I was looking at some old threads from the HET Forum, and there was talk that a Ford 8.8 rear end from early Ford Explorers are a good alternative to the old Ford 9" rears or old Chrysler 8 3/4 rears. These 8.8 rears are 60" wide and come with 3,73 gear ratio with same lug nut pattern as Hudson. Any comments would be appreciated. Thank you, Kevin Morrow
60" is the same as the factory rear, so that is a good fit. You will like the 3.73 ratio. If the Explorer application is coil springs, There will be a bunch of bracketry to cut off. Not a big deal, but time consuming. As far as strength, the 8.8 isn't quite as strong as a 9", but it will hold up well for what you have planned for it, and there are a lot of gear ratio choices available if you want to make a change. I'm using one in the 54 I'm building now.
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