Triumph Sports Cars

I have my 8.8 rear end all ready to go except for upper control arms. I have been debating whether to try to attach to the "ears" on the mustang center section, or whether to weld brackets to the tubes. Here is where the upper control arm ends up compared to the 8.8:

I measured a 1.75" offset, which would require angling the arms in about 5 degrees if I use a standard mustang mount on the axle.

I'm not real excited about welding brackets to the tubes because the inner side of the bracket ends up right at the end of the center section.

What do you guys think?

hi mike
when I did my 8.8 I made new saddles for the lower arms leaving the stock sway bar attached for easy fitment
I used 3/16 plate they looked like tombstones with a radius that fit perfect to the housing its real nice having a Bridgeport
I then set the rear end up on my table and positioned the saddles underneath using the stock mounting bolts to keep everything aligned I plumbed the driveshaft flange with a machine level before tacking them in place after that I installed the rear end using the lower arms I rough made the mounts for the radius rods in the same fashion utilizing the mounting bolts again to align the mounts
I did the inside first and it did come out parallel to the center section before angling away but with half a radius on the housing im not worried about it before I tacked anything I again plumbed the driveshaft flange by jacking up slightly on the pinion
I got them where I wanted them and tacked them I then fit the outside pieces again putting the bolts through
once I was happy with the fit I took them out of the way and welded the exposed side of the inside mount completely
while it was accessible I then installed the outside again and tacked them in place
once I had that done I removed the rear end and welded everything complete
I think its going to work fine and as soon as I get the right tire and wheel package and if it ever stops f..ing snowing I will try it out
good luck
glenn

Glenn, How did you cut the radius? Rotary table, Boring bar, or do you have CNC?

hi mike
I rough cut them with a plasma cutter and finished them on the Bridgeport with a boring head
I freely admit that I am a far better machinist working with some kind of print/sketch than I am a fabricator even though I have mig/tig plasma/torches in my shop
I tip my hat to the true fabricators out there
I have 35 years in machine work but its still a whole different ballgame
now if I could just figure out how to resize pictures easily on this site I would post pictures of project
but that's another story
good luck
glenn

Glenn,

This thread has some info on posting photos, and there are others in the "test messages" section.
I added a post at the bottom that describes another process which I use frequently.
[forum.britishv8.org]

-Mike

Heres mine. Half on half off the housing. Made the brackets by hand with a sawzall and grinder. Each 1/2 bracket took about 30 minutes.

Which years of Mustang work best for this swap?

86-93 Fox body mustang axle is what I used. There are other options like the explorer or ranger.

I narrowed mine and bought custom axle shafts from Moser. I could have gotten away without narrowing if I wanted to roll or flare my rear fenders.

I did end up attaching to the ears on the mustang center section. I made custom adjustable upper arms. They seem to be working well - Nice burn outs with or without line lock; no wheel hop; no broken parts.

Dan, I have a 3.08 posi out of a 86 Mustang GT in the driveway now. I can measure anything if you need me to. After 93 they got a little wider. Soon after that, ABS sensors were added which made the axles even wider, but the housings stayed the same. You can get away without narrowing the early Mustang 8.8s like the one I have. My buddy has one in his 302 powered TR7. He drilled a 4X100 bolt pattern in the Ford axles. Then offset drilled the front hubs to the same 4X100 and is now running 15X7 Miata wheels with a +38 offset with no issues. Fronts had 1/2" spacers, but now he is running a brake kit using 06 Mini Cooper rotors and Willwood calipers in the front. The rotors are 4X100 slip on over the hub style so the hat thickness takes up the space where the spacer use to go.

That does sound interesting, Todd. I think you mentioned before that the axles are close to the same width. I guess the Miata offset allows the tires to not rub. Did he have to roll the fender lips? The Fox body Mustangs up to 93 are supposed to be the same width. Later ones had disc brakes. That would be nice to get as well as a posi.

I narrowed my 8.8 by 1.75" total, or 7/8" per side. I am running 15x6.5 wheels with 40mm offset. At the bump stops, there is about 1/2" clearance between my sidewalks and fender lips. I could have snuck it out a tad more, but there was no way I could see avoiding narrowing.

Let me add that stiffer suspension or taller bump stops would help. I'm assuming I'll hit my stock
bump stops.

I just pulled apart an 85-93 rear end. Each axle is 29.25 inches long. Add those together plus another 1" or slightly less for the thickness of the cross pin and you get the total width. Good supply of slightly shorter stock axles for around $100 to $130 each. Axles are interchangeable between 7.5 and 8.8 so long as they are both 28 splined axles.