Anyone done this into an FB?

 

Proabably, there's a ford rear end on grannys for the first gen. that is straight bolt in

 

yes, and it was a pita. Look into Grannies bolt in kits. I wish they were available when i did mine.

 

Hey Directfreak, do you know any European car/pickup rear ends i could use?? I don't think the Granada was made over here in Europe. Looking for other option now.....

 

How common are mustangs over there?

I'm sure they're pretty rare but not impossible to find?

I think '79-93 mustang rearends are all 8.8" but I'm NO ford expert. A quick seach online would probably reveal this quickly.

 

Only Mustang GT's came with the 8.8. The rest had the 7.5. The best source for an 8.8 is NOT a mustang actually. A 95 or later Explorer came stock with the 8.8 and disk rear brakes, along with the 5x4.5 bolt pattern and I think its only about 2" wider than the stock rear end.

 

Well Mustangs are very rare here, i think it was never sold here, just imported. The newer models yes, but the older models are very very rare. but i'll be looking out for one and ask an American car seller to help me find one.


That's great info there man thanks. This gives me a good base to search. Do these 8.8 rear end have LSD?? Where can i recognize if it's an 8.8 and not something else??

Sorry for jacking the Thread a little

Greets

Musclefella

 

Keep in Mind that the SUV rear ends were not CENTERED. One side was longet than the other. Your best bet is a Fox Body Mustang. It's only about 2" wider than stock.

 

I thought one of the V8 conversion places had a bolt on 8.8 kit. Search or ask around in the traitor's section of the rotary performance forum.

If you are going to do it yourself get an 8.8 lincoln rear end. They have big vented disk brakes.

 

This isn't correct, any 87-98 V8 mustang came with an 8.8 which includes LX models, Rangers, Mazda B series pickups, Towncars, MarkVIII's, LTD's, Crown Victoria's, all came with 8.8 diffs

 

Yes, http://www.grannysspeedshop.com/ as previously mentioned by DF does make a 8.8" conversion kit. Thats the route im going to take in the next few months here.

Heres another link to narrow it right down. http://members.tripod.com/~grannys/TASAconversion.html

 

some of the old school puerto rican racer's i know use datsun truck rear end's....i've heard they just swap over the spring perches along with the other vital sus pieces needed for the 1st gen chassis, but that sounds like some work

 

Why go to the trouble of installing an 8.8 but not adapting coilovers....?

 

Ah, but thats the beauty of it. Its VERY easy to narrow them down, no need for custom axles. Basically, I've found that the Explorer rear end is pretty much the same width as the fox body mustang rear, but the pinion is offset by 2 3/16" to the passenger side. All you need to do is cut out a section the long axle tube and use 2 short axles and your rear end is narrower (can't seem to find by how much), WITHOUT needing to buy new shortened axles. The amount the axle can be narrowed would be the difference in length of the axle shafts. The stock rear end is 57 1/4" wide WMS to WMS. The explorer rear end is 59 3/4" from WMS to WMS. Thats 2 1/2" wider.

The best part is, the explorer came STOCK with disk brakes after 95 or 97, depending what you read, up to 4.10 gears and a Trac-Loc in some models. They also have much stronger 31 spline axles compared to the mustang 27 spline units.

Ok, further serching provided these numbers:
AXLE, 97 & UP MOUNTAINEER, 95 & UP EXPLORER, 2&4 WD 5L RH 27-5/8", 31 SPL
AXLE, 97 & UP MOUNTAINEER, 95 & UP EXPLORER, 2&4 WD 5L LH 30-1/2", 31 SPL

This means the axle shafts have a difference of about 2 7/8", meaning that the axle can be narrowed by that much. You would end up with an axle that is slightly narrower than stock. But I'm seeing some conflicting numbers. It says on the page I found that the pinion is offset 3 7/8" to the passenger side instead of the 2 3/16" I found earlier. I'll trust the new info as it seems the info was very well researched.

http://www.jeepsunlimited.com/forums...t=674123&pp=20

Its actually a thread from a jeep website as the explorer rear end is a very common swap in those.

 

Well i found one for $260 dollars(200euro). It's from a 1996 Mustang. Should i buy this one??

1996 rear axle 4 link

Seems like it's going to be alot of work without one of those conversion kits but i'll give it a try. Second question is going to be a suspension setup, what kind of shocks to use etc etc??

Greets

Muscle

 

If you can get a picture of the rear cover you will know for sure, I do believe in that year both 7.5 and 8.8" diff's were used for V6 and V8 models respectivly.

I am looking for a picture I saw recently the difference in the covers for the 7.5 and the 8.8.

I don't think just the increased power handling ability of the granny's kit is worth the price. Most people needing a stronger diff also need the extra tire space back there, I have decided to use a coilover setup mounted closer inboard, with some cutting it will provide a lot more tire space for a stronger platform

 

No. I bought a newer mustang rear end, and after narrowing it down - i was able to use almost NOTHING.

Get the foxbody mustang rear, or the grannies kit. Grannies even offers BOLT IN choices for rear brakes.

I am STILL running with no rear brakes because of incompatabilities. (long story, not going to get into it - but can be easily avoided buying the correct stuff)

 

DF, please do go into detail. This is a potential mod down the road and there is very little info on the forum about it. It would be nice to know of any pitfalls ahead of time.

 

X2, I need to do all the research I can as the 8.8" project is coming up in a few months for me. I know me Trochoid, Gonzz and a couple others are considering the 8.8" route, so all the information available the better!

 

I have decided to go with a grannies 8.8 bot-in. When you think about making it yourself you will end up spending more in the longrun or more headaches. I have talked t granny speed shop on the phone and will have them do mine. You can choose many different options on rear brakes also. Can't beat the price.. Ordering mine with my tax return.. Late Jan or early Feb next year..

 

I will probally go the same route. Seems like the simplest solution, the only problem will be shipping $$$.

 

What did they quote you for shipping?

 

Haven't talked to them about it yet, I have a couple of other projects that are currently taking priority.

 

I bought a 2001 Ford Mustand Rear end with brakes. It was way too wide, and had to be narrowed down. The guy building my rear literally turned into a crackhead while building my rear - and ignored what I asked for. I wanted a Ford 8.8 with all the stock mounting points in order to keep my shocks/springs, etc. Plus the car would be legal for any drag racing event since I wouldn't have modifed the mounting points.

Well, the crackhead ignored me, and when I arrive one day to his shop, he had decided to go with a 4-link setup (which is almost dedicated drag-racing setup) without my permission. He ha already cut the stock mounting points and narrowed the rear in a way that I wasn't able to use anything but the housing of the rear.

I ended up spending 3x the money to make it work right, and its still not perfect. The crackhead lost all his money, was evicted from his home, lost his shop and everything in it, and was arrested within 45 days of taking my car in.

I had to use coil-overs, aftermarket brakes (which still don't work right) and adjutable links and hyme joints to make the rear work right.

However, since all my mounting points are solid, and there's no bushings back there - the ride is stiff, and bangs around alot.

Again, back then Grannies didn't offer these bolt in kits that they offer now. Plus they use stock mounting hardware so you keep your suspension and geometry all correct. Your RX-7 will still feel like the quick and nimble Rx-7 it's always been - just with a relatively bulletproof rear.

Not to mention, they offer adapters to bolt in TII rear brakes or Ford rear brakes - so you can keep your parking/e-brake (something I do not have).

Best Idea I have heard yet.

By the way Trochoid, since you have a widebody - a stock Ford (Fox Body) Mustang 8.8 would br great for you - without narrowing it. You're probably one of the few who could buy a cheap one at a junkyard and weld the mounting plates on it and be done. Your wheels would more than make any difference in width. Just my 02cents.

 

That's good news DF, I have about 1" of extra room on each side to clear the fenders. That may change when the 15X10 wheels show up from Japan though.

Thanks for the info and sad story. I have seen a few people who have gone down the toilet quick with crack.

I have debated about going with either a panhard or 4 link when I get to the point of changing the rearend, haven't decided yet.