Has someone else installed a Ford 8.8 axle out of an Explorer in their G Body, or am I the genie pig here?
The cost of 9" Fords have gone beyond reason. I bought the complete 8.8 axle out of a four wheel drive Explorer, with a 3.74:1 Trac-Loc, disc brakes and 31 spline axles for $250. I used an 8.8 in a Mustang 10.5 car with a 496 Chevy. They are every bit as strong as the 9 inch; just not as convenient to change gear ratios. I know the factory 31 spline axles are not nearly as strong as the forged racing axles, but plenty strong enough for a mild 383 in a street car.
The spring brackets and lower trailing arms are simple tasks using the Southwest Speed brackets.
The uppers are a bit different. Two trusted local chassis builders said that they could weld the steel bushing mounts to the factory cast center section; but I'm a bit of a chicken when it comes to suspension parts.
I have a piece of 1/2" x 3" cold rolled bar being cold formed to build a bridge from one axle tube to the other,
just outboard of the cast center section. The upper bar bushings will sit on top of it.
I'm thinking about building a drill jig to change the bolt pattern to 5 x 4.75". Cheaper than a pair of the dual pattern ralley wheels. (The Ford axle flanges don't have the large hole to allow putting a socket on the backing plate bolts, so you can drill all five holes, centered on the 4.5" pattern locations.) I did the same thing,years ago, to put 4.5" x 5 wheels on the front of a Duster. Worked fine.
So, with the 3.74 axle and the 3.6 low gear in the 700R4, it should have a final drive low in gear of
7.37, and a forth gear (700R4 4th gear overdrive is 1:1.3) ratio of 2.87.
Please critique my plan, if you see something that looks odd to you. I'd rather change it now than after the money is spent and the welding is done.
The cost of 9" Fords have gone beyond reason. I bought the complete 8.8 axle out of a four wheel drive Explorer, with a 3.74:1 Trac-Loc, disc brakes and 31 spline axles for $250. I used an 8.8 in a Mustang 10.5 car with a 496 Chevy. They are every bit as strong as the 9 inch; just not as convenient to change gear ratios. I know the factory 31 spline axles are not nearly as strong as the forged racing axles, but plenty strong enough for a mild 383 in a street car.
The spring brackets and lower trailing arms are simple tasks using the Southwest Speed brackets.
The uppers are a bit different. Two trusted local chassis builders said that they could weld the steel bushing mounts to the factory cast center section; but I'm a bit of a chicken when it comes to suspension parts.
I have a piece of 1/2" x 3" cold rolled bar being cold formed to build a bridge from one axle tube to the other,
just outboard of the cast center section. The upper bar bushings will sit on top of it.
I'm thinking about building a drill jig to change the bolt pattern to 5 x 4.75". Cheaper than a pair of the dual pattern ralley wheels. (The Ford axle flanges don't have the large hole to allow putting a socket on the backing plate bolts, so you can drill all five holes, centered on the 4.5" pattern locations.) I did the same thing,years ago, to put 4.5" x 5 wheels on the front of a Duster. Worked fine.
So, with the 3.74 axle and the 3.6 low gear in the 700R4, it should have a final drive low in gear of
7.37, and a forth gear (700R4 4th gear overdrive is 1:1.3) ratio of 2.87.
Please critique my plan, if you see something that looks odd to you. I'd rather change it now than after the money is spent and the welding is done.