rhino_ourulz

i have a 1968 mustang coupe and im wanting to swap my rear axle out with a newer one. I would like to have a lowered gear rear end, 3.73, and disk brakes. Any suggestions?

Starfury

Why do you want to swap the rear? What's wrong with yours?

Deviousfred

It may take some extra work and won't be a bolt on but if you can find an 8.8 with the correct or close enough axle width and disk brakes you could weld leaf spring perches on it. This swap seems to be becoming more and more popular and starting to grow me. I may do one to my next coupe.

kalli

+1 if you just want different gearing, change ring and pinion. not the full axle ?!

rhino_ourulz

Its just not in very good shape. Ive had to drop a new motor in it, overhaul the trasmision and now were thinkin thats the next thing to go out on us. I just want a better rear end the will hold up to my engine.

Starfury

You keep leaving out critical info. What rear end do you currently have? Was it originally an I6 car? "It's not in very good shape" isn't descriptive. What makes you think the entire axle housing needs to be replaced? The weak points in the axle are the differential pinion gears and the ring/pinion gears.

Norm Peterson

Maybe knowing what the new motor is would help - even 8" isn't all that tough if you're making lots of torque (or have a heavy flywheel) and have lots of rear grip.

If you decide to go with an 8.8, make sure to get Ford or Ford Racing gears (as opposed to Motives). Plenty of threads on this in the S197 sections here (2005 - 2010).

The 8.8 is becoming a favored axle swap with a lot going for it (weighs less than a 9, remains in current production). There's even a current thread over on maliburacing.com (suspension tech forum, if you're curious) where a guy is in the final stages of putting together a kit for swapping the 8.8 into the '78 - '87 GM intermediates (replacing the OE 7.5/7.625 corporate axle), and he has at least one other 8.8 swap kit in mind (forget offhand just what it's going into next).


Norm