🔧 BUILD LikeABauce302's 427 SBF Twin Turbo Build. 404 Error: LS Content Not Found

[LikeABauce302]

Most 8.8s are bent after hard launches at the track. The axle tubes were never welded or braced, and the car has been raced pretty hard. I also noticed I have a bent axle on the drivers side. When idling the car in gear, while on jackstands, the drivers side wheel has a slight wobble.

I want to upgrade from 31 to 33 spline axles. I don't like building things twice, so I'm going to make the rear end as bulletproof as possible. I also want to leave myself some growing room if I ever end up putting a more powerful engine in it.

 

[School Boy]

I gotcha. I wasnt aware 8.8 had those kinds of problems.

 

[Turbocharged400sbc]

I gotcha. I wasnt aware 8.8 had those kinds of problems.

the 8.8 aint half bad for a C clip axle, stock its probably twice as strong as my toyota axle

now that the 8.8 i want has been staining terry's driveway rust red for nearly 3 years i may be able to buy it for 50$ now....procrastination pays i guess.

9" ends are way better than C clip elims

 

[LikeABauce302]

Yup, the 8.8 is a pretty stout rear end. I have c-clip eliminator in it now, but they leak. The 9" ends should be an improvement.

 

[School Boy]

What are the advantages to running 9" ends over just a standard c-clip eliminator?

 

[Pressure Ratio]

Be careful with the 33 spline axles. The posi/spool housing can only be so thick. The caps and bearing size dictate this. So as you increase the spline of the axle the case gets thinner. I have seen many guys crack the cases in that area with the 33 spline set up. If you have a hard on for a 8.8 with 33 spline axles bite the bullet and get Mark Williams stuff.

You live at home, buy a complete 9" with 35 spline axles and then you will truly be building it once. Because the 8.8 will need a lot of maintenance. As in needing bearings and gears more often. Maybe axles too if you spray that thing and leave hard.

 

[Pressure Ratio]

What are the advantages to running 9" ends over just a standard c-clip eliminator?

The short story is the 9" ends use a larger bearing. They also use a better sealed bearing that has a o0ring to seal the outside diameter. Leaks are the number 1 thing people with c-clip eliminators complain about.

 

[School Boy]

The short story is the 9" ends use a larger bearing. They also use a better sealed bearing that has a o0ring to seal the outside diameter. Leaks are the number 1 thing people with c-clip eliminators complain about.

Good to know if I ever plan to upgrade when I make enough power. So if you were to do a spool would you recommend 31 spline axles instead of the 33 spline?

 

[Pressure Ratio]

Good to know if I ever plan to upgrade when I make enough power. So if you were to do a spool would you recommend 31 spline axles instead of the 33 spline?

Not all 33 spline stuff is created equal. lol The Mark Williams stuff is nice. But most people will not have issue with a 31 spline set up built correctly.



Here is more on the c-clip versus 9" ends.

Here is a 8.8 c-clip eliminator. This gets bolted to the flange on the axle tube. There is a gasket between the flanges on the axle tube and the first flange on the eliminator. The first flange has a seal on it. Then you have another gasket between the two eliminator flanges. If a bolt comes slightly loose it will leak. If the assembly isn't 110% dead nuts it will leak. Either from the gasketed areas or the axle being off center in the seal. If it tweaks the flange it will leak. Etc.

This is a 9" end. You can see the 9" end gets welded to the axle tube. If installed correctly it will strait and the axle can't run weird on the seal causing a leak. It has one o ring to seal the whole deal.

 

[School Boy]

Good info, thanks. How do you like the Strange stuff?

This may be a dumb question but can you still run a 4 lug/drum brake rear with the 9" ends?

 

[Pressure Ratio]

I heard the OP has some updates already. haha





Strange makes good stuff. I deal with the person who builds the rear ends that Strange sells. So he is who I would listen to if I were building a rear end.

You have to convert the brakes when using the 9" ends. Ford Racing Parts sold a cheap rear disc brake kit that was basically a Explorer brake kit. But it was popular with the 9" end guys. Or you can step up to any other 9" brake kit out there.

 

[PJx5x]

Deeeeetails Matthew?

 

[LikeABauce302]

I'm having a 9" rear end assembly built. Here are some of the basic details:

-Fabricated 9" rear housing - stock foxbody length
-Strange aluminum center section with 3.73 gears and spool
-Strange 35 spline 5 lug axles
-Instant center brackets
-Strange adaptor brackets for 94 to 04 stock mustang gt/v6 rear disc brakes.

And since I was was already spending a small fortune, I'm having it sent out to be powdercoated when it's finished.

Now I have some growing room to eventually increase power. I'll have a rear end that will be indestructible at my current power level and will be able to handle anything I throw at it in the future. I hate building things twice and the cost to upgrade, wasn't that bad.

 

[School Boy]

What are you doing with your 8.8?

 

[LikeABauce302]

Its for sale. I just posted an ad on CMC, but i'll list it here too. If you're interested, shoot me a PM and I'll give you the details on what's included.

 

[School Boy]

Its for sale. I just posted an ad on CMC, but i'll list it here too. If you're interested, shoot me a PM and I'll give you the details on what's included.

PM sent.

 

[LikeABauce302]

Just an update. Progress has slowed down a bit because I've been busy with my job and also grad school. I've been working on acquiring the parts needed to finish my build. This week I just recieved my Holley HP EFI system along with some miscellaneous hardware and bushings needed to get my rear suspension back together.



My new VRN 9" rear end is at the powder coater and should be ready in a few days. Once I get that, I'll mount it in the car and set the ride height so I can order a custom driveshaft.

I also have new 99-04 brakes ready to be installed. I'm excited to finally be able to stop safely!



I'm still planning on putting a roll cage in the car sometime in the late spring or early summer. After this phase is finished, the car will be "done" for now and I'll finally be able to enjoy it for awhile.

 

[LikeABauce302]

Just an update. I haven't made much progress lately because my job along with grad school has been eating up most of my time.

Picked up my VRN custom fabricated 9" rear end a couple of weeks ago. Pictures do no justice. The welding work looks amazing and it looks good in semi gloss black powdercoat.



Strange lightweight, high strength aluminum center section Filled with a strange spool and 3.73 gears:



Look at those welds :drool:



Strange 35 spline 50th anniversary axles:



Last night I installed the spherical bushings into the upper control arm mounts

The first attempt at installing bushings a couple of weeks ago didn't go so well. Even after freezing the bushings, cleaning up the holes with a dremel, and a lot of swearing, I couldn't get them to seat fully.




I put my engineering skills to use and made a tool to pull the bushings into the upper control arm mounts on the housing



Tonight I had some free time to fight with the bushings. The tool I made worked flawlessly.



Both sides installed



I also unpackaged the Holley HP system and laid out the wiring harness to figure out how much work I have ahead of me. Holley did a fantastic job putting this harness together. Everything is neat, well labeled, and covered with mesh conduit. I still need to buy the Holley digital dash and some sensors, once I figure out what I want to monitor. The Holley ECU will control the nitrous system, so I'll be able to eliminate my window switch, TPS switch, and there is no need for an auxiliary progressive controller. This is going to clean up a lot of unnecessary wiring!




Since summer is almost here, the plan is to get the car back on all fours and moving under its own power. I am sick of not being able to drive the car and enjoy it. I am holding off on a roll cage for next winter, and it may also get fresh paint and body work.

Here is how the car sits now. I'll hopefully have it driveable towards the end of May or sometime in June.

 

[IZZy]

Let me get dat 9" rear

Kthksbye

 

[LikeABauce302]

Lemme get dat turbo and a few extra horsepower lol.

 

[LikeABauce302]

Did a little bit more work to the car. I finally put the new rear end in.



Installed the new disc brakes



Test fit the 17x10 Pony R wheels






I still have quite a bit of work to do. I have to run the rear brake lines still and set pinion angle so I can order a driveshaft. Next month I should be able to start making more progress.

 

[LikeABauce302]

I haven't posted in this thread for while, so its time to update. Over the last couple of weeks my main focus has been wiring.

I ripped the old engine harness and ECU out to make room for the new Holley EFI harness and ECU.

First I untangled this mess of wiring in the drivers side fender. Half of this stuff isn't even connected to anything.



Then I fished out the original efi harness, main harness, and ECU.



No more ugly main harness running across the firewall



I pulled out my old switch panel and the gauges to remove wiring that I won't need anymore. Most of the wiring was for the old fan setup and nitrous setup. The Holley EFI will control those things, so a lot of wiring is going to be minimized.



Next, I started routing the new Holley harness






I also came across a good deal on a set of 5 lug draglites for the track. 28x10.5 slicks fit perfectly. I have to roll the fender a bit, but otherwise these should work.

 

[Bub]

lookin good MG. I hope to see this thing this summer.

 

[LikeABauce302]

It's been awhile since I've posted any updates here. The car never made it out this season, but I did get it up and running. It's driveable now, but I still have a few little details to finish.

I backed the car out of the garage today and washed a years worth of dust off of it. Here are a few pics and an idle video with a couple revs.








Idle video:

 

[Mook]

Notchs always get all the love, but great looking fox, man Sounds pretty rowdy too.