Lets Start from the rear :-)
Tips on Ford Rears, by Dan Jones
Rear Widths:
65-66 Mustang 57 1/4 inches
67-70 Mustang 59 1/4 inches
71-73 Mustang 61 1/4 inches
77-81 Versailles 58 1/2 inches
Dave W. personally measured:
79 Mazda RX-7 57.5 inches
74 Maverick 8" 56.5 inches
75 Mustang II 8" 57.0 inches
From Street Rodder:
67-73 Mustang, Torino, Ranchero, Fairlane 9" 59-1/4 to 61-1/4
57-59 Ranchero and station wagon rears, 57-1/4
66-77 Bronco 9", 58"
77-81 Granada/Versailles, 58"
67-71 Comet, Cougar, Mustang, Fairlane, 59-1/4"
71-73 Mustang, 61-1/4"
From Fatman Fabrications:
70-77 Maverick 5 lug 8" 57 inches
57-59 Ford 9" 57 inches
75-80 Granada & Lincoln Versailles 58 inches
67-70 Mustang/Cougar/Fairlane 58 inches
71-73 Mustang/Cougar 60 inches
73-76 Torino 62 inches
Misc Sources:
64 Falcon 58"
67 Cougar 60"
67 Fairlane 63 1/2" (coil springs)
72 Ford Van 3/4 ton 68 1/2"
73-86 65 1/4"
57-59 Ranchero and station wagon 57 1/4" (narrowest 9" housing)
66-77 Bronco 58" but has 5-on-5 1/2 inch diameter bolt circle (can be redrilled)
67-73 Torinos, Rancheros, Fairlanes 59 1/4 or 61 1/4"
67-71 Comets, Cougars, Fairlanes 59 1/4 inches
9" sources
67-73 medium and big block Mustangs and Cougars
66-71 Fairlanes, Torinos, Montegos, Comets, and other
Ford intermediates with big blocks
57-59 V8 Fords and Mercurys
77-81 Lincoln Versailles
Trucks
Housing Types
67-73 Mustang/Cougar-
light duty, thinnest housing material, small axle bearings, 28 and 31 splines
57-68 passenger car and 1/2 ton truck -
medium duty, stronger than Mustang type, 28 and 31 splines
Ranchero/Torino
heavy duty thick wall housing, 3 1/4" diameter axle tubes with flat tops
69-77 Galaxies (coils), Lincolns (coils), and late pickups (leaf) -
3 1/4" dimeter all the way to the backing plate, coil housings have
upper control arm mount
Housing Centers
57 no dimples, flat center band up the center of the rear cover, bottom drain pl
ug
58-59 two dimples on back of housing, flat center band, some had drain holes
60-67 two dimples, flat center band, oil level hole in back cover
?? one year only 1/2 ton truck housing welded together from two halves L/R
63-77 Lincoln, LTD, Thunderbirds had 9 3/8" centers, housings were cut
away at the gasket surface for ring gear clearance, one curved rib
at the front top portion of differential, strong but no gears
Axles
28 spline axles cannot be shortened and resplined (they're tapered)
72 and earlier 31 spline axles are shortenable
73 and later 9" (cars) have a 5-on-5 bolt circle and non-shortenable axles
67-73 Mustang axles identified by wheel flange:
oval hole - 28 splines
two large holes and counter sunk center - 31 splines
'66 Ranchero Suspension Make over
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Before
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After 3" Drop...
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New front and rear sway bars from Dearborn Classics.
They are not cheap but they will really improve the handling.
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There was not rear sway bar stock on the '66 Ranchero. This should be
a real nice modification to stiffen the handling of the vehicle.
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Notice how much larger the new front sway bar is over stock.
The stock front sway bar is .065"
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The new front sway bar is 1 1/8
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Nice!
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Stock leaf springs were rated at 850lbs
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Heavy duty leaf springs were rated at 1250lbs
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OK, here is where all my $s went on the front suspension
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Rach-n-Pinion Steering
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Three inch drop springs
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New repro upper and lower control arms
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Close up of the rack-n-pinion
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This is going to ride sweet!
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Stock springs measure 18"
New 3" lowering springs measure 13"
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Out with the old...
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In with the new stuff :-)
I used rubber bushings on everything. There were no kits specific to the
Ranchero that use polyurithane bushings. After replacing the suspenion
I have learned that the '66 Ranchero front suspension is the same a a
'67 Mustang...So, if you have asperations of doing a suspension
replacement consider the poly kits for the '67 Mustang.
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I waited a few weeks before I took this picture on 06/25/05.
This is the new stance for the vehicle with a three inch drop.
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Ok, don't laught it took me 7hrs to install this rear sway bar.
Now, that did include a 1/2 to get shorter bolts from the hardware store.
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Since I have a 3" drop on my suspension it was necessary to cut the
bolt spacers in half. The sway bar sits nice and level.
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