Currie does not sale brackets anymore. What's funny is 2 or so years ago that bracket kit was $150-$175 from Currie. They sold all their stock on brackets and the people that bought them have them almost double on Amazon and ebay. I was looking for brackets with the multiple holes and ended up finding some from Medieval Chassis.

The trick chasis 8.8 arms are for a mustang rearend with the low ears. I ended up using Spohn a body arms. Thanks for helping me look.

This is where I ended up at for the day, not as far as I hoped but it is moving along. I spent a lot of time measuring and figuring out a way to neatly mount my coilovers using their brackets. Everything in the picture is just tacked on and ready to weld. Everything fit really well so far, I ll post more pictures tomorrow and have more detail .

With the old rearend in the car I undid the drive shaft and upper arms and used a floor jack to get my pinion angle at zero, checked wheelbase. I then used a magnetic base protractor at 0° to punch a mark on each side of the frame rails to find the axle centerline. I then used a straightedge with a digital protractor at 0° to go vertical and transfer the center line point to the frame rails. I didn't have any pictures of the old rear end but here is the the marks on the new rearend which I did the same way with back machined surface at 90°.







After getting everything plumb, true, and measured 10,000 times I swung the brackets up and tacked them in place.





My main goal for this project was to have a rearend that would leave 2 black marks, handle the new engine, and have some fun while building it at a decent price. I like how my car rides and the ride height and those 2 things are important too me. One day I will probably put the fancy double adjustable lowers on the car and a fancy sway bar but for now I'm 100% happy with what I have and really would rather put money elsewhere.

With my car lowered the lower control arms point down which is not ideal. With the new brackets the top hole automatically drops the rear of the lca about 3/4" which should by my math level it out. With that said I was able to reuse my factory sway bar which is fine by me at the moment and what I want to do.



For the uca you could reuse your factory arms by figuring your pinion angle then drilling new holes to match. I did spring the extra cash for the spohn 68-72 uppers. My factory arms are 11" center to center and by the time I had my pinion angle set they were 10-5/8" center to center. In the picture below the spohn arms are not adjusted.



Here is the top view of the rearend and a picture of the a-body bump stop brackets that I cut down to look more like the g body brackets. The a body were also too big and interfered with the lca brackets.

Very nice work Brent.

Just curious how much the 8.8" rear weighs relative to the stock 7.5" in the same state of assembly?

Not sure Mark but I can let you know when I get to a point where they are in the same state.

Thanks Fred!

Nice, VERY nice. It's great that you're able and doing it yourself. Even better that you're sharing! THANKS!!

Thanks Kevin!

Hopefully get some better pictures later but was able to get the coilover brackets situation sorted and some spring perch gussets made.

So after lots of thought and research on the differential I decided on the 31 spline Ford traction lok. I know people love the truetrac and I can't disagree that it is a great diff but it's also hard to argue against the probably millions of traction loks on the street and a lot of guys on other forums love them and swear by them. I talked to 2 different guys at work that drive their cars in the same manner as me with the traction lok and have no complaints. After I went through the list of some of the cars that have the exact diff with the carbon fiber disc I figured it will work perfect for me. This was not an easy decision but I feel like the best fit for me and yes cost had a small part but not much, the FRPP shipped to the door with taxes was $532 the truetrac with install kit and Ford gear shipped to door with taxes would be $1102. Here is what is included ( copy and pasted from Ford) and a few pictures of the stuff from the FRPP package. I also stayed with the 3.73 gear.

•Entire Kit is ALL Genuine Ford Racing

FRPP M-4204-F318C Traction Lok Differential
•Fits ALL 8.8 differentials with a 31 Spline Axles
•Will accept anti-lock exciter ring,
•Traction-Lok limited-slip differential
•Fits Solid or (IRS) independent rear suspension
•Includes Carbon Fiber Clutch Plates for increased durability
•Original equipment in 2003-04 Mustang Cobra
•Requires 4-ounces of CM-19546-A1 friction modifier with initial fill

FRPP M-4209-88373 Ring & Pinion Gears
• Includes Ford Pinion Nut
• Includes Ford Crush Sleeve
• Made by Ford Racing
•No one does 8.8" gears better than Ford Racing...stonger and quieter.
•The 8.8" rear end has been the standard in performance since its introduction in the Mustang in 1986 and Ford Racing is the manufacturer of choice when it's time to hop-up your axle.
•Made in the United States at Ford's Sterling Axle Plant (competitors in this price range are primarily produced in China)
•OEM quality - our superior surface finish, hardening, and manufacturing consistency provide the strongest and quietest 8.8" gears in the market! These are the same units that have 100,000 mile warranties in our production cars. Higher quality gears means more satisfied customers!
•Race Proven - Ford Racing 8.8" gears are the choice of championship road racing and drag racing teams including Multimatic Motorsports and Kurgan Motorsports.

FRPP M-4210-B2 Ring & Pinion Installation Kit
• Excellent upgrade for all 8.8" rear ends through 2014. Does not fit 2015+
• High-torque bearing gives added durability for modified vehicles
• Contains all components from M-4210-A plus all differential bearings
Includes:
-2012 Shelby GT500 high-torque pinion bearing
-Pinion and carrier shims
-Crush sleeve
-Pinion nut
-Pinion seal
-Ring gear bolts
-Mustang GT carrier bearings
-Gear-marking compound
-Cover gasket

Any thoughts on the best paint or paint application for the rearend? I want either satin or low gloss black would be idea, I don't care much for gloss.

Just now got caught up on your project Brent...looking good!

I like Eastwoods Chassis black myself but lately have just been using a bunch of satin black VHT that I bought on sale when a Pep Boys closed near me.

Man has it gone up over the past couple years, but even with it being expensive, the semi-gloss black POR-15 is a super tough coating. Highly scratch and chemical resistant. It might be a little too glossy for you tough. Maybe the POR-15 as a base coat then use the Satin Black Epoxy VHT Roll Bar and Chassis aerosol paint as a thin "top coat" to knock off the sheen? The VHT epoxy is pretty tough and one my favorites, but that POR-15 is on a level by itself.

Did my 8 1/2 with POR right over the cast and bare steel in 2002. My rear was also sandblasted to bare and shiny prior. Don't even think there was a choice between gloss or semi from POR back then, only gloss, and there was no real products marketed as chassis paints either.

After it's initial POR coating 2002 later when the 4.11s went in, 2016, I just washed the bare housing with a good bath of soap and water and sprayed it with my favorite black paint, Rust-Oleum Prof HP enamel gloss black right over the old POR coating. And it looked exceptional. That paint line was only a couple colors back then, no satin but now has a Satin black.
What i find is you drive the car a 1000 miles and the gloss black rear gets road film on it and is not longer just a pretty shiny thing under there. Very easy to wash and make pretty again if a pretty rear is the priority.

The 8 1/2" is now sitting on the bench taken apart for the third time and the paint finish on it still looks very good. Yes there are some scratches from jackstands under the tubes, stone chips. Once the rear is all back together and before install back in the car it will get the soap, brush and water treatment sitting on the shop floor. Will only take that spray can of Prof gloss black and spot paint the area around the girdle to prevent some surface rusting of the ARP bolt heads and where you need to scrap to get a cover gasket seal. The rest of the rear paint areas have held up exceedingly well. I credit the first coat of POR done on the rear 20+ years and 40K miles ago for still being the good base coat it was.
Bob

Lance, Kevin, and Bob, thanks for the feedback and if anyone else has any suggestions on rearend paint I would love to hear it.

When I started this rearend I was going to order the Strange s60 and it was going to be between $3800- $4000 shipped to door give or take a few options. My goal with my very quick and rough math at the start of this was $2000. If it looked like it was going to creep any where near $3000 or above my thought was go ahead and spring the extra and get the s60. I understand 100% with this build that it is no s60 or 9". I do feel 100% that this rearend is enough and then some for me. It's a rearend that will be fine if I eventually decide to throw a run or 2 at the drag strip or autox. I should have everything welded on Monday or Tuesday and then I will get into gear set up and order the axles. Right now all that is left to buy for the rearend is axles ($380-$400), Inner seals ($30), and Paint (?). Here is the cost to build the rearend so far and the prices include tax and shipping. I'm not including fluid, spherical bushings, or upper arms since that was needed for any other option.

Housing $80
Sandblast $50
Coil spring pads $47
Control arm brackets $111
Housing ends. -
T bolts. -
Bearings. -
Spacers - last 4 combined for $333
Bumpstops and brackets $54
Oil slinger washer for pinion bearing $8
Solid pinion spacer $17
Ring and pinion -
Traction lok. -
Install kit - last 3 combined for $532
Upr girdle $150

Total so far is $1382

So for rearend assembly I should be right around my goal when done and maybe a little less.

Crazy what car parts cost these days but with some very good skills that you've shown that 8.8 junk yard axle turns out to be a sweet bang for the buck.

Well done.

Thank you Ron! Do you have any experience with certain frame or rearend paints?

Hi Brent,

I've had a couple chassis repaints over the years and had some great results with a few different paints. POR as a base coat with top coat due to a lack of UV resistance, Sem rust trap and VHT as mentioned. My next go around I will use Eastwood ceramic chassis black 2K. It's a two part system and you need a spray gun for it. If I had to use a can, VHT chassis and roll cage paint, it's thick, lays down great, and is tuff when cured.

For anyone that used the por 15 on a sandblasted and clean rearend what was your method of preparation before applying the por 15?

When i did my first POR long time ago, they sold 6 packs of little cans, maybe 4 oz, and bought a qt of their Metal Prep which is a zinc phosphate wash.
I think the Metal Prep is a good thing but last time just bought a pint of POR and have used it over very clean steel with out Prep. One of my "cleaners" is muriatic acid (hydrochloric), always have a gallon in the shop. A flash wash with acid, a good water rinse, an air gun and sometimes a hot air dryer gun to prevent a surface rust film which can appear quickly on some irons. Then POR right over the bare steel. It's a question of "tooth" and the steel. Cast iron good tooth, sand blasted steel tubing, may also be OK.

At least with the old POR it warned never spray it.
https://qr.por15.com/QR-assets/downloads/POR15/POR-NoReadDirections.pdf

Years ago bought a 16 oz of POR and found after you remove several oz and then let it sit for a long time the top of the liquid will "skin" rock hard. What i do now is just keep transferring the remainder of the POR after use using into a smaller container and fill that to the top, no air.
Have used POR a dozen times.

I brushed on POR, you will find on a smooth surface it's hard to hide brush strokes, and POR will be thin in places. Two coats is needed.

OH, wear gloves. POR and skin go together very well. You won't get if off for a long period of time if it gets close to drying.
Man it's good stuff.
Bob

I finally was able to get everything welded and all went well. Welds are structurally sound but some I'm not real thrilled about. I had the wire speed too high and they were humped up a little more than I would like. The ends I tig welded. Nothing bad enough to grind out and will look just fine once painted. I would have tiged the whole thing but it's such a slow process that with me doing it would have put what I felt was too much heat in the axle tubes. Hopefully be able to order axles in the next day or 2. I have an issue with brake to frame clearance with my car being so low but I'll post on it in the nest day or so.

Root pass


Second pass


Everything bolted on

A side by side of the 2 rear ends.

Next issue is ls1 brake clearance in the rear, I knew this would be an issue so it is what it is. My car is pretty low, and I like how it rides and sits so raising it to get around this issue was not the answer for me. The 2 options I do have is either a hard stop mounted to the frame or notch the frame. I'm thinking notch the frame but only a small area just for brake clearance so everything can move as it wants to. With my car at ride height the top of the axle tube is 2-3/4" away from the frame. My older stock bump stops were only maybe 1/2" from the frame and now I've put a little shorter stop on. To get the bleed screws to hit I had to remove the new bump stops and compress the the pinion stop as far as I could. I don't think it would ever get that far but I'm not going to find out, I would rather be safe than sorry. First picture is with the bleeder touching, bumpstops removed, and pinion stop compressed to the point that the rear would pickup off the jack stands, you can see caliper touching behind my thumb knuckle. At the moment the rearend fab is done i just need to setup gears, paint, order axles and get brake lines done. To be able to enjoy my car and not be rushed the old rearend is back in the car and I had the car back out for an evening cruise Tuesday.Any other ideas or comments let me know.

So...been there, done that with brake caliper clearance issues. I can say with certainty extending the bumpstop to contact the axle earlier is not the ideal solution. Hitting the bumpstop takes the spring rate to infinity and WILL upset the car if any kind of lateral load is on the tires during the event.

Not being completely familiar with the LS1 setup, is it possible to switch the brake backing plates side to side and mount the caliper forward and down? That is how I got my Explorer brake package to clear the frame and also the method I used for my Stoptech calipers. There seems to be a bit more frame clearance in front of the axle than there is behind it.