LUVTruck.com

missed the edit button

PapaG I think the S-10 is a hair wider than LUV, but not positive. What kind of upgrade on the engine are you looking at? You put any kind of power in there go to a 9" trust me I broke all of them before I went a 9" inch. Plus you narrow a nine inch you can use what ever offset wheel four link ladder bar or leaf spring the possibilties are endless. Its really not hard my buddy made the jig at home the axles are the only cost but they are not cheap. But again custom axles and the possibilities are endless.

I will most likely go with a 9" . Looking at a sb of somekind or a cummins 4bt
I am not sure yet. I would use one of my 5.7 diesels but pistions are very, very hard to find.

I wonder how close would be a Mustang rearend be?

RIchard

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75 Luv, 350 V8, TH350, Camaro rearend. New 1975 Luv Step side. Stock for now.
Grandmaster of the "Shade Tree" way.. I can't see the yard for all the cars. Come on down and we will sit on the porch and watch the grass grow.

This is what I found out.


The 1957-1959 full-sized Ford passenger car 9-inch rear ends had a housing width of 52 ¼" across, flange-to-flange (same as 1965-1966 Mustang 8-inch rear end). These rear ends also share the same leaf-spring perch locations as the 1965-1978 Mustangs with a 43-inch distance center-to-center. (direct swap for '65-'70 Mustang [will give '67-'70 Mustangs slightly more wheel well clearance]. These "narrow" 52 ¼ housings will also fit the '71-'73 Mustangs but wider wheels & tires will be mandatory unless spacers are used with the stock wheels to space them back out.

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75 Luv, 350 V8, TH350, Camaro rearend. New 1975 Luv Step side. Stock for now.
Grandmaster of the "Shade Tree" way.. I can't see the yard for all the cars. Come on down and we will sit on the porch and watch the grass grow.

If you are looking for a rear end thatis close without and mods check into the late 80's to early 90' explorer. I think these are 8.8 but could be wrong may be a 9". I believe this is about the narrowest factory rear end you can find that has any kind of strengh.

From past experience, i would stay away from Mustang housings. These housings are concidered "Light Duty" so that makes them just a little bit tougher to mod. It's easier to burn a hole thru the axle tube when relocating perches with axle tube distortion can throw off axle alingment. And the odds of getting an open diff with 28 spline axles are pretty good.
Finding a 32 spline assy with posi is more common than a 28 spline. 28 spline assy's are more hassle than they're worth.

I've learned the hard way that upgrading to a better axle should be looked at finding a stronger assy and fitting it to the vehicle, not finding one that fits and making it stronger.
Find an axle assy that has a 32 spline setup with a gear ratio that you can work with. Cut the axles and housing to size. Weld new perches to the stronger axle tube(figuring pinion angle) and then you'll have a good setup.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

I agree that is the only way to go its not worth spending the money only to break it. Do it once right and be done.

One a minor disagreement. Not mustangs rears are equal. I was working at a automotive machine shop. The boss had a 72 Mustang, 351 Cleveland. We had a 9" Mustang in it. 6:00 to 1, Doug Nash modified 4 sp with a 3:00 first gear. S/S Mustang. 7500 rpm lanuch. Resplined axles. Nodular center.
Never had a rearend faliure in the 2 1/2 years I was there. You could not touch the rear end after a run. 3rd degree burns if you did. We did find a cure for that........ and the winner is. Teflon coat the ring and pinion, by a industral coating place.This was '85 in them old days. They have a lot more coatings.

Richard
I am going to start a new post with a few questions on Luv 9" rears

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75 Luv, 350 V8, TH350, Camaro rearend. New 1975 Luv Step side. Stock for now.
Grandmaster of the "Shade Tree" way.. I can't see the yard for all the cars. Come on down and we will sit on the porch and watch the grass grow.

Blue Meanie:
Where did you have you Ford 9" tubes and the axles cut down. Did you send it all out as a unit?

I know about the 32 spline axles. the 28? (30 I think) are not bad.. You got to push some HP and high rpm launches.

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75 Luv, 350 V8, TH350, Camaro rearend. New 1975 Luv Step side. Stock for now.
Grandmaster of the "Shade Tree" way.. I can't see the yard for all the cars. Come on down and we will sit on the porch and watch the grass grow.

Finding a factory performance Mustang axle is so rare that it is almost impossible to find one in a wrecking yard. Generally, what you could find in a yard would be a basic setup axle assy. At this point, any performance axle assy is still under someones cherry, restored ride.
For anyone that's looking to build a strong assy, start with a big Ford car or truck and build from there.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

You are correct. We just happened to have the one than came in it. I would guess you would have to find a BOSS 302-351, Big Block 'stang or Shelby. But some of those would be big money. The big car rear ends are not much wider, but It doesn't matter if you have to do anything to do it. Truck rear's should have bigger brakes.

Richard

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75 Luv, 350 V8, TH350, Camaro rearend. New 1975 Luv Step side. Stock for now.
Grandmaster of the "Shade Tree" way.. I can't see the yard for all the cars. Come on down and we will sit on the porch and watch the grass grow.

I have found it's cheaper just to go ahead and spend the money. I bought a nine inch out of an old truck for $150.00 I had it narrowed for $90.00 It's not that hard. All you have to do is get a piece of pipe or tubing that will fit inside the axle housings so it will remain straight when you weld the axle tubes back in. I bought some axles from Moser for $200.00 The guy that cut it down rebuilt the third member with new bearings, crush bushing, seals for another $100.00 That's $540.00 If you buy the same thing from the big boys you are going to spend at least $1200.00 If you want to do some research, you will find out about thicker ring and pinion gears, stock nodular cases, ect Some of the Ford, and or Mustang sites have the numbers for the really strong setups. Unless you are going with a lot of horsepower, you probably only need and eight inch. Those will handle 350 to 400 h.p. and are a lot cheaper.

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I want to be different like everybody else.

Papa G. I remember seeing a lot of bumper stickers a while back that said SECEDE, and I'm mad too Eddie.

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I want to be different like everybody else.

Now to get back to the original question about stock Luv rear-ends...lol

If you can get your hands on the '81 - '82 3:42 gear ratio rear-end...then IMHO you should use it. You will save gas mileage and have a way better cruising speed vs. rpm's ratio on the freeway by far.

When you go hunting for the rear-end..it would also be wise to grab a 5 speed tranny and use it to replace your old stock 4 speed while you are at it...then you will have a much better running truck.

And before you put in a v6 or v8...you might consider using a hybrid G180/G200 engine or using a 2.6 Impulse motor with a 2.3 carb intake.

It's a lot easier and cheaper, plus with the right rear end gears and tranny, your truck will still seriously haul butt, and not kill your wallet making you constantly pull in for gas at the pumps...plus it won't required any mods to the frame or front end suspension, or be nose heavy as heck on tight turns at high speeds.