Shelty

hey, I have an '86 V-6 Auto Hatch

I'm currently saving up money for the summer so I can do some performance work on her. One thing I would really like is an 8.8 rearend in her. my question is this,

Will the 8.8 bolt up in place of the existing 7.5 rear? I believe the 7.5 lacks quad shocks, so do I need to get the mounts for them, or if I were to get a set of traction bars, do I even need the quad shocks. I have heard some people mention wheel hop, I'm not to sure what that is though.

also, will the rear bolt up to the v-6 driveshaft? and will my stock Drums from the 7.5 transfer to the 8.8 or should I use the Disc brakes (if they come with it) and what are the associated modifications to make rear discs work with my brake system?

I want to make sure everything will fit before I buy anything. What I am doing, is basically building the car from the bottom up. I'm starting on the chassis and suspension then brakes and so on, leaving a V-8 swap for last. I want to drop in a V-8 and know I wont break anything when I stomp on the gas..

any info will be a great help.

P Zero

Ok, first off, yes the 8.8 bolts right. 4cyl and v-6 model did not have quad shocks with the 7.5, the GT's did. I believe in '86 the GT already had the 8.8. Anyway, there are threaded holes in the frame for you to bolt up the quad shocks. As far as I know, other than the '93 cobra all mustang 8.8's had rear drum. So if the axle youre getting has rear disc brakes find out what it came off of. You CANNOT use an 8.8 off a ranger/explorer, the center section is offset on those. Ideally you want a mustang 8.8, itll bolt right up with no mods required.
The driveshaft should also bolt right up, because the the yoke on the 8.8 doesnt stick out any farther than it did on the 7.5.
And as far as your v-8 swap is concerned, check to make sure the K-member is the same. I believe its different and you might need to swap it out. The v-8 and 2.3L K-members are the same. The 2.3L one will have an extra bracket bolted to one of the motor mount holes, I believe its on the pass. side. Youll need to remove it if you use a 4 banger one.

And as far as your rear axle is concerned, if the 302 youre installing is mainly stock, then the 7.5 should have no problems. If its built you might run into problems. My car had a 7.5 from the factory, I had a detroit locker in it, after I passed the 300rwhp mark I ran into problems and eventually grenaded the carrier,then upgraded to the 8.8".
-P.

Shelty

thanks =], that helps alot, thanks man. I appreciate all the help this website has given me =]


regarding the k-member
I wrote to Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords over the past summer, and I saw that they printed my question in the 'YO Ken section a few issues back. Ken said that the k-member was identical in each car. If he was wrong, then I'll just swap out the K-member when I get to the point of putting in a 302. finding one shouldnt be to hard regardless, I'm only an houraway from CJpony parts and theirhuge mustang salvageyard.


I am grateful for the help =]