Thumbtack

Awesome idea!!! Thanks!

I will say that confirms my first thought...but let it go...it has quite the undertone of advertising. mention he quite proficient in making wiring harnesses for those apps. Drumming up business? Idk. just a thought and I most likely am wrong cause I usually "are". Lol. Same here, no offense meant if I am.Matthew.

No "extra" pinion bearing. I do know it is virtually identical to the chebby 12 bolt and reportedly stronger provided you weld the tubes to the housing. Yes it is the 5 on 4.5. It seems to fit the trans tunnel a bit better too IMO. The housing is offset to the pass side 1.5". Super easy to narrow too if you choose to go that route too. I picked mine up complete for $125.00 3.73:1 limited slip. Gear sets are cheap too!!!

To me Hot Rodding is about using what you can get your hands in to make "something". Or to make something out of other men's trash. I.e. model A with a Lincoln motor? Or how about a Caddy flathead?. We celebrate Gen I Hemi's in T buckets and the like... why not the LS? I say go for it! Take a bunch of pics and post'm up! Just a wild guess but 400+ HP and 20+ mpg? (N.A. at that). I would think the 8.8 ford rear would be a slightly better choice though. '95up explorer 31spl+disc. All in all it may be what a young LS fan needs to see to get him/her interested in the hobby. I have a family member catching the same grief 'cause he is gonna put a 5.3 in a 55 Chevy. Go figure... Matthew

I would contact Hot Heads in Low Gap, NC. He would probably have the info you are looking for. Matthew

Go with the ford. Stronger, easier to service, parts readily available... Matthew

Good deal on the safety pin!

Please DO NOT get under anothing not being supported properly! Esp with that style jack. When I was little I had a scary lesson with one. Dad was finishing swapping out an engine in the 76 Cordoba. The air pressure dropped and Dang near crushed dad. Taught him one too! Glad we can chuckle about it today. Very good lesson at a very early age. I know it goes with out saying... those style jacks are very handy... Be careful!

Been driving a truck for almost 14 years. 48 continental and Can. Haven't been to Canada since 9/11. I deliver water heaters, new furniture to warehouses, and new custom cabinets/parts, mainly. Nothing glamorous like a lot of y'all... Just doing what I can to raise my family. I'm usually home weekends dividing my time between the 51 meadowbrook, 45 Farmall A, '86 GMC K-3500, and model railroad. I want to send out a big THANK YOU! To all the Veterans! Thank YOU for you service and sacrifice! Matthew

I agree. Creepers are aggravating! Handy once in a blue moon. Besides the concrete is cool and feels good on the disk that I slipped years ago. Not to mention in general when its hotter than blue blazes! Matthew

That is a really cool story! A project worthy of the sale of a sweet ride such as that!

I personally, am glad it was re posted! Had it not been I most never would have learned that piece of history! I am a youngin, whipper snapper, whatever ya want to call me. So I say Thank you! Matthew

The 7260 and 7290 series are the two sizes that are commonly found on Chrysler products. They represent the two stock sizes that have been used for many years. The 7260 series is the “small” Chrysler u-joint size (2 1/8 inch between flats on yoke with 1.078 inch bearing cap diameter) and the 7290 series is the “big” Chrysler u-joint size (2 5/8 inch between flats on yoke with 1.125 inch bearing cap diameter). The 7260 series is similar in size to the 1310 series and the 7290 is similar in size to the 1330 series. They both utilize the inside “C” clip design to hold the u-joint within the yoke flats whereas the 1310 and 1330 use the outside snap ring design. The "series" of a drive shaft or universal joint is determined by the actual dimensions of the u-joint. While the front and rear u-joint can be of two different sizes the shaft is only as strong as the smaller one. The 1310 series u-joint measures approximately 3 1/4 inches wide. The 1330 and 1350 both measure approximately 3 5/8 wide. The 1310 and 1330 series can have cap diameters of 1 1/16 and/or 1 1/8 inch or a combination of both sizes. The 1350 series has a cap diameter of 1 3/16 inch and the body and journals are bigger than the 1310 or 1330. Remember 1350 is almost never found in production car drive shafts. Per http://www.dennysdriveshaft.com/index.html You may be able to have a Ford drive yoke modified to fit a mopar joint. Or Vice versa. I would give them a call. They may know of a "conversion joint" i.e. ford on one side and Mopar on the other. As stated above there is a conversion joint 1330-1350. Another option would be is to have the rear yoke cut off your original shaft and have the yoke off the original Ford shaft welded on. The latter is what I would do. The cost will be minimal I would suspect. About $40-50 around here and you supplying the yokes. I would think this would be the cheapest and least headache way.

I used an '96 Explorer rear in my '51 Meadowbrook. 3.73 gr limited slip factory disk. Rangers use the same rear but the perches are on the top of the housing as opposed to under. which doesn't matter they have to be moved anyway. Ranger diffs have a 29 spline axle and the (IIRC) '96-up uses a 31 spline and are disk. The 31 spl has slightly thicker tube material too. The width is perfect! The Explorer rear diff is offset to the pass side about 2.5". Which worked out great! Lined up perfect with the floor tunnel. I cut my perches off with a cut-off wheel on my 4" side grinder. The down side is the perches are for 2.5" wide springs. The way I see it you can slit the factory FoMoCo perches and weld then back together. (low buck) Or you can call this guy and order an entire kit. http://www.butchscoolstuff.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=62 The only reason I changed mine was the aggravation factor of the rear drums serviceability. I got the donor rear for a song as well as the limited slip was a great plus. Just my 1/2 cent suggestion. Not sure of the width on the springs of the '53 you might get lucky there.

That's one of the reasons i chose my 360 for my meadowbrook. I have a complete parts car that has the flat head. Completely locked up and after looking at the costs for a stock rebuild, what i had laying around gets the nod. The 472 cad and t-400 almost got it. but ease of installation won the battle. Go with it!

Keep it! Looks awesome!

Thanks for the input guys! It helps me determine my overall build. Its very easy to want a 10sec ride but reality bites sometimes. I guess the question i need to ask myself is this... Do i wanna want to row gears or auto. Thanks again!

Yes you would be correct. 904=auto 833=man. I haven't eliminated the thought of a auto O.D. For right now these are what i have. So far I am leaning towards the "smashin' the gass" route with the auto.

I am after opinions and/or real world experience. I have a 51 meadowbrook that I am looking at a stout 360, (KB 107 pistons, 268 range cam, eldelbrock tunnel ram with two small vac sec carbs). I want to drive this car to shows and vaction trips etc. Would I be better off with 3.73 and Alum 833 OD. or 904 with low gear set and 2.73 or 3.08's? Thinking the OD will chew up hp and torque. Im thinking letting the torque work in first and second. OR an all in all compromise of 904 and 3.73's? Possibly thinking just a stock 360 with single four to get started. What combo's are you guys running? Whats your mpgs? (Ford 8.8 rear w/disc brake and LSD 3.73 as it is) Thanks for you time...

Harbor freight and eastwood. Mail order.

Love the ugly ducking! That color would look awesome on my 51 meadowbrook! Blacked out trim and all! Look out of the box different schemes like that!

Having not painted anything, you are an inspiration to me! Keep it up!

That is Ford a product. Ford Maverick. Mercury had an equivelent IIRC a Comet. 1970 Ford Maverick http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDoQ24EgNQkhMAVU.JzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3D1970%2BFord%2Bmaverick%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dyfp-t-701-14%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D85&w=1259&h=816&imgurl=farm5.staticflickr.com%2F4041%2F4191631471_d2805dd0b9_o.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fflickriver.com%2Fphotos%2Fautohistorian%2F4191631471%2F&size=232.5+KB&name=1970+Ford+Maverick+-+a+photo+on+Flickriver&p=1970+Ford+maverick&oid=c577a3e3f20fc3a475a0a8e1ef34251e&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-701-14&tt=1970%2BFord%2BMaverick%2B-%2Ba%2Bphoto%2Bon%2BFlickriver&b=61∋=176&no=85&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11mm757vl&sigb=13cfud4bn&sigi=11nd5tv12&.crumb=kmm2DwPg.W9

While not being able to attend personally, I had a friend that went. He picked me up a set of cherry 340 exhaust manifolds and a nice pair or bullseye headlights for a hundred bucks! So it will surely help with putting the 360 in the 51! Carlisle is the best!

Hmm... you would be correct! :DIm watching both threads comparing notes and I lost my place! Sorry.