1970 Ford Fairlane Rear End - Gears of War

Keep in mind that this is easier to do before the rear is painted and in the car. With the new brake line attached to the caliper, you'll need to weld the support bracket to the appropriate spot on the axletube. You'll then repeat this on the other side.

To keep the T-fitting in place (it splits the brake line to the calipers), weld a bolt to the housing. Make sure that you buy a T-fitting that has a mounting hole.

Once you secure the T-fitting with a locking nut, you'll be able to measure and make the hard lines (3/16 inch) to feed each caliper. Buy pre-made units from your local auto parts store and bend them to fit the shape of the housing. If the length doesn't work out, cut and flare the tubing to fit.

This is how it'll look when you hook up the Lokar cable to the Ford disc brakes.

Here's the easiest way we found to tie the Lokar cable into the factory e-brake system. These U-bolt cable clamps can be bought at a local hardware store for less than $10.

With the new rear in, you'll notice that the old driveshaft is too long. Since we plan to pump up the torque, it was the perfect time to upgrade the driveshaft to something stout. We called Inland Empire Driveline to ask what would work for our application, and the answer was this 3.5-inch aluminum unit. With the U-joint, it ran $470. If you need to save a couple greenbacks, go with a steel unit for $390, but it will weigh nearly 50 percent more (our aluminum unit tipped the scales at 14.5 pounds with the U-joint). Be sure to ask for the U-bolts you'll need to secure it to the new differential.

This is the result of six hours of labor. The new rear looks great and fits perfectly; the only thing wrong is that all these new parts make the underbelly of the Fairlane look even worse. A weekend with some rattle cans is now in order. Costs for the install came to $2,423.72 for the complete rearend from Strange (with brakes), $470.00 for the Inland Empire Driveline driveshaft, $144.95 for the Lokar cable, and $86.44 in miscellaneous hardware and paint. For those without a calculator handy, that comes to $3,125.11 total. Considering this unit will easily stand up to all the abuse we have planned, it's a great deal for a turnkey assembly. If you have a similar Fairlane, Strange has all our measurements on file, so give them a ring.