Last weekend I went to several of the local area salvage yards to
determine availability and cost of a Ford Maverick rear end. I have
read in several articles in the past that the Maverick four lug axle
pattern matches the MGB Rostyle lug pattern and the ratio of 3.0 or
3.2 to 1 makes this a good choice to narrow for the MGB V8 conversion.
My questions are:
How do I recognize a Ford Maverick rear end (drum to drum)in a pile of
rear ends? Is there identifying casting or other part numbers to look
for and where is the location on the rear end assembly of these
numbers? Is there a part or tag number that indicates the axle ratio?
What year(s) rear end am I looking for? I assume the Mercury Comet
rear end is the same as the Maverick, are there any others? Is the
axle I am looking for have a removable front pumpkin section or does
it have a rear pan? Is there any other info I should or need to know?
Any comments on what is a fair price to pay for the complete (again,
drum to drum) rear end?
Lessons learned so far: I found that the salvage dealers basically
just want to know exactly what year and kind of car you have that you
are trying to buy the rear end for and immediately have trouble if you
tell them it is not going into a Ford Maverick or whatever. Also, I
initially asked for a rear axle and they assumed I only wanted the
right or left axle out of a "drum to drum rear end". I saw just about
every year and model Maverick ever made. I'm sure the yards had what
I need, I only have to figure out how to ask for it.
Thanks, More questions than answers.....Paul
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