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By Midwest Mike - 12 Years Ago
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Hi Guys
know it's on the site somewhere but I can't find it, soooo here goes;
What is the distance from backing plate to backing plate on a 55 car axle??
Does anyone have any experiences using a narrower than stock rear axle??
Does it allow wider wheels and tires to used without tubbing the car??
Have a friend at a hot rod shop trying to work out some electrical gremlins in a 56 Victoria that is using a Pertronix distributor. What Pertronix dizzy would that be??
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Mike
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By junkyardjeff - 12 Years Ago
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I have a maverick 8 inch in my 55 which is a little narrower then the original but I still have to let the air out of the tires to remove them,I have 235-75-15s on the rear.
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By PF Arcand - 12 Years Ago
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Pertronixs distributor?.. They supply adaptor kits. As far as I know they don't manufacture complete distributors. Suggest contacting the company for help.
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By Rono - 12 Years Ago
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Mike;
I have a Ford 9" in my 56. A 9" from a 57 Ford is the same width as stock and will bolt in without having to cut down the axle tubes, but at the time I couldn't find one. I used another 9" ford rear out of a 61 wagon and had to cut that one down and get new axles to match and that wasn't cheap. The narrowest I could go was 56" inches, backing plate to backing plate. I think that was about 1" narrower than stock. You can't really put any wide wheels (like 10") on these cars because of the location of the spring perches on the axle tubes. You would, I think, have to totally change the rear suspension to coil over shocks and then tub the trunk to fit wide wheels.
Pertronix doesn't make their own distributor. They make a magnetic pick-up to replace the points in a stock distributor.
Rono
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By Hoosier Hurricane - 12 Years Ago
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Mike:
You didn't get an answer to your original question, so here it is. The distance between the backing plates on a '55 passenger rear end is 51 inches. That is at the outer diameter of the backing plate where it meets the brake drum.
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By paul2748 - 12 Years Ago
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Probably more important is the wheel mounting surface to wheel mounting surface which is 57 1/4 for 52 to 59 Fords.
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By Rono - 12 Years Ago
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Hey guys; After reading the other posts I went out and re-measured the 1957 Ford 9" rear I'm working on. I need to apologize for the misinformation I posted earlier. I must getting ready for residency in "Senile City" The backing plate to backing plate measurement is 50&1/2" and axle flange to axle flange is 57&1/4" (as Paul stated). This 57 rear has a WAB center section with a 3.56 gear ratio. This is the rear I'll be using in my 37 Ford coupe. Again, sorry for the bad info.
Rono
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By NoShortcuts - 12 Years Ago
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Hi Ron,
We don't want to hear anything about that Senile City stuff. Many of us have found that by squinting our eyes it's easier to see those numbers and marks on that measuring stick.
I recently invested in brighter fluorescent lights in my work area, too. I think I'm seeing more now! 
SALUTE! on the progress on your project!
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By paul2748 - 12 Years Ago
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One thing to keep in mind is that you can put wider shoes on the 57 rear. Use brakes off a later (60's/70's) Tbird. You must use the backing plates and all the other hardware, including drums. This does not increase the overall width as the backing plates have a deeper dish. I have these in my 54 with a 57 9 inch.
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By Ol Ford Guy - 12 Years Ago
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FWIW, I heard someone at Columbus , maybe Ted E., say that you can put a 57 or 58 rear axle assembly in a 55-56, but starting in 59 they got wider.
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By paul2748 - 12 Years Ago
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I heard that they were the same width but the distance between the spring pads were different.. Don't know for sure.
Ol Ford Guy (9/6/2013)
FWIW, I heard someone at Columbus , maybe Ted E., say that you can put a 57 or 58 rear axle assembly in a 55-56, but starting in 59 they got wider.
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By MoonShadow - 12 Years Ago
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I heard the same thing. Took notice because I just bought a 60 Edsel 9" thinking it was the same as the 57/58. Also turned out it has 5 on 5.5 lug pattern. Oh well I'll keep trying. Chuck
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By Pete 55Tbird - 12 Years Ago
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I have a 1958 9inch from a Ranchero and it measures approx 43 inch from the hole on top of the spring pad side to side. Pete
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By Midwest Mike - 12 Years Ago
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The '57 Ford wagon rear end will fit under a 55/56 but the brackets are about 1/2 inch too wide and although it can be forced to fit that's not a good idea. It's better to remove and reposition the brackets properly.
I'm not interested in real wiiiiiide wheels, I was just interested in 8's or even 7 inch wide wheels. I know there are issues like having to let the air out to get them on or off and I was just trying to see if anyone had come up with an idea for wider wheels that didn't involve cutting and tubbing.
To my knowledge Pertronix doesn't make a distributor that fits a Y, do they??????? I'm aware of the "kit" that goes in a dizzy but this was supposed to be an entire Pertronix distributor.
Thanks for the dimensions on a 55 car rear end and thanks to all who responded.
Y blocks rock!!!!!!!!! Trying to get two of them built.
Mike
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By Midwest Mike - 12 Years Ago
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The '57 Ford wagon rear end will fit under a 55/56 but the brackets are about 1/2 inch too wide and although it can be forced to fit that's not a good idea. It's better to remove and reposition the brackets properly.
I'm not interested in real wiiiiiide wheels, I was just interested in 8's or even 7 inch wide wheels. I know there are issues like having to let the air out to get them on or off and I was just trying to see if anyone had come up with an idea for wider wheels that didn't involve cutting and tubbing.
To my knowledge Pertronix doesn't make a distributor that fits a Y, do they??????? I'm aware of the "kit" that goes in a dizzy but this was supposed to be an entire Pertronix distributor.
Thanks for the dimensions on a 55 car rear end and thanks to all who responded.
Y blocks rock!!!!!!!!! Trying to get two of them built.
Mike
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