Hey all,

I have a 1977 Ford Custom 500, dosen't have the original motor but I have some ?'s for y'all anyway.

Here's some pics of the car to get started.












Now that we have that out of the way, here's the story and my questions.

The car has a 351W out of an ecoline van or a truck. The original motor blew so it has a different one now. It has a performer intake and Holley 650 carb. I wanted to know if anyone knows what heads/bottom end it might have. I haven't had a chance to get the casting #'s and the casting #'s for the head are under the intake so I'd have to pull that to get at them. The reason for this is that there are several gaskets leaking and I want to know if it would be worth it to rebuild the motor or just to a budget rebuild of another 351 to put in.

Secondly, what rear end is in this car? It's not a 9" and it's not an 8.8" but what in the heck is it? Has real low gearing I can tell but not sure what rear end and what gearing it has exactly.

Thirdly, I've been too lazy to measure the bolt pattern and I'd like to put some wheels on the car but not sure what would fit on it.

And lastly any comments or questions are much appreciated.

Thanks,
Curtis

That's a sweet car! I'm not really familiar with any car made before about 1980 so I never really seen on of these before. I love those big old cars. And since this is your first post, welcome to CVN!

Nice car, Curtis

If the VIN code 5th digit is a Q, then the original engine was a 351M, the modified Cleveland. Only came with a 2 barrel. One of a few cases where its good that the original engine blew up! Can't help on the 351W, it could have come from the earlier 70's when W's were in production, or from the 80's when they were back on again.
For the rear axle, Is the back of the differential smooth, no cover, or does it have a bolted on sheet metal cover?

It's got a bolted on cover forsure... it's not smooth so I know forsure it's not a 9"

A 9" would have been nice.

I'm thinking of a mild buildup of the car or maybe one that's not so mild(stock buildup of the 351W with forged internals and junk yard twin turbos, or possibly a 10.5:1 compression buildup with nitrous)

Gotta have the supporting parts though, so rear end is one option. The tranny is already a prepped C4... just need a converter for it

It probably has a Ford 8" rear. They look quite similar to a 9" with a removeable third member.

If it actually has a bolted on rear cover and a non removable third member the only other thing it might be is a DANA axle which they sometimes used in Station Wagons etc


Being a passenger car the bolt pattern should be 5 on 4.5

Yeah I got to figurin' it was gonna be some strange Dana rear end. Any suggestions for a rear end swap? 9"? 8.8?

In reply to:

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Being a passenger car the bolt pattern should be 5 on 4.5

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Hmmm, newer mustangs(94+) have the same bolt pattern. Would newer mustang wheels fit or is the backspacing way different?

I'm almost positive, but I think the 73-78 full-size Fords used a 5-on-5 bolt pattern.

TTYL
David

Wow, interesting car. I always was intriqued by Canadian cars.

In the USA, Ford dropped Custom 500's after 1975, and by then they were four doors only. 76-78's were all LTD's.

Welcome CDP! My Dad had a 75' LTD 400ci, in silver blue/blue.
Nice looking car but he had a ton of drivability problems- stalling , running on etc, that the dealer could not fix . Oh well .
Love your custom, very, very rare these days (who would have thought!) . Refreshing to look at !! Keep it nice , good luck with whatever you do to her . Visit and post often .

PS , find some bumper trim asap !

I hadn't heard of any Dana rear ends used in those cars.

Most likely it is a Ford WER type. Has 10 bolts holding the rear cover on, and the shape of the rear cover is its wider than it is tall. 8.7" ring gear most common. Ratios were 2.75, 3.07, 3.25 and probably some others.
Earlier in the 70's, when cars had more HP, the WER was used behind 302's, and was called the Ford Light-Duty WER.
Cars that had a 460 used the Ford 9" rear instead.

I'd go with a 9" or an 8"

It's very possible some full sized Fords and Mercurys used 5 on 5 but every one I've come across was 5 0n 4.5

Some Lincolns were certainly 5 on 5

Do you know where I could get a pic of the WER rear .I've never seen one. Thanks. Dave

Like a DANA and the 8.8 they don't have a removeable third member. They aren't all that common

I have exploded and cutaway diagrams of the WER in my shop manuals, I can scan them in if you'd like. There really aren't any external, assembled views in there though.

TTYL
David