Just got the new rearend in (8.8" ford) and my new rims and tires arrive. Happy days.
15" rims with 205-50 15" Falken Azenis.


Later
Randy

BTW, anybody close to Evansville, IN.. I have a GSL rear end I will let go of cheap. Works great

 

Finally someone else close! well at least in the same state. I am in demotte IN i might be posting pretty soon here depending on what shape the 85 is in.

 

Car looks great Randy!
How did you mount the 8.8 in there? Stock mounts or different locations?
How do you like the tires?

 

Have not got to drive it yet, still need to get a driveshaft made up.
For the mounts, I sacraficed a open mazda rear. chopped it up and transfered them all to the ford rear. Also tossed the watts link for a simple panhard bar.

Later
Randy

 

ahh, bet that was fun cutting off the brackets off the old open rear.

 

NICE Wheels! Beats my stock 185X60x13"s . . .
They suck. How wide can ya go without having to do any mods? do 205's fit ok ?

 

yo whats up mr randy havent seen you forever, AIM me sometime, I need to ask you some questions... looks nice by the way

 

Nice rims, what are they? you're using a 4x4.5" pattern right?

 

the Rims look great, but I want to see some details on the 8.8" install!

 

http://members.sigecom.net/randyh/rx4ti/883.jpg
http://members.sigecom.net/randyh/rx4ti/884.jpg
http://members.sigecom.net/randyh/rx4ti/885.jpg
http://members.sigecom.net/randyh/rx4ti/886.jpg
http://members.sigecom.net/randyh/rx4ti/rim1.jpg
http://members.sigecom.net/randyh/rx4ti/rim2.jpg
http://members.sigecom.net/randyh/rx4ti/rim3.jpg
http://members.sigecom.net/randyh/rx4ti/rear1.jpg

I am using mustang drums for now, but will be swapping in lincoln mark7 disk in the near future.

Later
Randy

 

Those are some nice shoes! Can someone tell me, a n00b, what the benefits of a 8.8 Ford rear-end is? And what's so special about Ford rear-ends? I hear a lot about a "Ford 9", is that 9 inches? Are they just really strong?

Thanks, all the info is appreciated!

 

Hey Randy, looks great! Got any pics of the panhard rod?

--Bob

 

Well I was running a stock 8.8" on my mustang which was about 300-350# heavier than my rx7. I was dumping the clutch at 6000rpms on slicks and getting 60' into the low 1.5's.
And parts for the 8.8" are very plentiful and cheap. For around $400 you can make one damn near bullit proof. Many a 8.8" have carried a heavy mustang into single digit 1/4 mil times.
A 9" would be even stronger, but also heavier. I used a 8.8" because I had one laying around.

Later
Randy

 

Sorry, but this is the best one I have right now. I keep forgetting to get a better picture when I have the car jacked up.
http://members.sigecom.net/randyh/rx4ti/885.jpg
Not sure if it is the final version yet or not. It is a swedged steel rod and endlinks from afcoracing.com
They are down the street from me and it was one of those, "I got off work early and wanted to get something done that day" type of thing. I think all the part for the rod ran $45.

Later
Randy

 

Nice car and wheels man! Is it just me or from the looks of that pic you have your tires on wrong... Could just bee the pic but looks like the tread is going the wrong way heh.

 

Randy, what suspension setup (springs, shocks, coilovers?) are you running? My 15" traffiks with 205/50/15's should be arriving soon and your car sits perfectly and at the right height IMO. Thanks for the info!

Zac

 

I see that ya used the watts bracket. That makes for a pretty short panhard rod don't ya think? Wouldn't longer be better?

 

Look nice.....

 

Yea, longer would be better, but I was able to get it damn near horizontal when the car is sitting on the ground and with suspension travel ony being a few inches it shouldn't hurt to much. There was really no way to make it any longer and not cause problems. The Upper watts link is as far to the drivers side as I could get even if I made my own mount. And the upper passensger side ear on the rearend was as far as I could go to the passenger side without getting into my 3" exhaust. It is still as long or longer than the one in this picture.

And the car will see maybe two autocrosses a year, most of its time will be spent going in a straight line.

Later
Randy

 

Is the Ford 8.8 the same as the 9inch where you can swap out different gears wether you are on the street or track?

 

You're thinking of a quick-change rear, which is a whole 'nother beast altogether... A Ford 9 inch is really the same as our stock rears, just much, much heavier.. both duty-wise and weight...

--Danny

 

What set of gears are you using now, stock 2.73's? I wouldn't mind doing this "someday" and sticking with a numerically lower gear like 3.55 or 3.27.

 

Yea, it had 3.73's in it when I started but went ahead and swapped in some 3.27's. They will still be plenty for the strip since I am using a 4cyl t5 transmission. First gear is close to 4.00, 24" tall slicks, 3.27 rear gear and 300+ ft# down low will make for some good times.
I had the same setup in my mustang, but with 3.55 rear gears and a 26" tall; slick and was getting 60' into the low 1.5's
I shuld have my driveshaft by this coming mid week, and I will make it to some track next weekend. It should be in the 11's easy, but I have also switched to a stand alone EFI system, so I might have the tune so far off it might be a depressing first day. But the same engine went 11's in my heavier mustang and I have done a few other things to it since then.

Later
Randy

 

Nice work, looks great!

If your extra rear end is from this car, then your new wheels are 15" 4x110mm. They look familiar. What brand, style, backspace, etc? What experience have you had with the Falcons?

Thanks!