Michaelsgirl

My husband has a 72 or 73 nove 5 lug rear end laying in the garage and is trying to figure out whether we can fit on the mustang to make it a v8 car. If so, what kind of mods would we have to do to make it a safe and drivable vehicle?

GT350R Klone

66 Mustang 57.25", 73 Nova 60.25" An inch and a half on each side is quite a bit. An 8 inch mustang rear end is actually a pretty good rear end and very available for cheap. You would then have all the perches, brakelines and other stuff that line up as well.

LynnBob Mustang

I agree. Get a 8" Mustang or late '60's early '70's Ford rear end. I found a '72 8" Maverick rearend for $40 through our local Mustang club. I'll use that for our V8 '65 conversion.

Lynn

Michaelsgirl

Sweet..i'll look into that..How bout a 83 bronce rear end? Thats what we are pulling the engine from..

andrewmp6

The bronco no clue on the size but the bolt pattern for the lugs is a truck its bigger then a car.I would look around for a mustang 8 inch some people change it out for a 9 inch.Or a lincoln versailles is a 9 inch that will fit.

LynnBob Mustang

I don't know about a Bronco rear either, but there are several threads here about doing the Ford Explorer rear end swap with success, they are similar to the Bronco, but for that year who knows.?.
Lynn

stephen.osborne1

I am pretty sure that even the Bronco 5 lug bolt pattern will be the same, but in 83 it could be either a 9" or an 8.8. Both will be too wide and spring perches are wrong, shock mounts, etc... Junkyards normally have plenty to look through. An 8" will work fine for a mild v-8, but a 9" would be best.

GT350R Klone

65.25 1978-1986 Bronco. I also believe that the axles are different length drivers vs. passenger. Unless you really want to create a lot of extra work for yourself, find an 8 inch with the gear ratio that you want. If you want a nice rear end for the car, go for the 9 inch in the Versalles with disc brakes, as back in the 65,66 they only came in Mustangs with high performance motors (K), which were few and far between. Another path is to find a 9 inch and have it narrowed, but again a lot of extra work that is not necessary unless you are building a motor that puts out a massive amount of torque.

andrewmp6

Depends which bronco the big one is a truck pattern,The bronco 2 is based off the ranger/Explorer is a car pattern.

Michaelsgirl

Its the big one. Just found out my husbands friend is giving us his 9in mustang v8 rear axle. Thanks for all the info! :-)