romoranger

I finally finished all the fabrication and installation of my 8.8" yesterday, all I have left is to tighten everything up, put on the brakes, and adjust the pinion angle. I got rid of the torque arm because I thought this was an easier solution than building a mount. The lower control arms I have on their now are only temporary and for fitting until I pick up some more chromoly.

the rear

pete-z style set up

and again

the Ford ears I haven't got around to cutting off yet.

I do anticipate some rattling with all rod ends around. The next set of lca's will have one rod end and one poly end, and if it still is loud I will put one poly end on the upper control arms. I am just excited that it actually worked out the way I have planned.

Only thing I am worried about is the lca mount on the body ripping, and if I see that there is some wear I will just weld a 1/4 strap there like the mustang guys do. now I can fit my x-pipe no problem! It took me a day or so to figure out what parts I needed to make the drive shaft work but it ended up being simpler than I thought.

TravisA

Nice! That's exactly what I've been looking to try...

22991

What is that 8.8" out of? Was the width correct to the stock 7.5" Camaro setup? What bracket mounts did you use (homemade or kit)? What brakes are you using (the Ford ones)? I have done Jeep conversions to put a 8.8 from a Exploder into a YJ and it has worked very well. I am looking for an alternative to the 7.5 in my 95 Z28. Thanks for your ideas.

romoranger

It was out of a 91 mustang. I had to cut off the gm's tubes and and the Ford's tubes. Next I made a sleeve from 2.5" od 1.94" id tube and pressed it into each side with an interference fit (.005 too big) (each tube has a different id so I had to get that runed according ly on the lathe). I did rosette style welds and welded around where the tubes joined. It is immensely important to make sure your measurements are correct when cutting the tubes.

for my pete-z bars the tabs are from summit racing, and the brackets are from poly performance. The bungs for the rod ends are from some four wheeler site, they were really cheap.

As for brakes I am reusing my stock brakes. Those are even the axles out of my camaro. Another really important thing is making sure the tubes are straight after it has been welded. I was very careful and preheated, but from the pumpkin to end of the tube the one side didn't warp, but the other warped 1/4". I straightened it out using the torch and ice method. If you want close up pictures of the welded joint and such let me know.

For the driveshaft connection you need a flange yoke for a 70's or 80's (I will have to check the part number at home) Ford F-100 and a napa part number 372 u-joint along with the inner clips to press in. That u-joint is not an exact fit, I made it work but I am still looking for a better one.