Hello everyone! Well now it is time to finally make the mav a whole lot faster! As of right now I still have the original 2.79 gears in my converted 302 mav. I was wondering a few things: 1. What would be a good set of gears to go with, 3.55's maybe? 2. What cars can I take them from? 3. Is it better to get the whole pumpkin or just the gears? 4. Since I don't do the work myself how much do you think it should cost? Thanks Jeri
Jeri, 1) What is the normal usage of the car (everyday driver, weekender, street/strip, mostly in-town, mostly highway driving)? 2) Is the rear really original? If so, you'll go with "ring and pinion change" (On our playing level, "pumpkins" are most commonly changed on 9" Ford rears). 3) I would buy new gears instead of getting used ones. The cost to replace the gears justifies paying a little more now than a lot more later. 4) Cost? I've had my gears changed out for as little as $100 and as much as $250. Call the garages/shops around your hometown and ask for an estimate. I agree with your call of first changing gears to get 'instant gratification'. You won't be disappointed. Good luck,
I disagree with you a little, Rick. The 8" rears like the 73 will have are just like 9" rears and it's a whole lot simpler to swap a 'pumpkin' rather than a ring & pinion set. I also would look for some used gears (a whole used pumpkin), because 3.55:1 gears can be found in Mustang II and Pinto 8" rearends without too much trouble. I've seen 2 or 3 without even searching for them. Pulling one out of a sealed rearend, I feel like you have a decent chance of it being good. For around $75 from a scrapyard, you can get a 3.55:1 chunk that can be swapped in about 1-2 hours. With a new set of gears, plus setup labor, you are looking at a bare minimum of $350. It's worth it to me to take that risk ($275). If it makes noise, pull it back out and have the bearings replaced and the gears re-setup. That will probably run you about $100-150. Still worth it. The best part about getting another pumpkin, is you can leave your 2.79 pumpkin alone. This means the car still drives while you set up your 3.55 gears, and you can always swap back if you'd like (or if you sell the car).
What year mustangs, and what would be the tag code to look for? I'm thinking of going this route myself. Thanks, Preston
check out ebay.. I bought an 8" pumpkin with new gears 3:80 and a new detroit locker all setup ready to bolt in for $600 + shipping to build this myself I priced it out at about $724 + labor to set it up.
Swap Gears Found a 76 Mustang II with 3.55 rear, gave 100 for the complete setup drum to drum. Pulled the pumpkin and bought a mini spool from GRT race cars for 20.00. Sold the housing and axles for 50 makes a great strip only for our street mav. Just a little insight on the cost and such. As the old saying goes "one mans junk is another mans treasure"
I've found the 74-75 mustang II v6 stick cars have 3.55 in them and I found 3.40's in the later cars 77-78 don't remember the engine trans combo, I have one in my mustang now.
Answers to Rick Book's Questions: 1. Usually an everyday driver but occasionally I go to the track and sometimes on the street if I have to show a Honda What's Up! 2. I believe at sometime the rear end was changed cause it has yellow grease pencil markings on it but someone once told me that it appeared to be a 9". How can I tell externally whether it's an 8" or a 9"? Thanks everyone! At least I have a really good starting off point! jeri
Yes you can tell externally if it is a 9in. you won't be able to get a socket on the bottom two nuts that hold the third member in. If it's a 8in. you can get the socket on them. Hope this helps. Derek
Here is a 9". See how the pinion housing is much lower and the bottom cornor nuts are behind the pinion housing and are not accessible with a socket.
Jerilyn & Countrymav, try this link, http://mustangii.net/ there is a lot of good info there in the tech center, click on rear axle codes to find which code to look for. I found a 3.40 & a 3.55 on V-6 cars from 74 & 77. got them for $26.00 each from help-yourself yard with "pumpkins" intact and gears already set up.
