I have a V8 Granada that I bought for parts and I am trying to find out what rear end it has. It has a rear inspection plate and the tag reads:

WER-AC 8CD
2 47 8 7 576A

I have been trying to find out how to decode this tag for the last three hours and if it was a 8 or 9 inch there is all kinds of information. I figure it is a 7.5 or a 8.8. Did they put 7.5s behind V8s? I didn't think the 7.5 would stand up to a V8s power.

It looks like it is a 8" rearend with 2.47 ratio that was made on July 05 1976. This is what I have deciphered from the tag, I am not 100% positive so another Ford guy will have to back this up.

I finally googled just wer-ac and came up with this page: Ford Differentials

According to that it is an integral carrier axle with a ring gear diameter of 8.7 inches and a ratio of 2.47:1. I wish it was a WFB-G or WFB-K.

The only 247 gears I have seen have been in the 80 model year V8 car and the rear end was the 8.8 on leaf springs and drum brakes (pan rear cover, not drop out like an 8/9). The only year used. The nine inch came with disc brakes and 250 gear, and the 8 was out of production (used to use 280 gear).

It is about 57 1/2 inches wide wheel to wheel and is a direct bolt in for almost every leaf spring Ford car from 57 through 80.

I've had a couple, and know of one unmolested Granada (Monarch) right now with an 8.8 in it from the factory.

Yours is the 8.8, it takes all the same parts as the Fox Mustang cars and pickups.


www.readershotrods.com is your ride there?

What year is the Granada? A late 70's Granada would have an 8 inch or 9 inch, they didn't start making the 8.8 until 1981 or 1982........

try this site: http://www.precisiongear.com/ford7.htm

According to these folks the Granada got the 8 incher from 75-79, and the 7.5 incher from 80 through balance out. That's consistent with what I remember -- the 8.8 was meant initially for the trucks, big Fords and Lincolns. It didn't make its way into the Fox bodies for a couple of years....

There were also some 9 inchers used in the Granada. I am not sure if the 8"/9" choice was based on engine size or axle availability or some other reason, we used to be really weird that way.

Excuse me sir, but they are mistaken.

7.5 and 8.8 do look similar but the 8.8 has a more square rear pan.

In fact the link already given http://jniolon.clubfte.com/differentialid.html indicates a 78 might have also had an 8.8 (8.7).

I have had one 80 Granada and one 80 Monarch (both bucket seat cars that looked like Versailles without the fakey top) that came factory with a 247 geared drum brake 8.8 on leaf springs. I know where there is a factory 80 Monarch with an 8.8 on leaf springs right now.

No doubt they are extreeeeemely rare.... but they do exist.

Never say never when dealing with a FORD.

There is a big difference between the 8.7" rear found in the Granada/Monarch and the 8.8" found in the other cars. I had envisioned using the common 8.8" trac-lock guts from the later Mustangs in the Salisbury-type Granada rear housings bolted into early Novas. An afternoon at the local boneyard proved that this wasn't to be...
I think the 9" center sections were used in the Granadas when the line ran out of 8" centers. I've found 9" rears in plain-jane 6-cylinder 4-door cars.

You mean the G housing is unique?

As I understand it, the 8.7" gears are a 1-off setup used only in the Granada/Monarch. The granada/Monarch/Versailles rear ends are a bolt-in for early Mustangs and Novas, so if they were available in the common 8.8" size you would see a lot more ink about swapping them in. I actually removed both the 8.8 Mustang and the 8.7 Granada rear ends and made the comparison right in the boneyard.

We used to scrap quite a few Granadas - this was about 10 years ago so my memory might be a bit off, BUT - we never pulled any of the integral carrier style - just sent those on to scrap so I don't know much about those. We did have more then a few with an 8" pig style rearend. Thinking these were either 2.73 or 3.00 ratio's as we didn't keep many (if any). We had 3 Granada's/Monarch's with 9" pig style rearends in them. The thing that seemed consistent in all three of these cars were that they were 1980, 250 straight six, with an automatic, and called out a 2.47 gear on the door tag. This always made me think that at one point getting the 9" was strictly based what gear ratio you ordered more then the drivetrain as we never saw them in 302 or 351 Granadas. This rearend was 1" overall wider from backing plate to backing plate compared to a Maverick (that was what we were always messing with). This is all personal observation - not claiming any of it to be fact.

I have been unable to locate any pertinent information regarding this Ford 8.7 integral housing differential used in the 78-80 Granada series. Can anyone steer me to a site?

edited:
Just emailed Currie for help.

To answer the question in # 1 = Yes the 7.5 was used in the Mustang GT through about 85.

http://jniolon.clubfte.com/differentialid.html

http://www.powertrax.com/fordcarns....ear%20ax le%22

Sorry, these links have no pertinent information about the 8.7.

How impertinent of me....

There were two types on integral housing rear axles available, the standard type and the WER type.

The standard type integral housing is described as 'an integral type housing, hypoid design, with the centerline of the pinion set below the centerline of the ring gear. Semi-floating axle shafts are retained in the housing by ball bearings and a bearing retainer at the axle housing outer ends'.

The WER type integral housing is described as 'an integral type housing, hypoid design, with the centerline of the pinion set below the centerline of the ring gear. Semi-floating axle shafts are retained in the housing by "C" locks at the splined end of the axle shaft'.

The WER type rear axles listed below were used in Ford, Mercury, Granada and Monarch and had an 8.7" ring gear.

In 1975 the axle codes were:
3.07:1 - WER-S, WER-P and WER-T

In 1976 the axle codes were:
2.75:1 - WER-V and WER-W
3.07:1 - WER-P, WER-S and WER-T
3.25:1 - WER-V

In 1977 and 1978 the axle codes were:
2.47:1 - WER-AA, WER-AB and WER-AC

In 1979 the WER rear axles were gone, replaced by the WGX, WGY and WGZ which were the 6.75", 7.5" and 8.5" setups.

As you stated in # 7.

LOL good for you.

All I am trying to confirm is if the 8.7 and the 8.8 that look externally identical have any interchangeable parts, and if the 8.7 was used in any other vehicles besides the G/M twins.

The WER-AA / AB / AC rearends of 78-79-80 look identical to an 8.8.

All that number data schtuff is worthless beyond telling us it is an 8.7.