36 rear end removal.

[ford nut]

i'm removing the rear end of my 36 coupe, spring un-bolted, all bolts at engine un-done, and it's pulled back and separated. the big grease ball at the front of the driveshaft wants to hit the floor and the cross member. whats the trick? will the floor sheet metal flex enough so it will squeeze by, or is there a better way? my week end project. thanks for any help, kurt.

[Brian]

Sounds like the back of the unit is too low, which means the front of torque tube is too high. Jack up the rear end until the top of the spring will just clear the rear crossmember and it should all move back and out.

[ford nut]

the ball on the end of the torque tube is round, I don't know if lifting the rear 5 or 6 degrees would change much upfront. and if I lift it too much, the rear spring will want to drop back into the rear cross member, making it impossible to slide back. i'm trying to keep it all together, if I have to break it down more I will, but that was the plan.

[Phil Gillespie]

Originally Posted by ford nut

the ball on the end of the torque tube is round, I don't know if lifting the rear 5 or 6 degrees would change much upfront. and if I lift it too much, the rear spring will want to drop back into the rear cross member, making it impossible to slide back. i'm trying to keep it all together, if I have to break it down more I will, but that was the plan.

The advice is to lift the rear of the car, not the rear suspension unit. This will give the clearance then to clear. When I did mine i removed rear wheels and fitted just rims and rolled back on timber planks. Using just rims gives more area to work with in my experience.
Phil NZ

[JM 35 Sedan]

What I do is remove the 6 bolts that hold the floor pan down to front of X member. Then lift the tunnel area with wooden shims on each side. I also form a piece of sheet metal into a half circle and place that between tunnel and bell on torque tube. This sorta acts as a shoe horn to help the bell in or out of tunnel.

[ford nut]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Originally Posted by JM 35 Sedan

What I do is remove the 6 bolts that hold the floor pan down to front of X member. Then lift the tunnel area with wooden shims on each side. I also form a piece of sheet metal into a half circle and place that between tunnel and bell on torque tube. This sorta acts as a shoe horn to help the bell in or out of tunnel.

yeah, that's what I was hoping to try sat afternoon. (the wood part) but I wasn't sure if it absolutely could not be done. it's so close to just pulling through I thought that there must be a trick to this. thanks.

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by ford nut

yeah, that's what I was hoping to try sat afternoon. (the wood part) but I wasn't sure if it absolutely could not be done. it's so close to just pulling through I thought that there must be a trick to this. thanks.

Here are a couple of pics of the way 19Fordy did it on his '40 coupe. DD

[Bursonaw]

I had the same issue with my car. Mine was the result of when the car was restored in the 70’s, they replaced the floorboards. The tunnel was salvaged from another car so when it was welded in, the tunnel in it was 1/4” lower than original. The body was placed the frame after all the running gear was installed. Here it is many years later and a couple owners and I needed to remove the rear end and discovered the issue of the front of the torque tube did not have enough clearance between the body and frame. I had 3 choices.

1. Remove the body every time the rear end needed to come out. (Not very practical).

2. Unbolt the torque tube from the rear end and hope that I could restore the torque tube while it hung from the car. (Also not to practical.)

3. Cut part of the tunnel out and make a removable plate out of part of the tunnel so if I ever needed to remove the torque tube again it could be done. (Not original.)

I chose option 3. I felt this was my best option. I did had a couple folks think it came from the factory that way after I had finished. Here are some pictures I took during the process.


Cut out tunnel. It took about 15 minutes using a cut off wheel.


Welded on fabricated tabs to cut tunnel and fitting into place. I made the tabs and a friend welded them on.


Installed nut plates. Using a hand squeeze rivet gun.


Finished plate installed.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[ford nut]

bursonaw-- great idea, but i'd like to think this is a one time deal! i'm going to try removing the 6 bolts and lifting with the wood shims first. it's really close now, I just got to soak the bolts, they're pretty dry looking.

[Bursonaw]

Originally Posted by ford nut

bursonaw-- great idea, but i'd like to think this is a one time deal! i'm going to try removing the 6 bolts and lifting with the wood shims first. it's really close now, I just got to soak the bolts, they're pretty dry looking.

I did try that for my application first, but I just couldn’t get enough movement in the body. I was 1/4” short. Good luck, let us know how you make out?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[ford nut]

well it's out! bolts came right out, tapped in two shims, it only needs to go up about 1/4". sometimes things that look like they might mess with you, you get through quick. thanks.

[Steve in Denver]

Kurt, so now that the rear end is out, what are you going to do, install a Columbia or something else. If Columbia, do post pictures as that along with hydraulic brakes are my next project. Steve

[ford nut]

Originally Posted by Steve Kennedy

Kurt, so now that the rear end is out, what are you going to do, install a Columbia or something else. If Columbia, do post pictures as that along with hydraulic brakes are my next project. Steve

"something else" is a good term. no, it will be a ford 8" redone with new gear set and bearings. leaf spring from chassis engineering. i'm putting a t5 transmission behind the flathead. all non original. there I said it.

[Steve in Denver]

Sounds reliable!

[Tinker]

Originally Posted by ford nut

"something else" is a good term. no, it will be a ford 8" redone with new gear set and bearings. leaf spring from chassis engineering. i'm putting a t5 transmission behind the flathead. all non original. there I said it.

Granada rear?


I like banjos so I put it a Mitchell. Ya not stock either, but I can change it back, I guess.

[ford nut]

Originally Posted by Steve Kennedy

Sounds reliable!

I sure hope so.

Originally Posted by Tinker

Granada rear?


I like banjos so I put it a Mitchell. Ya not stock either, but I can change it back, I guess.

I think it's a v8 maverick 5 lug.

[Tinker]

Believe they are the same unit outside width.


I'm sure the drivability will be great. Never worried about if the car would go down the road with a flathead, 3sp, and a banjo rear. Probably a good choice with the type of driving you have.


Mitchell in the 38, stock drivetrain in the 36 for now. Maybe a nailhead/olds and a 8". But this flathead just won't quit.

[ford nut]

Originally Posted by Tinker

Believe they are the same unit outside width.


I'm sure the drivability will be great. Never worried about if the car would go down the road with a flathead, 3sp, and a banjo rear.


Mitchell in the 38, stock drivetrain in the 36 for now. Maybe a nailhead/olds and a 8". But this flathead just won't quit.

this will be my first flathead. I like hearing "it just won't quit"

[Tinker]

Low rpms will help a bunch for longevity. Certainly if you have to whined it up for traffic.