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8.8 Ford rear end in my 79 G body Malibu

20K views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  nowayd 
#1 ·
Hi whats up guys, i have a 1979 Chevy Malibu that i recently made a rear end thread about replacing the tired old 7.5 rear end thats in it now, my buddy has an 86 Mustang GT 5.0 with an 8.8 posi rear end with 4.10 gears, thats exactly the setup i want to, my question is how hard would it be to install and or fabricate this rear end into my G-body car, and another question if this is at all possible is the lug pattern, of course the 5.0 uses a 4 bolt pattern, and my car has the 5 lug small bolt patter (5 on 4.75) is their axles i could get to fit the 8.8 with that bolt pattern? or some type of adapter? also to add cost is not a factor in this rear end swap unless it gets way out of hand. and just to add im getting the rear end at next to nothing if not free so why not
 
#2 ·
mustang 8.8

if you want 5 bolt wheels you can swap out the ford mini ranger 5 bolt shafts
the ranager uses two lenghts of shafts ,,,different from left two right only one side will interchange with the mustang I forget which side i think it is the shorter one. you can use the ranger brake drums the mid80's lincoln town car has rear disc 5 bolt also... on a wider 8.8 but you can swap over the lincoln paarts for a cheap conversion for rear discs.with a built in emergency brake you need to use the e brake because it automatically will adjust the rear brakes the later mustang with rear discs went to the ford parts bin to put it together the lincoln town car or the ford exoloreer will also bolt up to certain 8 and 9 inch fords, not all since ford had two sizes of bearings with a girdle kit the 8.8 will take a lot of horsepower good luck retired Ford eengineer
 
#3 ·
Please Check The Dates In These Relics Before Answering

EVEN THOUGH THIS THREAD SAT FOR 2 YEARS BEFORE IT WAS ANSWERED
HERE IS ANOTHER HELPFUL ANSWER TO THE ORIGINAL QUESTION
Have you checked the width of the Mustang axle compared to your Malibu, I am thinking it will be a bit too narrow and there isn't really all that much room to go inward with the axle flanges.

You might have a much better chance with a junkyard 8.8 inch out of a later model Explorer with disc brakes already on it, the width is more toward what you need.

If you look in the Knowledge Base and find my Axle Information thread, I have a link in there from a guy that has fabricated a jig to fit the mounting points on a ford 9-inch for his Malibu, and there is a picture and link to an associated article for a ford 8.8 in an S-10.
 
#5 ·
I had the same problem. but i went thru two stock rearends befor i went to a 9".. I went to junk yards to find them but didnt have anyluck. ( plus i lack a welder) but you can buy 9' setups for your malibu. Moser housing and axle package + rear drum brakes ( got ford brakes so you dont have to machine the backing plate if you order chevy brakes ) it ran to about 1316.00 with shipping to my house in 5 days. they do the bolt pattern you want to with choice of axle spline. Buy the housing you can go to your auto wrecking yards and find a already pulled 3rd member with the right axle spline. Found my 31 spline 3.50 gear posi for 255
 
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