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| hi all. new here, swapping in an 8.8rear in 71 dart https://www.slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27581 |
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| Author: | kydart [ Sun Mar 02, 2008 4:52 am ] |
| Post subject: | hi all. new here, swapping in an 8.8rear in 71 dart |
hi, this is kind of long and i would like input from some of you guys that have done the swap. i recently acquired a 71 dart with the 225 slant 6.. drum brakes and the awful bolt pattern and the little rearend... so i am preparing for the swap out on the disk brake front end and a rearend that will be suitable... i have the spindles and rotors and calipers, i'm searching for the upper control arms for the 73 up a-body with disk brakes.. if anyone can point me towards a set of the upper control arms that would be awesome, i know they are probably a highly prized item, it seems they might be a tad scarce.. ok now for the rearend, i know a little about rearends, as i have put narrowed rearends in a few vehicles in my day and have always used 9 inch fords.. me and a friend was talking about the rear swap and possibly using a 8.8 out of a 87-93 mustang, ive tried to find some specs on the 8.8, i know it is a 4 bolt pattern, but you can get short side axles and brakes from a ranger rear and convert it to a 5on4 1/2 lug pattern, and this will be all 28 spline stuff.... if i want to go to a 31 spline setup i think would have to use the explorer rearend ,4.0 ranger or aerostar. and i'm getting the info on the explorer rearend from this post http://www.slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic ... sc&start=0 in his post , he narrowed an explorer housing, i believe to get the disk brakes, thats what i'm assuming anyways so far i have gathered that the rearend width 71 dart ,drum to drum is 55.6 inches wide 87-93 mustang rearend drum to drum is 57 inches wide (drum brake rear) disk brake models were something like 2 3/4 wider i think 1.4 inch difference , the 87-93 8.8 rear is .700 per side wider than the dart rearend, easily made up with backspacing on the wheel seems like converting the 87-93 mustang to 5 lug, and putting the spring perches on the housing and it would almost be a bolt in option, and i know you can add a rear girdle and moser axles and c-clip eliminators to the 8.8 later on to beef it up even more... i'm planning on a mild 318/340 or 360 swap in the future, but for now i want safety in the disk brake swap for sure, then i will start on the rearend.. just starting the planning part of it... input would be great. and tanks |
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| Author: | sandy in BC [ Sun Mar 02, 2008 5:47 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
I did the Explorer swap. If you have a good machine shop available it is easy. Feel free to ask any specific questions.... |
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| Author: | kydart [ Sun Mar 02, 2008 8:11 am ] |
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yes you did the swap...was hoping you might reply i'm a tool and die maker/machinist so i have that covered.. i was wanting to ask you why you went with the explorer swap? did you do it for the disk brakes? did you consider the 87-93 mustang drum brake rearend and converting it to 5 lug via the 2 short axles of the ranger rearend to convert it to the 5 lug? |
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| Author: | sandy in BC [ Sun Mar 02, 2008 8:56 am ] |
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Explorers are trash...Mustangs are gold....priced accordingly The Explorers have better ratios available ( I chose 3.55) You only need to buy 1 short axle instead of 2 If you buy Ranger axles you also need ranger drums etc The width I wanted was easier to attain. Discs.... Half the world is still sitting on their asses ...with a 7.25 in their car ...saying I should buy a 8 3/4 and put in C body axles and buy an aftermarket R/P....and a sure grip ...and .....and... Do IT ....you wont be disappointed. (Hecks Hemi Frank has also done it ...and was my inspiration.....and he was kind enough to let me test his hemihead conversion.....) |
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| Author: | vynn3 [ Sun Mar 02, 2008 8:57 am ] |
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'73 and up upper control arms show up on Ebay all the time. Otherwise, there are always tubular upper arms: http://www.firmfeel.com/tubuca_a.htm Some of THOSE show up on the 'bay, too, but I don't know that I'd trust the quality. |
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| Author: | Joshie225 [ Sun Mar 02, 2008 9:00 am ] |
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The 7 1/4 is actually right about 56.5" drum-to-drum so if the Mustang axle is 57" it should fit fine. Ford 8" rear ends from Marvericks and Granadas are easier to fit into the car if you can find one. The Granada rear end under my '72 Dart is 57.5" drum-to-drum. |
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| Author: | sandy in BC [ Sun Mar 02, 2008 9:10 am ] |
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finished explorer = 56 5/8 |
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| Author: | slantzilla [ Sun Mar 02, 2008 9:23 am ] |
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Quote: Half the world is still sitting on their asses ...with a 7.25 in their car ...saying I should buy a 8 3/4 and put in C body axles and buy an aftermarket R/P....and a sure grip ...and .....and...  One thing about Mustang housings you really have to watch. If they are out of a manual trans car or a car that has had slicks on it, the axle tubes have a tendency to bend. We straightened many of them in the few months I was at High Speed. Some housings were bad enough they could not be fixed. |
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| Author: | Jopapa [ Sun Mar 02, 2008 9:24 am ] |
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Well this definitely has me curious. Sandy, how difficult was it to have done? Would you say it's more feasible to to than finding an A body 8.75"? IIRC, the Exploder 8.8 axles had discs with a drum-style ebrake, right? How's the pinion angle and spring mount spacing compared to what's needed for an A body? |
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| Author: | sandy in BC [ Sun Mar 02, 2008 9:39 am ] |
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I could re-type out the 3 page thread and take all the pictures again..... http://www.slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic ... sc&start=0 There are no 8 3/4 A body rear axles within 5 hours of here. Spaldings has 15 Explorers at any given time. |
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| Author: | Jopapa [ Sun Mar 02, 2008 10:03 am ] |
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Quote: I could re-type out the 3 page thread and take all the pictures again.....
I was hoping you'd post a link to that thread http://www.slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic ... sc&start=0 There are no 8 3/4 A body rear axles within 5 hours of here. Spaldings has 15 Explorers at any given time.  For some reason I can't get onto the search page all of a sudden (I was on it earlier).You're speakin my language when you talk Spalding's. I go there quite often since they're only a 20 minute drive from my place. I know a couple good fab shops locally too so this is looking like a far more realistic option for me than an 8.75". Was kinda hoping to keep it all Mopar though, but that kinda ended with the HEI installation 
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| Author: | slantzilla [ Sun Mar 02, 2008 10:44 am ] |
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Quote: There are no 8 3/4 A body rear axles within 5 hours of here. Mike crapped his shorts. He said bare housings went for more than that by him.
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| Author: | kydart [ Sun Mar 02, 2008 1:54 pm ] |
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thats what i've ran into.. 8 3/4 bare housing for A-body- anywhere from $300. complete 8.8 rearend anywhere from $100 to $400 center sections are considered gold bars i believe, its like youve said a bad word to a mopar guy, if you ask them if they have any 8 3/4 center sections for sale. either that or they start rubbing thier hands together slowly and work thier eyes to a slight squint with a grin on thier face while thier reaching for Your wallet.. you can buld a 9inch with 35spline axles and a spool and disk brakes cheaper than you could get an 8 3/4 for an a-body |
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| Author: | dank10fenny [ Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:55 pm ] |
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my buddy wants to GIVE me a 8-3/4 center. he wants to use the housing though. do you need to narrow an 8-3/4, do the spring perches line up. ebrake? sry ive been lookin into this with not much luck |
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| Author: | slantzilla [ Mon Mar 03, 2008 3:10 pm ] |
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Quote: my buddy wants to GIVE me a 8-3/4 center. he wants to use the housing though. do you need to narrow an 8-3/4, do the spring perches line up. ebrake? sry ive been lookin into this with not much luck
It depends on what body style the housing is for. A body is a bolt-in, early B fits "pretty good", late B, C, E, and truck/van need cut for sure.
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