Rear Axle Mods

[Andrew7026]

Ok, so I haven't done much in the way of mods yet on any cars. I am only 17 and in high school and most of my experience is fixing my 90 f150 and keeping it going, so I am very much still learning a lot of the basics of drivetrain building and performance. That being said, because I am in high school I am on quite a tight budget. I am restoring a 63 bird right now. The engine runs, and according to the previous owner, the transmission is also good, so I do not plan to do any engine mods right now, but my eventual goal would be to make some more power and maybe a c6, but I digress.

The first thing I want to do now concerning the rear axle is disk brakes. I know performance wise, rear disks aren't that important unless you are tracking it, but I want the pedal to feel consistent in all weather and heat and the maintenance is so much easier not having to worry about self adjusters and springs and such. Being on a budget, what would be the best options for those? Is there another car that had a nine inch and disc brakes that would swap easily like the 64-66's are supposed to do on the front?

The second thing is a limited slip differential. Like I said, I don't plan on modifying the engine in the near future, so I don't need something that will handle crazy power, but I don't like one wheel peels. Is there one that is a direct swap from some other car I could find at a junkyard (I know some 63's had them, but we don't have a lot of those in junkyards around here to my knowledge) or would I need to buy a new one? Also, if I do go this route, should I change from the stock final drive. My goal for this first stage of getting it on the road before college would be to have something that could cruise at 70, but also be fun off the line (if that's possible with stock power and the COM).

If any of my assumptions are wrong or if anything is naïve, please correct me, and any advice is appreciated.

[arunice]

I love your optimism. I dont have anything to say as it comes to swappable drivetrain parts. My suggestion is to just get it driving and enjoy it. The stock brakes will do their job more than one thinks. I had intentions on converting my 63 to front disc but it's now on the back burner after feeling the drums doing their job just fine. These are cruiser cars so dont expect them to light the wheels up at the stop light.

As you enjoy cruising in it you'll find things that you'll want to change that may be different than what your envisioning now.

Btw- check out parts for similar year fords. You can sometimes make them work. In my case, I used 64 mustang coupe roof rails to replace the cracked out stock ones. Tbird roof rails are stupid expensive(over $200). Mustang ones were $10 on ebay. Cut in the right place and weatherstrip glue does wonders.

[GeorgeG]

Andrew. The Ford 9" rear end in your TBird is probably THE most popular rear end for racing on the planet and can handle gobs of power. Every NASCAR car and most drag cars use them and parts are readily available. Like every part however, you get what you pay for, from big dollar custom setups to junk yard gems. They also came in lots of ratios, so if you find a limited slip for a reasonable price, make sure the ratio makes sense. You don't want something like at 4.88 out of a drag car. These 'Birds were cruisers.

[Andrew7026]

They came with a 3.00:1 right? Is there a way to tell what the gear ratio is if the tag is gone like if I was looking at a junkyard for one?

[GeorgeG]

Yes. 3.00:1 ratio. The only way I know to check the ratio is simply to count the number of times the drive shaft goes around for each rotation of the wheel. I know this works for a limited slip, but I seem to remember you have to do something else for a standard rear end. Any rear end experts out there?

[Andrew7026]

So I figured out that some of the late 70's Fords and Lincolns had 9 inches with disk brakes. allegedly, unless the end is different, or the thickness of the caliper mounting bracket is different from the drum backing plate, they should be direct bolt on. Has anyone done this kind of swap before? Also, allegedly, I would just need to find the caliper mounting brackets, and then I could get new calipers and disks right? Does anyone know where i could find those brackets?