Rear differential suggestions

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by nail pounder

Nice looking truck! I'd say drop a motor and overdrive trans(700r4) in it, leave the original rear end, fix the existing brakes and drive it. Then tackle your list as money allows. They are more motivating to work on if you can take it out for a drive once in a while.

best advice you'll get here

Originally Posted by Missyblue

I don't have lots of money and so trying to do it the "right" way for us and get it running affordably.

with this clarification, the nail pounder method is the route you should take

even then you'll have to fabricate and weld in new motor mounts and trans x-member. not expensive if you take some square tube and just do it. expensive if you buy kits.
shorten the driveline. adapt the stock shifter to 700r4. rebuild all brakes, mc and wheel cylinders. probably replace the front axle kingpins and tie rod ends

if you do disc brakes on one end only it should be the front end. new rearend with disc brakes means all new brake lines, shortened drive shaft and adapting a master cylinder for drum/disc
these trucks have many millions of miles on them in stock configuration and there are plenty of stock trucks still running around in stock configuration

lots of cool projects going on in this forum, many of them last for years and years
i know that well enough: my 58 truk took 8 yrs

[dsraven]

if money is tight and you just wanna get it running and ad stuff along the way, think about checking the front end to make sure it is good to drive safely. the family will likely be in there at some point so don't take chances on the safety stuff. do the kingpins and tie rods if required. check/replace the stock brakes as required. drop the engine in (ya, I know, sounds easy but no mounts yet) and get a shifter figured out for the automatic, maybe need to get a driveshaft made up and some exhaust. then, if the rest is already good, like the lights, wipers, tires etc, you could be driving it. std steering and brakes. as you upgrade things think of what you want to end up with. if you want disc brakes up front there is a kit that will work on the straight axle and upgrade to 5 lug chevy wheels but if you also plan on doing the rear end and are thinking of the ford 8.8, maybe there is also a kit that swaps out to a ford pattern,(think of this if you need to buy wheels for the 6 lug truck to run stock, no use spending cash that you will just set aside as used parts later). otherwise redrilling the ford axles and brake rotors/drums is something you can do yourself too. the ford pattern is also 5 so just drill the axles for the chevy pattern between the ford pattern and replace the studs with the same size as what the front will have. if you decide to do that I suggest to do the front brake change and the rear axle change all at the same time. possibly incorporate a power brake unit at the same time to simplify things. power brake master cylinders are usually a different bore size to compensate for the added pedal effort from no booster. also, a disc front and drum rear is a different master cylinder than a disc front disc rear. a drum set up may also require some residual valves if not already in the master cylinder ports. if doing the 8.8 axle you could get rear discs as well. explorers have that option as well as posi and larger axles. check

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech...8_8-axle.shtml

for more info on that.the center section is offset on an exploerer but there is also a mustang 8.8 unit available from the mid 90's that is centered and possibly the correct width. when you get the rear axle also grab the park brake cables, the link that connects the cables, the master cylinder and proportioning valve, the rear brake hose and a section of the steel line in front of that so you have the correct fitting, the stabilizer bar and links and the rear part of the driveshaft (the ford flange is a flat unit and the drive shaft shop will need that rear flange from the actual shaft in order to build you a new shaft or adapt your old shaft). the ford diff will need to have the brackets cut off and repositioned but those new spring pads are available at trailer or rv shops for cheap.that will give you power disc brakes on all 4 corners. if looking to upgrade to power steering later there are kits available for the solid axle as well. maybe th best one is the gm 400 box which will mount in the stock location, allow full turning radius without having the tires rub on the box like some and not give bump steer like some conversions. there is a power assist unit available as well but, personally, I would steer away from those just because I have had issues with them leaking etc in the past. the 400 box is also available on some older toyotas. you could google it for more info on that. this will give you most of the stuff you want, minus IFS, and still allow you to drive it daily, except for the time it takes to do the mods, and you can achieve it all as the budget permits.
lots of guys are still driving around on the solid axle. lots have done the disc upgrade. those kits aren't for sale because they look good in a magazine ad.
good luck and post up some pics as you go.
as a side note. personally, one of the first mods I would consider doing is to get the fuel tank out of the cab. fuel vapors are carcinogenic and you are driving around with a tank of gas strapped to the back of your seat.plus it gives a little more room behind the cab for "stuff". power steering and brakes will make it a lot more fun to drive. a 700r4 trans will give you overdrive so it isn't screaming at highway speeds and also has a lower first gear to get things rolling out of the hole. doing it the slow way as you drive may take awhile but you also get to drive it and will appreciate each upgrade as you can afford it. a fuel injected engine will also make it more fuel efficient and easier starting, but would also require some wiring and a different type of fuel pump. if you get a donor vehicle for the driveline try to keep as many usable parts as possible, steering column may also be required at some point down the road, depending on how your build goes.

[Missyblue]

Thanks this is exactly the knowledge I'm needing
So long story short my truck was a father son project. They gutted her about 10 years ago his friend painted her and that was the last of it. So I know I am missing little motors and accessories. Im still trying to dig and see what i have and dont have.
For ogre or anyone who can help. He bought a mount for a v8 engine I'll try and get it out for pictures and info so I'm hoping it will work as far as transmission my dad can do some welding woukd you be suggesting like 1" square iron? And do you have any insights on or suggestions on how to do it. I havent started looking that up yet. I can try research on my own too. My dad is very crafty but even a photo in a build of someone else's would be helpful.

Adding in dsraven thank you for the insight. 1 mechanic I talked to didn't tell me all the things I needed for the differential so if I go that route thank you so much for the parts list to include. I'll try to address some of your points....

I currently have a standard column and no shifter. We are thinking it would be nice to do an automatic column and not a floor shifter for eas of having my daughtrer in the middle so I'm needing to resesrch columns that hopefully will also adapt to power steering someday if you have any suggestions that way. I heard that the tilt columns can sometimes be a problem?

And your comment is precisely where my head is. I hate to spend 300 getting my differential and drums running just to want disk brakes if I can potentially get a rear end with disk brakes for around that cost. So trying to consider options and also needing to look around here and see what options i might have. I need to understand the master cylinder better and I need to crawl under my truck I'm not sure I even have one to start with. You both brought up that it would need different things/setup for the master depending on what option I chose. I apologize I haven't got to researching that yet so I have no understanding of what I need there yet. If I have to buy one and wanted to stay with drum for now is there one that would be upgradeable to disk later? I know for sure I don't think my husband will let me leave the driveway without at least power front so I would be looking for at least a master that does power/drum and a kit for disk front. Although 1 mechanic suggested power master cylinder with my drum brakes? Would that be a viable starting place?

I'll start researching the power 400 as well for the future day of power steering!

And yes I have looked into some tanks and plan to move that out of the cab and appreciate your advising me on the safety concern.

I know I didn't get to all my questions regarding all the info you gave but this is a start.
Thank you again for sharing your knowledge. I am so excited to learn about this truck and keep making a plan. I found the original in a photo here she is for fun. I was about 2 I guess. This is the inspiration to get my dad and I a truck to share. I actually wanted a more patina and old looking truck but the ones I was finding were too rusty or too expensive and the one I got didn't need so many repairs so we will have a fancier version of our old girl I guess