JM, is there a better option than 3.78 gear ratio for these rear ends? I've had the rear end out of this car so I'm not a stranger to it. I work full time and I've discovered here in MI it's either 90+ and 1000% humidity or 30 below and I don't have an inside environment like I used to. If this is a weekend job then I can swing it...I don't want to be caught by the weather with my car outside if this is a protracted process. I store it in my trailer. If this is more than a quick weekend job, I'd rather put the car to bed for the season, get what I need over the winter and hit it hard in spring when temps are more conducive to human life. This is the last thing I expected!!!
That may depend on who you talk to. In my case, the rear in my fordor sedan, that had 3.78 gears, failed last November. When I tore this rear apart this spring, it was a complete disaster internally. I liked the 3.78 gears, but did not have a spare set with 10 spline pinion. I did have a set of 3.54, 10 spline gears, so decided to use those even though many assured me I would not like that ratio in hilly country. Long story short, it took me nearly a month to take the rear completely out, take it apart, gather all the parts I needed, and get my car back together and ready for a ~ 1350 mile one way/2800 round trip, to Talsa, Oklahoma in June. I took the high roads going out, over the hills and mountains of MD, WVA, and PA, and never had a problem going over those hills and mountains, and never had to downshift going up these inclines. As open road gears, I really like these 3.54's
If you take that rear all the way out, completely dismantling it, carefully inspecting each component, possibly finding issues with other things besides a broken axle, that you will need to find and replace, then carefully and accurately setting bearing preloads, gear backlash by shifting shims (gaskets) from side to side, then doing a final inspection of actual gear mesh, and finally torquing everything to specifications and reassemble this into your car, it will NOT be a weekend job, at least for me it wouldn't. The only gotcha that I can see with putting it to bed and gathering all the parts you need to do this in the spring is....you really won't know exactly what you need until you take the rear apart.
It's a tough call on what to expect next when playing with these early Ford V-8's, but honestly, for me, its all part of the fun.
