Pinto Car Club of America

 ???
Since 8" pinto rears are hard to find, has anybody thought about using a Ford Ranger rearend????

Carolina Boy

i have one out of a 4x4 ranger that i was going to swap in.  its almost the exact same width backing plate to backing plate but the pinion gear is way to one side.  i dont know if it would clear the tunnel.  if i remember ill snap a pic of it tomorrow.

btw, dont forget that a mustang ii 8 inch is the same.  maveric and comet are only about an inch wider.

bob

Do you think a 2 wheel drive Ranger would have the pinion more centered? Is it an 8"? I just thought it would be another part to use in Pintos.
Another question on rearend is, is is there a factory 9" under some Ford that would almost bolt in?

Carolina Boy

most of the rangers are an 8.8 rear. the explorer 4x4 has a 373 posi in it. a 57 ford has a 9" that is nearly a bolt in. if you can find one.there are a few pintos around that have had a explorer rear installed in them. havent heard any complaints about it either.

i think most 2wd were 7.5 but i could be wrong.  mine is an 8.8 out of a 96 body style 4wd.  i think finding a 9 inch out of a 57 ford may be tough due to the fact that it would be hard to find in a bone yard.  the  4wd explorers with the 8.8 had the same thing i think.  the pinion was way to one side.  but i dont know about 2wd explorers. the 95-01 explorers could be had with rear disc too.  i think it was an option on the earlier ones but standard later on.
i forgot my camera at home so ill have to try to remember for tomorrow.  our 34 dodge has an 8inch out of a 73 mustang so ill get a shot of that too so you can see how centered it is. i think its the same style thats in the maverics.

bob

so i was downloading some pics from xmas...finally...and i found the 8.8 pics.  i forgot all about it.  sorry guys!  anyway, the first pic is the ranger axle.  the pic isnt the clearest but its easy to see how much shorter the right axle shaft is.  then notice how far to the right the pinion is.  i dont know how much room that tunnel will give.  the second pic is the 73 mustang axle in our 34 dodge frame.  you can see how close to the center it is. 

bob

http://s307.photobucket.com/albums/nn294/ford371/?action=view&current=P1090007.jpg
http://s307.photobucket.com/albums/nn294/ford371/?action=view&current=P1090009.jpg

fyi i bout this up about a year ago on the 8.8 and it came to lite that the best was the ranger explorer and bronco 2 but ive been going though speedway and they have lots of 7.5 stuff including mini spools for 23$ (some of them are 7.5 rear) but look for the 83 ranger or bronco 2 v6 some of those (so im told) are 8"

the mustang - t bird - full size bronco 8.8 ....... are wider but can fix w/ wheel offset if u are on a budget have one.