Snolab

So i'm a bit lost here. I bought this 69' 442 Holiday Coupe and it has what I am told is 4:11 gears, installed by previous knuckle head. IT seems this is the only major work/mod ever done on this car, other than brakes and exhaust. The engine has about 55k on it and so far is all stock original parts. Only driven about 4000 miles in last 20 years. So on my first few short cruises I learn this thing rockets from 0-60 like its on fire. No other mods. In fact it chirps the tires hard when going from 2nd to 3rd at about 35 - 40 mph if the pedal is in the floor. That kind of shocked me. Just sayin. So at 65 mph the RPMs are whining hard and the mpg is about 2mpg. I really dont like this rear-end gear. What advice can you guys give me to make this a better cruiser and yet still have some punch. Do i have it rebuilt with 3:42 or some other ratio? or do I just look for a whole new rear-end?

Octania

You can go as low numerically as 3 POINT 42 to one with your final drive. You will want to find out exactly what type of rear end it is, as it may have originated with Type O or Type C and since then anything at all may have been put in, including a Ford 9", if the installer has a torch and welder.

Find out what you have by studying the construction details and ribs on the outside of the pig and whatnot. Internet search will probably bring up some ID cues.

Then find out what sort of alternate gears you can get for it.

Frankly, if you have the room to keep the racy rear, and are inclined to not just sell it... sure, go ahead and buy a whole other final drive, any ratio available. Something on the order of 3.08 to 3.23 would also be a good choice for general driving purposes.

tru-blue 442

The factory auto w/a-c in my
69 442 with factory 400 bb/400 turbo
is a 3.23 posi. Nice combo.
IIRC, 3K at 70 mph. Been a while since
I have driven it.