english axle I.D. and diff ratios Q.

ah, so caterhams used modded (narrowed) ones originally then?

its highly confusing as it seems all the OSF boys don't know how to measure an axle properly (any measurement other than hub face to hub face is largely useless ) and measure axle casing width instead.

I always use HF>HF measurements as its handy when comparing to non-ford axles. for example the vehicle I plan on fitting this anglia axle to has a 56" HF>HF axle as standard with 4j wheels, whereas I plan on going to the 48" HF>HF anglia axle (its just doable with clearance to the springs) so I can band the wheels back out to 7 or 8j to fill the arches up again

I'm guessing theyll be mk1/2 fiesta front solid discs then looking at em?
the halfshaft machinig wont be an issue, so its potentially a very cheap conversion for me (even cheaper than refurbing the drums, providing the calipers will fit withing my 13" steels) as ive got to chuck em in the lathe to redrill to 4x4" anyway.

yes 3.54 not exaclty rare but always in demand (same as 3.7). afaik westfields always used the mk1/2 escort axle (48.5"). they debracketed it and added their own for the 5-link set-up. the caliper brackets on that ebay one look a bit suss just butt-welded onto the flange like that. the lazer cut ones you've bought sound like the weld-on brisca/f2 type which are decent spec. with using discs the drum backplate obviously isn't used and you'll need some spacers to fill the gap. the commonly supplied kits use discs from povo-spec mk1/2 fiesta (220mm iirc). you need to machine the half-shaft flange down to 132mm o.d. to fit in the discs. handbrake cable is from 4x4 mk5/6 rs2k.

from memory, fitting the 9" capri brakes onto a 105e axle would involve re-drilling the backplates. escort (and capri english type) axles have the round flange at the ends, the cortina/corsair and anglia types have an oblong flange mounted at an angle. with the 105e and 307e (anglia van) casing there are early, late and very late. the bearing size gets larger as they get older, latter anglia use escort size bearings. 9" english drum brake set-ups always in demand, should get 50 notes for a good used set.

ha ha! i was having the very same conversation with somebody the other week! it probably stems from the escort rally prep manuals which mention the atlas axle widths being measured from flange to flange rather than h/f to h/f, must have had a knock on effect and the english type is measured that way too. the measurements are all approximately too which can be confusing, the osf boys seemingly don't see the odd 1/2 of an inch here and there! when measured as you've said along the casing it's probably 49.5" (guilty as charged!)

all measurements below are approx and taken flange to flange (good name for a late night film . . . . !);

capri mk1 (4 cylinder); 49.5"
escort mk1/s; 48.5"
anglia 105e; 44"
anglia 307e (van); 46"
cortina mk1; 47.25"

bozwell, funny you should mention the front bushes, i made some in black nylon only the other day!


the ones I'm looking at are bolt-on, and are for 240mm solid discs- mk3 fiesta and escort fronts, and do require the machining you mention. I'm worried they wont fit within 13" steel wheels without spacers though. they're the shorttrack ones. i assume they take the place of the backplates, so i don't need spacers? theyres also ones available for pug 405 rear discs, and the fiesta 221mm discs, but those discs have a 10mm lower offset, so any clearance gained by the smaller diameter would probably be negated by that.




ive tried the backplates on, and although they use different endcastings as you say, the bolt patterns and orientation of them are both the same, so they do swap over.



as for the measurement to get HF width from casing width, ile take some accurate measurements next week, but it should be approximately 4" (2" per side). might be an eighth either way or something though, and thats assuming all halfshafts have the same length from bearing to flange, which i think they do, from what ive seen.