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1968 mustang rear end - swap

27K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  matt167 
#1 ·
hello all,

i have a 1968 Ford Mustang coupe, that i am working on for my first project.

my project car came with a Ford 8 inch rear end. i am not an expert in this area but the rear facing plate is smooth and the axle shafts are tapered leading me to believe that this is indeed an 8 inch rear end.

the car has been converted to 5 lug axles (both front and back). when i took the car apart i found that the back breaks were drums, but someone had already converted the front to disc breaks.


someone that i know has offered to sell me an 8.8 inch rear end from a later model Ford Explorer with disc breaks.

is this a good choice for a rear end swap?

until recently i was planning on putting the same rear end back in to the car when i finished.

any suggestions or advice would be welcome.

thank you
mark
 
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#3 ·
hello,

thank you for the reply!

you are right - i should have given people more input on what i plan to do with the car.

this is not a "numbers matching" vehicle - so i really just wanted to "learn" with my first project. i love mustangs and this vehicle was in the right place at the right time and it was in the right price category.

i have been doing EVERYTHING myself. my plan (so far i am sticking to it ;) it to strip the car down to nothing and put it on the rotisserie. there are some pics of this in my project folder.

i have the bottom of the car almost completely stripped of undercoating.

when i say "learn" i really do mean it. i want to do all of the body work myself and paint the car. i also plan on doing all of the wiring and interior as well. my thinking was to have the transmission, rear end and engine gone through (i do not think i can do this on my own) by someone else.

AFAIK - the car has your basic 289 engine with an automatic trans.

long range was to drive it for awhile, then probably sell it.

so in short - this vehicle is more about the learning process and finding out what i don't know more than anything else ;)

any additional suggestions and input are welcome.

thank you
mark
 
#4 ·
Good enough for me. :thumbup: I have never done the 8.8 swap but i have always been a Mustang guy. And i did read over in one of the mustang forums that you will more then likely have to shorten the 8.8 in order to use the disc brake set-up. And if disc is what you want you can also buy a kit to convert you existing 8 in over to disc. Just a thought.
And please keep us posted with your build and ask all the questions you need to someone here can a will be glad to help you in any way.
And welcome to the site. Oh and there are some 9in housings out there that will work also. :welcome:


Cole
 
#5 ·
not really gaining anything by using an explorer 8.8". that light car will stop just fine with disc/ drum brakes. as far as strength. Ford used the 8" in most V8 Mustangs of the 60's, they will hold a 289/302's power with no problem.. the only plus to an 8.8" is a bit of extra strength, and many expo axles have factory traction lock ( if the diff tag has an L it's got it ).. but I would not engineer the expo axle to fit the Mustang.. you would need another passanger side axle, and shorten the driver side axle tube so the pumpkin is centered, and it should then maintain a width that is workable for the Stang.. but it is a lot of work for little gain.
 
#6 ·
There is something that made me sit up and wonder -

A 6 cylinder Mustang came with 4 bolt axles and a 7.5" round back differential though my recollection is that the gears "pop" out of the back rather then a totally removable front carrier such as the 8/9's have.

The V8 versions of a '68 up Mustang came with 5 bolt axles/hubs and either an 8 or 9 inch rear end.

Dave W
 
#7 ·
thank you so much! - for the feed back on this. i really do appreciate it.

i believe i will move forward with the 8" rear end that came off of the car and am very happy that a friend of mine pointed me to this resource (hotrodders.com)!

i am looking forward, to having some great conversations on the various forums up here as i move forward with my project.

thank you,
mark
 
#8 ·
Irelands child said:
There is something that made me sit up and wonder -

A 6 cylinder Mustang came with 4 bolt axles and a 7.5" round back differential though my recollection is that the gears "pop" out of the back rather then a totally removable front carrier such as the 8/9's have.

The V8 versions of a '68 up Mustang came with 5 bolt axles/hubs and either an 8 or 9 inch rear end.

Dave W
the weakling 6cyl rear is actually a 7 1/4" rear. and does indeed have a removable rear cover, rather than a removable carrier like the 8/9"... all 7 1/4's are 4 lug, but not all Mustang 4 lugs are 7 1/4". some '64-'66 Mustangs got 4 lug 8" rears
 
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