what changes when you swap an 8.8 in?

[First5.0]

hey guys. i apologize if this is a 'newbie' question but i was curious as to what would happen when you swap an 8.8 into an SVO? would you be able to reuse the same suspension pieces or would you have to use stuff designed for the 8.8?

and i understand that you guys are against defacing SVO's, so if this is considered to be defacing just remember that i'm new.

=)

btw - i am thinking of purchasing an '85 SVO and happen to have just purchased a rear from a wrecked 5.0 with disks and 3.55's, so that rear will be going on my current 5.0, leaving me with an 8.8 and stock gears to play with.

[SVOeric]

*sigh*

as usual -- you have the wrong impression about us---

I doubt anyone here would be agianst putting a 8.8 in unless it has less than 10K miles on it.

only about (a rough guess) 5% of the club has un-modified cars -- the rest of us are changing stuff as fast as we can get the money to do it.....

the only way to "deface" a svo is to part it out, or to put a v8 in it.


what would happen ???

well, depending on the gear ratio -- your speedo would be wrong, and you would be running lower rpm on the interstate-- your top speed would be increased by about 15 mph ...

and you would lessen the chance of breaking the rear-end at the dragstrip..

[First5.0]

haha, ok cool. i wasnt lying when i said i'm new. once i've read the majority of the threads here and on other sites i'll have a better understanding of everything. that includes the owners!

so you are saying that you could reuse the stock suspension from the 7.5 when swapping in an 8.8? i'm going to check out other members rides and see what other people are using but i dont see many threads (yet) about putting in aftermarket control arms or coil overs, etc.

i'll get back to more reading and see what i come up with....

edit* i'm schooling myself on SVO suspension from the newbie section. just answered one of my questions regarding the use of 5.0 suspension parts (springs in particular).

[svoman2300]

As long as you get the 8.8 out of a Fox bodied vehicle i.e. Mustang , Thunderbird etc. it'll be a direct bolt in. Just use your axles and brake parts. The only adjustments are bending the brake lines around the diff. cover.

[kiwi]

7.5 is fine.........

........I ran a 7.5 for a long time in my '85 GT & never once did it miss a beat.......I think you'll save the weight with the stock rear end.....drive it~ run it........

[First5.0]

heres a question... the SVO's all came with 3.73's, right?

dont turbos like a higher gear ratio? i remember reading somewhere about how many turbo 5.0 people go with 3.55's or even use the stock gears.

is this correct?

[bendutro]

The 85-86 SVO all have 3.73s the '84s had a 3.45 if I recall right.

The rear axle width on the SVO is wider than the standard fox chassis by about 1.5" The 'correct' axle to swap in is the 8.8 out of the Lincoln MkVII.

[svo1fast4]

houseing swap

look here

The houseings are the same. just the axels are longer by 3/4 inch from the bearning out to the flange.on the svo. and i had to cut the extra caliper bracket off the tc rear.

Rob

[93 Cobra R]

The 8.8 in a SN95 is 1.5 wider than a regular Fox body axle housing. Will this work in a SVO? The only reason I'm asking is becauase in '93 Ford used the wider axle in the Cobra R which made the rear tires almost flush with the lip on the fender well and gave the car a better look.

[GAboySVO]

First5.0,

The taller gears in the 85.5 and 86 SVOs helps get her off the line. You don't get much boost through 1st because it is so short and only get to use the boost a little in 2nd before you have to shift to 3rd. Replacing a 3.73 rear with a 3.55 one will make you a little slower of the line, but you will gain it on the top end.

Since boost doesn't really come in quickly until you are at 3K and above, you will be doing some down shifting at highway speeds to get it to move. Of course, I speaking of a stock or slightly modded engine.

There is a web site I found with a "what if" calculation page to determine drive speed based on gear ratios, rearend and tire diameter. I'll see if I can locate it again.

Here is a site for calculations. You will just need to put in the different rear end ratio and recalculate.

http://www.car-videos.com/tools/speedrpm.asp?Car=Select&Num1=225&Num2=50&Num3=16&AxleRatio=3.55&Ratio1=3.5&Ratio2=2.14&Ratio3=1.36&Ratio4=1.00&Ratio5=.78&Ratio6=&Ratio7=&Redline=6000&Increment=500&B1=Recalculate