MustangDudley

Gentlemen,

I am nearing completion of a 1988 Thunderbird (5 sp) Turbo Coupe disc brake rear end "complete rebuild and swap" into my 1966 Mustang. I intend on writing to this forum the definitive and complete article how I did it, complete with a link to my pictures in Photobucket.

After reading as much as I could on how others had done this swap, I proceeded to do it myself, too. However, I did NOT want to settle on the wider 59.25" wide final width, just by replacing the Turbo Coupe axles with two "left side Ranger axles". (The Turbo Coupe O.D. is 61") By simply going with Ranger axles, all that gives you is 59.25" wide final width, and that is too wide for a '66, not to mention OVER $200 is dopey adapters!! Since the '66 Mustang rear end OEM is 57.25" wide, I did NOT want to go any wider than that due to the tires I'm planning on installing.
I also did NOT want to spend $40 for those wheel spacers that lined up the Mazda front rotors correctly, nor did I want to spend the $170 for the custom caliper mounts that supposedly ties to line the calipers up correctly too. My thinking was (is); why not cut it down properly and then use origin Turbo Coupe parts?!! Cheaper, easier, and you get what you're after!!!

I narrowed the axle housing by EXACTLY 4.5" overall, and simply bought custom made axles. (I found out later that I should have narrowed it by 4", NOT 4.5"!!) Super easy to do (my way), and I can use stock calipers, and I don't need no stinking adapters!! My final overall O.D. axle flange surface width is is 56.5". I am planning on slightly oversized tires, and do not want to risk rubbing them against the wheel well lip.
I am using 1990 Mazda MPV front rotors, to be able to get the 5 lug bolt pattern. The rotors are thick where they mount onto the hub!! (3/8") Two of these added to my now new 56.5" O.D. rear end gives precisely............you guessed it, 57.25" (which is the OEM rear end O.D. for '64 1/2 to '66 Mustangs!!)

I have one question though, that I can't seem to find any research on it; the Turbo Coupe pinion flange is a circular, sort of flat surface, that "something" bolts to that has a u-joint attached to it. My '66 Mustang pinion yoke allows the u-joint to be bolted right to it.
My question is; What do you do to attach the OEM '66 Mustang driveshaft to the newly installed '88 Thunderbird circular style pinion yoke? (I'll ask this as a separate post)

Thanks in advance,
Dudley

MustangDudley

Note to my above post; the O.D. of the 1988 Turbo Coupe rear end is 60", not 61".

flickjo68

I'd get a stock driveshaft out of a Turbocoupe & use that rear flange to see if there's a way to adapt it to the Mustang driveshaft using the u-joint. Use the Mustang driveshaft on one half of the u-joint & Turbocoupe rear flange on the other half, using the u-joint you have or possibly a new one from another vehicle that happens to have the dimensions you need if yours won't adapt the two pieces together. Search through your local parts store or check a driveshaft shop to see if you can find one that works. Hope this helps... Good luck & can't wait to see your walkthrough.

MustangDudley

Thanks Flickjo68 for the tips!

After I posted my request I went back to searching and searching and searching, and eventually (at a decent price) FINALLY found what I was looking for. It is called a driveshaft coupling. I will include it and where to get it in the parts list that I will put together.

Cheers!

MonsterBilly

that is a similar issue to the explorer rear end. I did the explorer rear end and it had the same mounting surface as you explained. I just used the end off of the explorer driveshaft and used a ujoint to mount it to my shaft.

MustangDudley

MonsterBilly, others,

Thanks for the suggestions, but I already found what I was after. I found it at Dennysdriveshaft.com, part #2-2-939. $27.95 + $17 s/h. It is a coupling that bolts to the circular flange and has accommodations for the u-joint to attached your your (shortened) '66 driveshaft. Incidentally, it just arrived in today's UPS run. Nice product!!