here is my baby..pics 56chevy..

[Kabwe]

Originally Posted by stan3018

HEY KABWE THANKS....

No problem man. When you see things you like on here feel free to ask questions, the guys on here are great and want to share knowledge and experience. If you want a Chevy rearend get one. I don't believe in settling life’s too short. Get what you want are you will not be happy.

[stan3018]

I will take your advise a will go 71 to81 ....hope that is the perfect one..

[Kabwe]

Originally Posted by stan3018

I will take your advise a will go 71 to81 ....hope that is the perfect one..

Remember I told you I'm gonna narrow mine 2 inches on each side to get it the way I want. I want a really deep lip.

[1-ton of fun]

i am using a 8.5" 10-bolt from the same 77 nova i got the front clip from. probably won't narrow it, but plan to run smoothie's anyway for a retro look...

[stan3018]

ok guys i love gm cars but after searching junk jards for couple of weeks and doing my homework on a rear ends on the net and other forums today i bought a 2001 ford explorer rearend 8.8 posi rear with 128.000miles rear disk and the price was 200$ in graiglist.....i was looking for a gu8 but to much money ....

[stan3018]

will i be able to use my 350tranny and cruse at 70mph with no problem.. lot of people use ford rear ends for racing...

[stan3018]

This is where I made my decision. I had heard a rumor that Ford Explorer rear ends were similar in width and were supposedly a good match to swap. This rear has a ring gear of 8.8 inches and is just as strong as a Chevy 12 bolt. They also have massive 1.32" diameter axles with 31 splines. On top of both all that, the limited slip rears only come in 3.55, 3.73, or 4:10 gears. All 3 are pretty awesome gears for street/strip. AND!! Last but not least, if you find one out of a '95+ Explorer it means they will have disc brakes, yes!! You can be upgrading strength, adding a posi, getting better gears, AND making a huge rear brake upgrade to discs all in one swap... can you imagine the money saved from doing that to your 10 bolt?>>>.i been reading alot of forums and this type of information ..200$ cant beat it....

[Kabwe]

Thats great you found a rearend you are happy with, now get to building and post pics

[stan3018]

kabwe thanks ..i will cant wet to drive it...but the weather dont help 2fkg cold....

[blackdiesel]

Originally Posted by stan3018

will i be able to use my 350tranny and cruse at 70mph with no problem.. lot of people use ford rear ends for racing...

What gears did you get? 3.55's won't be to bad with the TH350, but the 4.10 would be ruff at 70. Dad's has the 3.73's with a 700r4 and it's a real nice driver. You might want to look into the overdrive tranny.

[stan3018]

blackdiesel i took your advise and bought a ford rear end it is cheper and strong ...igot the posi rear one itis a 8.8 with3.73 so the 350 its know good i have to get a 700r4

[blackdiesel]

Well, the 350 is doable, but the 700 would be a better choice if 70 is where your going to be running a lot of the time. We started out with a TH350 but went to the 700, didn't like the 3000 RPM's on the big road.

[stan3018]

70? well not all the time but some times you just want to cruse..

[Sal's '55 Chevy]

how wide is your rearend off of the 2001 ford explore?

I was wondering if you knew the width on all the years of the ford explore that you posted.

[stan3018]

it is smaller then the stock chevy pickup..like 4inchs smaller..

[Sal's '55 Chevy]

o okay so your going with the mustang II front end and a ford rearend?

[stan3018]

sal55 thats the plan ,an i think is the best plan....its hard to get a camaro clip around ny,i try my best but people want to much money....i will go mustang 2 and explorer rear end....

[b00sted]

Stan what is the diminssions of this rearend? I am looking for the width from rotor to rotor..

I might have to do this swap also.. And thanks for the help!

[Silveradobs]

Width between wheel mounting surfaces=59.75
Pinion offset to right of center=2-3/16"
Distance between spring perches (o/c)=39"
Tube diameter=3.25(neck down to 2.75)
Axle shaft diameter=1.31" 31 spline

Go to: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech...plorer8_8.html

[b00sted]

Originally Posted by Silveradobs

Width between wheel mounting surfaces=59.75
Pinion offset to right of center=2-3/16"
Distance between spring perches (o/c)=39"
Tube diameter=3.25(neck down to 2.75)
Axle shaft diameter=1.31" 31 spline

Go to: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech...plorer8_8.html

Thanks for the Info and link....

[stan3018]

cant beat the price 200$for all these..

[1-ton of fun]

that's a hell of a deal!

[stan3018]

Ford 8.8 Strength Comparison
The truth is that the Ford 8.8 is virtually a clone of the Chevy 12-bolt and therefore almost as strong. Most rear axles are described by their ring-gear diameters, with larger being better. A Ford 9-inch has a ring-gear diameter of, you guessed it, 9 inches closely followed by the 12-bolt at 8.875, with the Mustang rear at 8.80 inches. Another strength consideration is pinion-shaft diameter. Here, the 8.8 and the 12-bolt are identical at 1.625 inches and in fact use the same pinion bearings. By comparison, the Ford 9-inch pinion shaft measures only 1.313 inches. The Achilles' heel of the stock 8.8 Ford rearend is its 28-spline axles, especially when compared to the Chevy 12-bolt's stronger 30 splines. Ford eventually rectified this oversight and upgraded the '94-'99 Mustang 8.8 rears with 31-spline axles and larger axletubes. These rear-axle assemblies are now beginning to populate the recycling yards and should be available at a decent price. These housings are slightly wider than the '86-'93 housings and may actually fit some of the wider leaf-spring-car requirements, so keep that in mind as well.

[1-ton of fun]

yep, a common budget upgrade for mustang racers is to use the 31 spline limited slip diff out of an exploder with mustang length 31 spline axle shafts, and that's all you need until you get to obscene power levels. good rear end and brake/rear parts will be cheap and plentiful, and easily obtained locally

[stan3018]

its a good deal, and all u got to do is when order the rims get the ford pattern for the back and thats it....why chance to chevy pattern u will never put a big tire in the front