What rear end did the SVO come with?

[S8V4O]

In my limited reading about the 84-86 SVO, I gather that they came with the 7.5" rear. My 84 has the 4-way Koni's, 5-lug, discs, and looks like an 8.8. Did it come from a Lincoln Versailles?

[russde]

Rear end

The SVO came with 4 way Koni's, 5 lug, disc 7.5" rears........

What car Ford sourced them from I'm not sure of....but I 'think' the rear end is the same as the GT of the same era with axles from the T-bird to give it an extra 1" width. Sound right guys?
Russ

[svocudd]

What Rear end

Not all SVO's came with the Quad Shock set up in the rear. The early production build 84's actually had just two vertical shocks and slpper style traction bars.

All SVO's came with the 7.5 rear end which as far as I know is the same width as the ones used in the other mustangs from 79-85. 86 -93 V8 cards got the 8.8.

The 7.5 in the 84 sports 3.45 gears and the 85-86 have 3.73 gears.


The 87-88 8.8 rears in the T-Birds are the 1" wider rear ends. Not sue if the 83-86 T-bird 7.5's were wider than the Mustangs.

Cudd

[svono50]

S8V4O, All SVO's came with the 7.5 rear. I will assume you were asking about the 8.8 you may have in your car. More than likely it came from a LM Mustang and not a Lincoln. Although it could have come from a Mark VII.

You can swap in an 8.8 out of any LM Mustang with minimal work. I know because I put an 8.8 in my 86 ~5 years ago. The way to tell a 7.5 from an 8.8 is the shape of the diff cover. The 7.5 cover is like a sideways oval while the 8.8 is more square (with rounded corners). Differential parts and gears are cheaper for the 8.8, which is a plus when you need to rebuild/replace. Also the 8.8 can take shock loading much better (i.e.- drag racing launches on slicks).

Russ, From what I remember the T-bird axles are different length from our SVO axles, but I could be wrong. Paul may know more detailed info on this subject. The SVO axles are 0.75" longer than a std Mustang for the disk brakes. I do know that the quad shock mount on the T-bird rear is different, so swapping in a T-bird 8.8 takes a bit more work than from a Mustang.

[S8V4O]

Thanks to all for the feedback. There was a fellow around here that claimed to be an SVO expert that said all SVO's came with 8.8's. I appreciate the confirm in my thoughts.
Now, I wondered if the 8.8 in my car was from a LM 5.0 but, they didn't have rear discs and 5-lugs until 95, right (exception-93 Cobra)? I bought the car in 97 and I'm pretty sure it's not from a 94-95. Did the T/Birds you speak of have 5-lugs? BTW- it is a square housing with rounded corners.

[svono50]

It could be from an SN95 Mustang, the way to tell would be the type of rear disk brakes. The axles and rear disks of the SVO were ahead of the game for many years, even the first gen of SN95s. The first gen SN95s had 10" non-vented rotors, if my memory serves me right. I don't know the details on the Cobra brakes, but they were closer to the SVO's.

Basically, if they are 11.65" vented rotors, the owner swapped over the SVO brakes and axles onto the 8.8 assembly. This is the most probable combo that you have. The T-bird axles were 4-lug, so they would not work with our 5-lug rims without redrilling the flanges and putting in 5-lugs.

[NO 5 OH]

Originally posted by svono50
It could be from an SN95 Mustang, the way to tell would be the type of rear disk brakes. The axles and rear disks of the SVO were ahead of the game for many years, even the first gen of SN95s. The first gen SN95s had 10" non-vented rotors, if my memory serves me right. I don't know the details on the Cobra brakes, but they were closer to the SVO's.

Basically, if they are 11.65" vented rotors, the owner swapped over the SVO brakes and axles onto the 8.8 assembly. This is the most probable combo that you have. The T-bird axles were 4-lug, so they would not work with our 5-lug rims without redrilling the flanges and putting in 5-lugs.

Mustangs up till and including the 86 model were equipped with the 7.5 in rearend. It wasn't until 87 that Ford started equipping all Mustangs with the 8.8. All SN95 V6/GT cars from 94 up use 10.4 in nonvented rotors in the rear. 93 Cobra Mustangs used 4 lug hubs and borrowed the disc brakes off the Turbo Coupe, which were smaller than the brakes on the SVO. 94 and up Cobra Mustangs use vented 13" rotors up front with vented 11.65" rotors out back.

Hope this information is helpful...

[coulomb67]

As already stated, the SVO came with a 7.5" rear. I have put a 88 Thunderbird 8.8" rear in my 84. I don't have the quad shock setup so the swap was pretty easy. I had to drill some holes to mount the disk brake emergency brake line bracket. Also, just for your information, the 88 thunderbird axles are shorter than the SVO axle. As far as I know, the SVO track width is unique to the SVO with respect to other Mustangs and Thunderbirds of similar years.

[Vlad The Imp]

It could have also come from the Motorsport catalog.They do have a new 8.8 axle housing avail w/gears already set up.You just swap in your axles & brakes.It`s a nice upgrade to have.

[Speeder]

So if you're not in the habit of doing burn outs what is so bad about the 7.5"? It's lighter and has less rotating mass too.

So unless I'm missing some compelling reason to switch to an 8.8, I think I'll save the hassle and keep my 7.5 right where it's at. Do guys switch because none of the trick add ons (panhard bar, track bar, adjustable control arms etc.) are available for the 7.5?

[SVOeric]

I think most people switch for the abuse factor.

the 8.8 is simply beefier, and will take more abuse..

If your not big into drag racing, your 7.5 will probably hold up fine. But, when you r 7.5 wears out, you might want to go to the 8.8 because of cost, and availability.

[svono50]

I would have to agree with Eric on his statement of the abuse factor. This is why I swapped mine out. Occasionally I race on slicks at the drag strip, which I know the 7.5's differential spider gears would never hold up to. I actually purchased and installed a Auburn diff in my 7.5, but never got a chance to test it with slicks for various reasons. Then I came across a deal on an 8.8, found an immediate buyer for my 7.5 and the rest is history.

If you don't plan on performing drag style launches or adding a torque arm rear suspension, then the 7.5 is just fine. I had a 7.5 in my old 80 4-cyl Mustang that I beat relentlessly for 190K+ miles and only had to replace the ring and pinion once (the used trac-lok diff survived w/o incident). There are better places to spend your money if your 7.5 is meeting your current needs IMHO.