What RWD Ford axle will fit a Hillman Hunter?

[nomad]

It looks like the axle on my Hunter Estate needs sorting out ASAP

Before I spend time & cash bashing my knuckels and the axle - does anyone know of a RWD Ford axle that's a straight swap?

Background info:
I like the overdrive Hunter gearbox and am hoping to keep that and the prop to make things simple and cheap, so ideally just a bolt-in axle swap.
I'm looking at the possibily of a modern motor (RWD'd 1.7TD ), not planning anything yet but would like to know if there's modern RWD diesel & axle that will update the complete running gear.
Budget for this year has already been spent so am wanting a cheap option (no LSD / GT premiums ), and something that's easy to find please

Questions :
Axle width? Any links to sites so I can check the size of various Ford axles? Any suggestions what I need or what would suit?
Ratios? The Hunter Factory manual says 4.22 for 1500 Estate, 3.89 for iron 1725 with overdrive, 3.70 for alloy 1725 no overdrive - so I'm guessing standard would be (still is??) 4.22 or 3.89 - what Fords would suit it better?
propshaft flange? Will a Ford Axle bolt up to a Hunter prop? (can't justify paying to have work done on the prop )
length of nose on diff? if the Ford diff is different to what's on, the prop will be to long or short
Spring saddles? are Ford rear springs same distance apart as the Hunter? How difficult is it to cut the saddles off a new axle and reweld in the right position?

Last resort - is there a Ford engine / box / prop / axle that would be a bolt-in swap ?

Reasons mine needs work ?
The brakes on one side are shot so either the halfshaft bearing seal is leaking (I changed 1 side a while ago and it was NOT fun) or the brake cylinder has blown a seal. Either way needs parts, time, and new shoes.
Just noticed the clevis linkage on the handbrake is nearly worn through, would be easy to weld up and redrill but if I can swap for a new unit...
It's very low geared (as it's an Estate) with lots of backlash, would like to fit unworn saloon gearing to make it more relaxed at speed.
It's too wide! There's space between the inner arch and the tyre but the outer sidewall scrubs on the wheelarch lip, if I can find an axle 2" narrower, I can go up a few tyre sizes


Any ideas, suggestion, or offers of cheap axles in the North East will be gratefully received


A random axle like what I want

[Dez]

escort axles are listed as 54", but are actually about 53-3/4". i recon this would be about the right width. 105e are 48", anglia van are 50", there something thats 52" as well, mk1 tina maybe?

available ratios are 3.5(pricey), 3.7(pricey, rs2000), 3.9, 4.1, 4.44(pricey).

i don't know on the other stuff, props are similar sized but not tried bolting them up. spring pads are easy to move about to get it mounted on the springs. i recon any difference in snout length would be small enough to be taken up by the prop slider.

be wary of the prices of some ford brake parts though- the earlier type wheel cycls are expensive, as are the shoes. i find its cheaper to do a sierra/fiesta based disc conversion then spend 100 quid on a full se tof gubbins.

[deaddave72]

how about a moggy minor one? that could be a posabliity, unlike the series 2 landrover one you have pictured ;-)

[nomad]

Aug 22, 2013 23:23:49 GMT deaddave72 said:

how about a moggy minor one...

Hadn't though of it - a quick check on Google (via RR Wiki ) says Morris have 4x4" (101mm) PCD but the car is Hillman/Ford 4x108mm
wiki.retro-rides.org/4x101.ashx
wiki.retro-rides.org/4x108.ashx

Keep the ideas coming

cheers

[composimmonite]

Why not simply source, recondition as necessary and fit another Hunter axle (saloon ratio) ? Different offset / inset wheels would solve the clearance issues.

Paul H

[Roy Royson]

The axle from an anglia is one of the shortest ones with the english diff, realistically unless you want to spend loads you'll be looking at a 3.89 diff, a 3.9 diff or a 4.1 diff.
The mk1 cortina axle is 47 inches as I recall

[nomad]

Aug 23, 2013 7:02:42 GMT composimmonite said:

Why not simply source, recondition as necessary and fit another Hunter axle (saloon ratio) ?
Different offset / inset wheels would solve the clearance issues.

Had thought about looking for a Hunter saloon axle but was thinking Ford should be more common (ie cheap and easy to find), may be wrong if they're common but have scene tax on them . I know a chap who breaks Hunters is asking £60 for the saloon diff he's selling - if I do that I still need to take my car off the road to fix the oil leak on my axle.
Good idea about the wheel offset but there's 3 full sets of Hunter/Ford wheels here and about 10 random spares, too many to sell off and replace just to get 1" extra clearance for bigger tyres.

[Dez]

A good escort axle with a mediocre diff ratio will be around £150. More if they can prove the brakes are recent. I paid 120 for one recently and there was a que of people for it, I wa geographically closest and could collect quickly or I'd have missed it.

[andygb]

just been through this on my H120 rally car project as I couldn't get an lsd to fit the rootes diff

hunter axle case end to end is 50.5 inches mk2 escort is 48.5 inches I wanted to keep the original track so opted for a mk1 capri @ 50 inches
add approx 4 inches overall for halfshafts & drums

ground off all the capri bracketry and welded on some new saddles which are readily available and fit tightly onto the spring pin
the ford diff nose is shorter so I sent the prop ends to reco prop (its not back yet) its approx an inch difference !

also welding some new shocker mounts on for some group 4 bilsteins as the rootes saddles incorporate the shock mount

sounds like a mk2 axle case would be ideal for you.

[andygb]

got a nice 3:89 rootes diff in the axle no leaks and j type overdrive with switch and relay if you fancy

[nomad]

Thanks for all the ideas folks.
Andy - excellent info - Much appreciate it !

Am trying to uppdate/upgrade the car when I need to fix bits, Escort Mk2 sounds an ideal size ... have found 165 tyres are fine, 175's scrub when the car is fully loaded, 185's always scrub.
Would be great if I could move the wheels in very slightly so it would take 185's but sounds like it's not a cheap/simple job

Aug 23, 2013 16:04:44 GMT andygb said:

got a nice 3:89 rootes diff in the axle no leaks and j type overdrive with switch and relay if you fancy

Already have a nice ioverdrive in the car, but PM sent for the axle & diff
Any ideas how I can check what diff is in mine without stripping it and counting the teeth? I've checked 3 workshop manuals, still not sure if mine has 4.22 or 3.89
Would like to try yours if mine is 4.22 but no need if mine is already 3.89

Cheers

[rodvan]

Aug 23, 2013 16:04:44 GMT andygb said:

got a nice 3:89 rootes diff in the axle no leaks and j type overdrive with switch and relay if you fancy

its the same physical size axle for a 1964 minx isnt it?
My minx is a 4.22 and its a bit low geared, just got it back on the road for my nieces wedding the other weekend.
How much would you want and where are you?

[djefk]

4.22 was I think fitted to all Hunters with iron cylinder heads, if your car had an alloy head when new, then I think it would have had a 3.89. Ask Macs Factors if you're still not sure.

[jonw]

I can have a chat to a guy I know. He had loads of hunters in the day and may still have an axle if yor interested?

[rodvan]

Oct 23, 2013 13:17:45 GMT jonw said:

I can have a chat to a guy I know. He had loads of hunters in the day and may still have an axle if yor interested?

I am interested and the box would be a massive bonus as well, ive been looking at loads of options for this, just trying to make it more useable.