Has anyone done this?? I think this a way economical compared to a 9 in without the parasitic drag and probably as strong as a 12 bolt. Well, no c clip eliminators on the stock ones but who cares??

 

I like the ford 8.8 too.
I bought one from a junkyard to upgrade the ranger I used to have. Got a rear off a '91 explorer, it was 3.73 posi with 31 spline axles and is 59" axle flange to axle flange.
Then I took the rear from the ranger, which was a '94 8.8 with 28 spline axles and 58" wide, and put it under my S-10. Had the axles redrilled for chevy wheels. Used a 3 1/2" aluminum driveshaft off a 2000 explorer. If you hunt the junkyards you can come up with some great stuff.
But on the other hand a GM 8.5 is similiar, the 28 spline ford looks internally the same and they even use the same bearings throughout the rear. I went with the ford for it's width and availablity.
Obviously a lot of cutting and welding of bracketry is required. And BTW the stock ford traction lok SUCKS!...
But I still run it.
I'd imagine the torque arm bracket may be be difficult to fabricate to use this rear on an f-body.

 

So the width is comparable?? Anyone done a Gm 8.5 or an 8.8 torque arm???

 

Why not look for a 9 bolt, they are a bolt in. They are quite strong. Anything else & you will have to deal with the torque arm mounting, welding brackets on & quite possibly shortening axles & tubes.

 

Reasons not to get a 9 bolt. Pricey, drag, weight, odd number of bolts.

I am assuming that I will have to cut brackets for an 8.8 or an 8.5. I think the widths will be similar. I am just concerned about torque arm mounts.


Did I see you have a 9in?? Why?

 

It was 1/2 the price of 12 bolt.
The ring gears are cheap & easy to change.
Stronger than most other rears.
Already had a center section.

 

I asked why b/c I saw you only run 103 mph and wonder why you want a 9 in that?? Big future plans??

 

You never know, a 502 or 427SB might fall into the engine compartment.

 

I'm pretty sure drivetrain specialists sells a ford 8.8 that bolts into our cars for $1500. You get to pick gears and it is supposedly stronger than a 12 bolt. I talked with these guys about upgrading my broken 7.5 and they mentioned the ford unit and that it was a new offering. pretty sure it was the 8.8.

 

They are easy to rebuild tho. You can get a rebuild kit from Ford for $70. Then set it up so it has 2x the amount of friction discs that it should and it will lock better than any posi I've seen

 

I've done that and shimmed it tight.
It's actually not that bad driving straight and drag racing.
But it pisses me off when I turn off my driveway and catch a traction bar on the concrete, only one tire spins.
Other than that I am happy with it.

Just a few other notes.
I saw a ford 9" off a versailles with disc brakes at a junkyard. It also was 58" wide. Parts for 9" fords are real cheap.
I'm not sure the width of an f-body rear but say for instance I wanted a narrowed rear for my '75 Nova, the ford 8.8 off a 4 liter ford ranger would be 4" narrower so it would be a cheap alternative to making room for more tire. But again the f-body torque arm is the one thing keeping it from being an easy swap on those cars.
Another good thing is that all 8.8 ring and pinions interchange, from mustangs, some t-birds, some mini vans, rangers and mazda b series trucks with 4 liters and f 150s all interchange. Axle spline count doesn't matter. unlike GM's 8.5, they changed the pinion spline count when they changed to 30 spline axles.

 

the drivetrain specialists 8.8 comes ready to bolt into the f body, torque arm brackets and all.

 

what is their website???

 

http://www.drivetrainspecialists.com/

Rick

 

was doing a little searching and i called them...they dont do the 8.8

12 bolt or 9"

Firgured i'd make the correction for those searching

 

WOW! You know if you bought that you could've Ebay'd it for a zillion dollars.

 

Some dudes over at LS1tech.com have used a ford 8.8 center section welded onto their stock 10-bolt axles tubes. It's worth a try, I plan on trying it. Check it out:

http://www.ls1tech.com/ubb/ultimateb...c;f=2;t=004512

 

YA, he sells them for $1500 complete and less if you supply other parts for him he doesn't have to get

its a nice setup but not for those pushing a lot of horsepower because he re-uses the stock 10 bolt axle tubes which means the stock axles are re-used and under high horsepower/stress they are gonna snap

 

Ford.....BLAH!!!

Your prolly goin to be messin alot with the 8.8 cause its a ford part....lol. You guys prolly heard too about the new SVT...gone now for good. LoL!!!I love it. :sillylol:

Naw.. serious though if your lookn for a 8.8 might as well find a 9" and fabricate from there.