Lincoln Versailles rear end

Here is an odd post ;) I really don't know a thing about this piece or what it is commonly used for as a swap. My Shops Land lord, is a 70 year old "original" gear head. He has more Motor sports projects than anyone I know. Prolly has as many "unfinished" projects as a lot of you do LMAO. He used to go to swap meets all the time, selling stuff, and buying stuff. we were talking over coffee this morning and he asked me if I knew anyone that would be interested in this rear end. Of course I really didn't, but told him about this forum. and that there were plenty of guys on here that are always doing swaps and Frankenstein projects ;) Dennis is not much of a computer guy, but is learning. I was hoping to help him out by trying to find a buyer for this. I didn't put this in the for sale section, because I know so little about it, or what its used for in a swap. or even what the price is. But if it needs to be moved to the for sale section I certainly understand that! If some one is interested I can get you his cell # and you 2 can work out the details. The part is in Racine Wi. By the way, Dennis is a cool guy, a real young man in a 70 year olds body, last year I took him as a passenger at Road America in my Spec miata. He had the time of his life, and couldn't get enough of it!

That used to be a pretty hot swap to get rear discs into early Mustangs.

So are you saying you have a Versaille rearend for sale? I might be interested. Shoot me a PM with pics and details if possible.

As Woody said, these were a very cool swap back in the day.

You could also try Zeroto60garage.com , and there used to be a Mustang restorer in Milwaukee called Mark's Mustangs (this was a while ago though).

bravenrace wrote: So are you saying you have a Versaille rearend for sale? I might be interested. Shoot me a PM with pics and details if possible.

No, I said a friend of mine had the part and I was trying to help him, I dont have the details ;) Im pretty sure he is not able to get you pictures, but if you 2 can work something up I can help Please give dennis a call 262 930 4522

Yeah that was THE go-to swap for an early Mustang/Falcon/Nova/Camaro/etc. to get a 9 inch rear with disc brakes. That was before there were many aftermarket setups or the 8.8 with discs from an Explorer. Still a good piece to have but not quite as valuable as it once was.

Don't ever try to lift it yourself!

As I recall, even 20 years ago, parts for those things were already getting scarce. I'm not sure that it was a regular 9 inch or not.

stock, they were geared to the moon-2.73 to 1 0r something like that. My brother and I put one in his '67 mustang. Bolted in. Nice setup not sure about parts. The versallies was Lincolns version of a granada, so that may be the hot ticket for you maverick guys too. definately falcons, mustangs, cougars, etc.

Although they are significantly wider than a '64-'66 Mustang rearend.

In reply to Datsun1500:

The '64-66 Mustang rear is 57.25" wide. The Versaille is 58.50" wide. It bolts in, but if you want the tires to stay in the same location, you need higher backspaced wheels.

BTW, here are a couple other rear end widths:

67-70 Mustang 59.25 inches 71-73 Mustang 61.25 inches 74 Maverick 56.50 inches

... and they came with tall ratios: 2.48, 2.58, and 2.75 ... and parts are harder to find and more expensive than for some of the better newer rears.

But if you can get a good price on a housing with the disc brakes complete, then they are pretty cheap to set up. Drop a chunk in with a better gear ratio and your good. Good if you have an 8" rear in a vintage mustang, but probably not worth it if you already have a 9".

The old bronco people like them - just tough to find these days. You can post up on classicbroncos.com and probably find some interest for the housing and brakes.

The cars they came from are completely gone (and have been for many years), because everyone bought them for the axles. When is the last time anyone saw one? I never have.

A friend of mine has one... it's a '79 - baby blue with baby blue interior. Thing is mint, except for the exhaust which needs to be replaced.

Travis_K wrote: The cars they came from are completely gone (and have been for many years), because everyone bought them for the axles. When is the last time anyone saw one? I never have.

I saw a Versailles two weeks ago!

It was sitting in a junk yard. Perfectly intact except the rear was missing.

Maybe thats a bad example.