he will pull. I already harvested the front suspension from it and gave him the rest of the car to haul away.

It wouldnt be worth it to ship it though if you can find one closer.

I'm not sure about the Explorer axle but if they are the same as the Ranger, and I think they are,  then there may be a problem; The width is perfect at 58" but the problem lies in the fact that the pinion is offset, not by just a little but is located almost 3 inches closer to the passenger side hub. The Ranger uses a two piece driveshaft to take up the vibration potential caused by the exteme amount of u joint angle you would have if you tried to use a 1 piece driveshaft. Too bad, because the 8.8 gearset in the ranger has lots of posibilities.

Cheers,
Dave

[enjenjo]

There is no law that says the engine can't be offset to the right too. In fact, setting the engine in a 40's Chevy  to the right eliminates most issues with the steering, exhaust clearance, brake pedal, boosters ect. Most GM cars from 70 on had the engine offset to the right 2", so if you use a camaro or G body frame stub, you have to work at it to center the engine.

[40_Tudor]

Here's some rearend numbers I got from the chubby guys websight.
Hope it helps.

Popular Rear Axles
57" -70-77 Maverick 5-LUG 8", 57-59 Ford 9"
58" -78-87 Monte Carlo/Malibu (82-up metric studs), 75-80 Granada & Lincoln Versailles, 67-70 Mustang/Cougar/Fairlane
60" -67-69 Camaro, 68-74 Nova, 71-73 MustanG/Cougar
62" -64-77 Chevelle, 73-76 Torino

[WZ JUNK]

I have spent the last two days trying to find banjo bolts for a Lincoln rear caliper brake lines.  They are 7/16" 24 thread.  None of the auto parts stores keep them or can get them.  Ford does not sell them.  I could not find anything in the salvage yard that would work.  I am having a machine shop make me two bolts.  Another reason not to use one of these rear ends.  I wish I had never seen the thing.  Everything about it is hard to come by and expensive.  If I was to do it again, I would buy the brackets and convert it to GM calipers.

[parklane]

Dave Robertson or anyone else who knows:
You mentioned that the Granada came with 4 different rear ends. How can you tell the differece between the 8" &  8.75"?   :?    You can answer on this post or email me.

parklane@sentex.net

Thanks
John

[Fat Cat]

Dave Robertson or anyone else who knows:
You mentioned that the Granada came with 4 different rear ends. How can you tell the differece between the 8" &  8.75"?   :?    You can answer on this post or email me.

parklane@sentex.net

Thanks
John

A 8" loads from the front and an 8 3/4" loads from the rear like a GM 10 bolt.

[dave Robertson]

Dave Robertson or anyone else who knows:
You mentioned that the Granada came with 4 different rear ends. How can you tell the differece between the 8" &  8.75"?   :?    You can answer on this post or email me.

parklane@sentex.net

Thanks
John

A 8" loads from the front and an 8 3/4" loads from the rear like a GM 10 bolt.

Another way to see it is that the 8" looks just like a slightly scaled down Ford 9". The 8"and9" pumpkins look almost identical,as a matter of fact I know several folks who bought a nice 9" pumpkin at swap meets and were upset when they tried to put in their 9" housing. One way to check if the pumpkin is an 8" or 9" is to measure the distance between the the two bolts at each end of the 'flat' on the top and bottom of the housing. An 8" will be about 6 1/8" and the 9" is about 6 5/8". Also the pinion nosepiece is quite short, maybe only 10 inches or thereabouts

The 8.75 looks completely different; it does not use a separate removable pumpkin that loads from the front. There is a removable cover on the back end of the housing  and the gearset has to be installed directly in the housing. The 8.75 looks deceptively like the modern 8.8, but it aint the same!

Cheers,
Dave

[parklane]

Thanks Dave and Fat Cat. I've seen both, but didn't know what the GM style rearend was. I learned something again. Dave, are doing up a 55-56 Ford wagon? Maybe you could conact me and tell me what you have in mind for it ie.drivetrain, suspension etc., as I'm doing one and like to know what others are doing with them. Or anyone else with the same years car, sedan,wagon, ragtop etc

Thanks              
John
email    parklane@sentex.net

[dave Robertson]

Thanks Dave and Fat Cat. I've seen both, but didn't know what the GM style rearend was. I learned something again. Dave, are doing up a 55-56 Ford wagon? Maybe you could cont act me and tell me what you have in mind for it ie.drivetrain, suspension etc., as I'm doing one and like to know what others are doing with them. Or anyone else with the same years car, sedan,wagon, ragtop etc

Thanks              
John
email    parklane@sentex.net

John,

If I pushed the right buttons you will see my 56 ranchwagon in the 'before' and 'after' photos. I could probably write a book about the things that will make a great and relatively easy swap, and also the things NOT to do. A short list is to find a good "Grandma's 76-80 Ford Granada donor with a 302 v8. This will furnish the engine, trans, power steering     ( maybe, as there are a couple of other options), complete power brake system from pedal to brake drums, driveshaft, lowered spindles with disc brakes, differential, and lots of little bolts and electrical stuff. I dont know if fatcat wants me to take up a lot of bandwidth with lots of detail so e mail me at dave@ghboats.com

[Fat Cat]

I dont know if fatcat wants me to take up a lot of bandwidth with lots of detail so e mail me at dave@ghboats.com

The monies sent to the board was spent to allow a lot more bandwidth than in the past. Use away!