Pro Stock John

iTrader: (34)

Man, if you look, you can find some nice deals on 9" parts.

I could put together an entire center section for like $600 with stuff around. Add $700 for the housing and axles and I'm at $1300 on a budget basis.

nbm99ta

If you were to use a Ford 8.8", you could just eliminate the torque arm, and use upper control arms, like the mustangs do. The trick would be to find a good spot to weld brackets up for the UCA's to bolt to.

Gears & Crosses

First of all Jason don't give up! It may not work out but, if it does you may have a money maker on your hands. I think you should probably fab up a rear and work on fittment issues before getting into ABS/custom axles IMO. That way you won't dump a ton of cash into the project. I, like you, think that there is an alternative. I think people are nuts to spend $2,100 on a rearend!
Let me add my 2 cents:
8.5" 4.3L 5-speed S-10 rears are rare and greatly desired by V-8 S-10 owners. They would be good for a one time project but not for everyone.
8.6" 99 up 1/2 tons- I wonder if they the same ABS sensors? That might save some $$$
2nd gen 8.5"- probably cheapest but lots of cutting and fabbing.
Moser 9"/used pumpkin- good idea, not the cheapest through...
PSSST... Nineball... 2.3L Ford Turbocoupes,Lincoln MKVII's,and SVO Mustangs also have wider 8.8" rear ends. Wanna know how much wider? almost 1.5" CHA CHING, All above are disc brake rears CHA CHING, All are Traction-locks CHA CHING, Many after market suspension companies make a torque arm setups for 5.0 8.8" rears CHA CHING,8.8's are tough as nails and can be upgraded easily CHA CHING, Some of the above 8.8" have 3.73 gears from the factory DOUBLE CHA CHING. You will still have to set up bracket mounts/Emergency brakes/ABS/wheel bolt pattern.
I like the Dana 44 set up. Thats what GM should have used in the first place! But will they be cheap enough? Hmm, I wonder if there is an Dana 44 already out there that can fitted? Any jeep owners here?
I guess you can tell which route I would go...
Just remember, don't give up. <img src="gr_images/icons/wink.gif" border="0">

[ February 26, 2002: Message edited by: Gears & Crosses ]</p>

Pro Stock John

iTrader: (34)

Most of my Ford friends say that the stock axles and diff in a 8.8 will not hold up. So I would like you to back that statement up. I owned a few 5.0 Mustangs and through owning them I did talk to various folks who were running mid 11's or faster. I think it's important to back this up, because the cost goes up like $600 if you need to upgrade axles and the diff. Most of my Ford buddies are running aftermarket 31 axles and a different posi.

I like the Dana 44 idea the most of all the ideas.

Gears & Crosses

All I can tell you is I have never damaged, hurt or wounded an 8.8". I have owned three Mustangs, all 5-speeds, all over 100,000 miles, no rebuilds. I know some who have run in the elevens on behind a 5-speed. Will it hold up to a 500HP LS1/6-speed/ET streets/5K launch all stock... NO. Remember this is a middle of the road low cost project, not an out right replacement for the $2,100 12 bolt. I am kinda thinkin' of Moser 28 splines with a 5 lug GM bolt pattern any way. Then there's the home rebuilt traction lock with extra clutches stuffed in... Or the 31 spline Traction Lock from a truck rearend... Then the 31 spline truck axles shortened/resplined/redrilled for GM pattern... It goes on and on. This rear end is easily upgradeable and has the same size ring gear as a 12 bolt. Jason could start stock and upgrade later after he is sure it will work. If I were selling them out the door I would look into some key upgrades first. But were still bench racin'...

01 SS Jay

Thanks for the inspiration Gears. It is funny, sometimes if you arent talking about going all out ***** to the wall, people look at you funny on this site. But its all good, I love hearing about all the progress and victories we have on the bleeding edge of ls1 technology, and we have a lot of pioneers in our midst.
Ill call today and get a price on a turbo tbird rearend.

Jim98TA

Uhm, some of us aren't looking at you weird, some of us have been down this road before. I went through this process when I had to replace the rear in my Monte. Was looking for any kind of rear that I could possibly find to fit in there. Yeah, I could find a junkyard rear for 250 or so. But, it wouldn't fit in the car. So I would have had to cut axle tubes, possibly new axles. OK, now it is the right width, then had to address the mount points. At least the ones I found actually had the upper and lower control arm setups. BUT, the upper arms were on a different angle, and the lower ones were off too. So $$ to fix that. Then OK, it may fit in the car now, but what kind of shape are the posi/gears/bearings/seals in?? Chances are it may not have even been posi...

So, all that little crap starts to add up. UNLESS you know someone that can help you with that work and for cheap. Then you may be able to piece together a cheaper alternative, but in the long run it is a lot easier to blow the extra 400-500 on a rear that someone else already did all this work too. For me, I got lucky and found a newly re-built 8.5 GN rear, boxed controll arms, new posi, and disc brake setup for $800..

Good luck, and hopefully you can pull it off.