Conversions & Swaps LSX Engines in Non-LSX Vehicles
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Old Dec 15, 2022 | 06:49 PM
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dragged it out to the driveway and pressure washed it with hot water and zep to get as much grease off the underside and funk out of the interior as i could. there was a dirt river all the way down my block lol

if anyone is wondering why this is gonna take a year to build a cookie cutter turbo 8.50 fox, well this ******* needs new hips to the tune of 9k per side. First one down but he picked up a terrible eye infection while in their care. Good prognosis, fingers crossed he doesnt lose that eye

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Old Dec 15, 2022 | 10:02 PM
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parts beginning to arrive


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Old Dec 15, 2022 | 10:59 PM
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Bet the UPS guy hates it when someone on his route starts a new build.
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Old Dec 16, 2022 | 08:55 AM
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Originally Posted by 33willys
Bet the UPS guy hates it when someone on his route starts a new build.
thankfully the ups and the fed ex are both car guys albeit one is a lowrider guy and the other an import guy. they bring me little welding projects and stash all my packages around the back gate.
it pays to be friendly!
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Old Dec 16, 2022 | 09:27 AM
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Originally Posted by truckdoug
thankfully the ups and the fed ex are both car guys albeit one is a lowrider guy and the other an import guy. they bring me little welding projects and stash all my packages around the back gate.
it pays to be friendly!
I work for a brewery so I always hook the delivery guys up with a 6 pack or 2 and now they put everything hidden behind the fence. 100% agree it pays to be friendly!
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Old Dec 18, 2022 | 11:17 AM
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ok I'm getting ready to order parts for the rear axle. I have a '99-04 mustang 8.8" I picked up. measures right at 61.25" What I'd like to do is use explorer discs (fit under 15" wheels) and have it be stock fox WMS width. (i'm reading 58" for the early ones and 59.25" for '86 and up?) Do I need small ford ends to fit the explorer backing plates?
I have all the jigs and a truing bar, but the guy I used to order all my axle and diff stuff has gone to great drag strip in the sky
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Old Dec 18, 2022 | 03:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Pro Stock John
Does the car have quad shock setup in back?

If I had room I'd buy a car just like this and keep track of how light I could make it without buying fiberglass / lexan / carbon fiber other than maybe the hood.
Easy 2700 (SBC with a 200 lb driver). Mine was 2980 with a BBC.
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Old Dec 18, 2022 | 03:37 PM
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Originally Posted by truckdoug
ok I'm getting ready to order parts for the rear axle. I have a '99-04 mustang 8.8" I picked up. measures right at 61.25" What I'd like to do is use explorer discs (fit under 15" wheels) and have it be stock fox WMS width. (i'm reading 58" for the early ones and 59.25" for '86 and up?) Do I need small ford ends to fit the explorer backing plates?
I have all the jigs and a truing bar, but the guy I used to order all my axle and diff stuff has gone to great drag strip in the sky
So a few notes from a guy that just spent 7 years building a Ford-

It sounds like you're a skilled fabricator, so I'd save the headache and put Torino ends on the 8.8- there's loads of brakes that will work and still fit behind 15" wheels (mine also have 6.5" BSP, 56" width, 1990 Ranger). The downside to the explorer backing plates is they only fit explorer ends, thus when one wants to solve the C-clip eliminator issue, you're stuck- there's nothing out there.

Last thought- if you don't mind a tad wider track in the front, use 94-95 front spindles: Pros - no bumpsteer issues, brakes galore. Cons - If you find a set for less than $400 in the junkyard, buy two sets. I paid $900 for mine, rebuilt, powdercoated with complete PBR brakes. If you decide to go this route with the front PBRs, let me know, I have a nice set of calipers we can horse trade on.

Love the paint- I'd leave it exactly as-is.
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Old Dec 18, 2022 | 03:44 PM
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Originally Posted by n2xlr8n66
...

Love the paint- I'd leave it exactly as-is.
I, 100% agree!

Andrew
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Old Dec 18, 2022 | 06:07 PM
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If I had the room I'd pick up one just like this and leave the paint. I happened on an '81 with houndstooth interior sigh.
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Old Dec 18, 2022 | 09:21 PM
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Originally Posted by n2xlr8n66
So a few notes from a guy that just spent 7 years building a Ford-

It sounds like you're a skilled fabricator, so I'd save the headache and put Torino ends on the 8.8- there's loads of brakes that will work and still fit behind 15" wheels (mine also have 6.5" BSP, 56" width, 1990 Ranger). The downside to the explorer backing plates is they only fit explorer ends, thus when one wants to solve the C-clip eliminator issue, you're stuck- there's nothing out there.

Last thought- if you don't mind a tad wider track in the front, use 94-95 front spindles: Pros - no bumpsteer issues, brakes galore. Cons - If you find a set for less than $400 in the junkyard, buy two sets. I paid $900 for mine, rebuilt, powdercoated with complete PBR brakes. If you decide to go this route with the front PBRs, let me know, I have a nice set of calipers we can horse trade on.

Love the paint- I'd leave it exactly as-is.
yep the paint is just gonna get a bit of a clean up and preserve whats there. I simply can't paint another car. The mess, the hard-*** work (so much sanding) and the expense. I just buy cars the color i can live with now haha.

tell me more about the torino ends and what brakes are out there please!

I think the spindles i got ahold of are the 94-95 ones.



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Old Dec 18, 2022 | 09:42 PM
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also got the car leveled out today. it had a bit of a twist front to back. nothing a little come-along and cussin' couldnt fix up




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Old Dec 20, 2022 | 05:15 PM
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How would you level the car out?

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Old Dec 20, 2022 | 10:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Pro Stock John
How would you level the car out?
a come-a-long running corner to corner and like 5 beers
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Old Dec 20, 2022 | 10:14 PM
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welded up the axle tube tonight


after i pressure washed it and hosed it in brake cleaner, I let it boil dry and preheat a little

i'd rather see 350*F but what can ya do?

jammed the bar in and it's actually somewhat straight...you can turn the bar by hand. thats actually kinda rare for 8.8 housings.

zippity zappity

turned out ok, havent welded DC tig in a year or more so fast n hot is the way its gotta be

it's just gonna rest on the wood stove all night as the fire burns down. hopefully in the morning after it's cool the bar is still nice and easy to turn
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Old Dec 21, 2022 | 11:30 AM
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man I'm just running around in circles trying order axles for this thing. I just need stock fox length (i have none to measure) in 31spl or better. A spool (looks like ford 8.8's dont have carrier splits so thats easy) and some late big ford ends. Why doesnt someone offer that as a kit? I feel like a if you could put that **** in a box and slap a $900 price tag on it you'd be able to make a buck.

They also wanna know what brakes i'm using (dont know yet) and the width of the housing (which I will cut to put the big ends on)

I'm feeling like a built rear end is gonna save me a bunch of hassles and phone calls with "techs" who've never welded an axle housing in there life.
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Old Dec 21, 2022 | 11:42 AM
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I helped build a fox body for road racing, we went all out on it, we stripped the tub and put it on a rotisserie ,
then used liquid nitrogen to peel all the sound deadening off the bottom of the car.. Almost 200 lbs by the time we got it all plus all the mis needed brackets.
It was almost 1/2 inch thick asphalt from the factory.

Glass hatch/hood/gutted doors, we are trying to decide where to add ballast as we ended up many lbs under weight..

We had a big pallet with sides , we dumped everything we stripped off the car in it, about 1000 total. the seats were stupid heavy.. And the car was originally a 4cyl tub.
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Old Dec 21, 2022 | 12:41 PM
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Maybe as you price it all out, compare with Quick Performance? Do they sell built 8.8s?
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Old Dec 21, 2022 | 10:07 PM
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it doesn't look like they do. I think can simply knock the abs rings off and cut the sn95/new edge axle down to fox length (30 & 11/16, to 29 & 3/16) and then use my axle length template to guestimate the B and F dims from the strange engineering worksheet.


i'll need to wait until the brake kit from inline tube arrives to fill in A & D dims


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Old Dec 21, 2022 | 10:23 PM
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Nice work on welding the axle tubes. How did they turn out after the stove cooled?

Andrew
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