8.8 ford rearend in 1986 cutlass

[86cutlasssalon]

i have an 86 cutlass that i am going to putting about a 450 hp small block chevy in and what i wanna know it what kinda modifications have to be made to make a 8.8 rearend out of a fox body mustang work?

 

[ONE EYE]

i was thinking the same thing for my car until i ran across an 8.5, as long as the upper control arm ears are on the same angle you can just weld the lower brackets where you need them.

 

[ryanwitski]

the GM 8.5 i believe would be strong enough for that amount of HP. I'm kinda against putting ford parts in a Chevy. To each their own i guess.

 

[86cutlasssalon]

yes an 8.5 would be perfect but they are gettin impossible to find plus the ones u do find everyone wants an outrageous amount of money for... fox body v-8 mustangs are a dime a dozen so the rearends out of say a wrecked one would probley be alot cheaper i thought

 

[ONE EYE]

8.8 rearends are in mustangs that do 9-10 seconds and i am all for any part that makes my car faster.

 

[ryanwitski]

I guess if it's cheap. either way you will have to modify the mounting points, if you have the tools and skills then go for it. I did not mean just the G body 8.5
you can also use a chevelle rear end.

 

[RocketMan83]

Does the Chevelle rear end bolt in easily?

 

[ryanwitski]

yes it does. The ten bolt 8.5 " does bolt in easy but with one catch. You need to purchase adjustable upper control arms which are not too bad on ebay. The n it will bolt right up with no problems. The A body 10 bolt is almost identical to the g body one (and a lot cheaper!) Also the adjustable rear will allow you to angle the pumkin up or down to fit your specific application.

 

[RedHotRegal]

Thought 70-72 a body had 12 bolts? My '71 malibu does and its bone stock no options.

 

[ryanwitski]

nope they had a 10 bolt 8.5" I know b/c I was going to buy one off a guy at a show that had a 10 bolt on an all original Chevelle (71). The 12 bolt I think also works but honestly I could not guarantee that. Plus the 12 bolt eats up more torque and horsepower and weighs more. Again it depends what you are using it for and the HP and torque you are pushing. I know if you get more than 300-350 HP your stock rear end will blow up. Then you go to a 8.5. The max on that one though I do not know for sure, I heard from a friend (okay not a great source) you can get 750 HP and it won't break. Above that defiantly go with the 12 bolt or a strange rear.
But only 450 HP I'd use the chevelle A body 10 bolt rear, It's inexpensive and you won't have to weld and measure.