I just bought this sweet 64 Safari, with a pretty solid small block and a T-10 4 speed. I'm conecrned that the factory rear end may not be as stout as the rest of the drive train.
Would anyone care to offer up any info on some possible rear end swaps or upgrades?
I am also concerned with the two piece drive shaft. Any thoughts on that?
If you go to bruneauperformance, there are pics of the re inforcing that can be done to the housing. Does your diff have 2 upper control arms, much better for a 4 spd car. There are also bearing sadles that beef up the caps. The bearing caps are the weak point.
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later...rog
AADD supporting member !!
I'm a collector...not a builder!!Located in sunny central Saskatchewan at the lakehead!
I had the stock pumpkin in my 56 Chevy Bus mans coupe with a LT1 370 hp and a muncie and it never gave me a minutes trouble.
Yeah, the driveline is usually OK if you aren't too hard on it.
If you get rough with it the bearing caps are a weak point, then the axles. I once broke both the left and right axles on the same night with a 409 powered 62 Impala.
The driveshaft is also a little bit on the weak side but it's usually stronger than the rear end.
If you want to spend the money, you can get a brand new 9" Ford or 12 Bolt from DTS or Currie that will drop right in. Inland Empire makes a big 1350 series driveshaft setup for these cars as well.
Sweet ride! Great to see another 64 Safari on here
You are correct to watch for the 2 piece drive shaft. The shaft will be plenty strong, but the hangar bearing is the weak point. They tend to deteriorate over time with a manual trans, or big horsepower.