The 8.8" wasn't in trucks until 1987. I know this for sure, my dad has a 1985 Bronco he bought new, and a 1986 Ford truck, both have 9" rearends.
I've got a couple of rear end housings from both Granadas and Mavericks that I've used on Mustang projects. Some observatons from my mix-and-match experiences...... Granadas came with 8", 9" (some with discs, some with drums), or a looks-like 8.8 which is really an 8.7". The 8.7" has a rear cover like the 8.8, but none of the internal parts seem to interchange, unfortunately. I was unable to use later 8.8 gears and bearings in an 8.7 rear. Any of these Granada rears will bolt up to a Maverick, but Granada rears are 3/4" wider than the Maverick (3/8" on each side). But they have the same spring perches. The Granada drums (on the 8" and 9") are 10x2 1/4" and will bolt to a Maverick 8" housing if you want slightly larger drums. The Maverick e-brake hooks right up. The Granada 5 lug axles are slightly too long to fit the 8" Mav 4-lug rear housing, but would work if shortened a little. The bearings are the same. The only difference between an 4-lug 8" and a 5-lug 8" seems to be the axles and brakes. The 9" Granadas have the same 28 spline axles with the same bearings as the 8" housings. The five lug axles will not fit the Mav 7.25" rear end, but the 8" axles interchange between 4- and 5-lug. All the 9" Granadas I have seen have a flat input flange so the Maverick driveshaft wont fit. All the 9" Granadas I have seen have also had pitiful 2.47 rear gears, no trac loc. All that said, never say never with a Ford. The stuff I have seen may not be representative of the stuff under your Maverick. YMMV
My uncle did it the other day. Took the 4 lug axles from his 70 and put the 5 lugs from a 74. Nothing changed but axles and brakes. I better go tell him it won't fit... :bananaman
He must have stubmled onto another Ford oddity. :confused: I tested the theory myself a month or so ago with a 5-lug axle from a 75 and the bearings were way too big to fit into the housing on my 71 4-lug rearend. I'd heard it said enough times that it don't work that I had to try it for myself.
The key is it has to be a 4-lug 8", not the 7.25" The 8" rears I have all have the same bearings no matter if it was a 4 or 5 lug. The smaller 7.25" rear has a different, smaller bearing and the axles do not swap. I tried to do this on the original 7.25" in my Mustang and it was a no-go, but was a direct changeover on an 8" with 4-lugs.
The key here is that the 71 grabber Matt reffered to was an 8" 4 lug.....and the 74 (not 75 matt) was an 8" 5 lug and the bearing was alot larger on the 5 lug than the 4......please keep in mind that he did'nt treat you like an idiot.......keep in mind that others have a clue!!
Robert, I don't think I ever alluded to anyone being clueless or an idiot. :confused: Sorry if anyone took it that way. I mentioned that sometimes Ford specs are variable (YMMV?). I have gathered parts from cars that should have been identical, but weren't. Ford has used some interesting combinations of parts in order to use up stocks from year to year. And they made some interesting but subtle changes at times. Ask anyone who has ever closely compared an early Mav with a later one. What I found in the junkyard, might not be the same thing Matt has. I can only report that there was no difference in the three 8" housings I have used (two Mav, one Granada) other than the axles and brakes. In the same way I can report there were instances where the assemblies interchanged, he also reports there are assemblies like his that won't. I call that a good exchange of information and the next time I try to make one of these work, I'll keep my eyes open to make I don't try something that won't work. In fact, here is a picture of my 66 coupe with a Maverick 8", converted from 4-lug to five with just an axle swap. This started as a 4-lug 8" Maverick, and was converted to 5 lug with Maverick axles when I did the Granada front brakes, and has the 10 x 2 1/4" wide Granada drums. There is a 1.25" adapter to allow the late model 16" wheels to fit. The definitive answer would be to try to collect axle tags or some other part number so that we can share good info on what will and won't work. Sometimes matching up Ford drivetrain stuff can be as maddening as trying to mix and match early and late pulleys, water pumps, and timing covers. :confused:
Yeah, I agree that you cannot speak definates with any Ford made in the 70s. I got my 9" rear out of a 6 cyl, 81 Monarch. The car also had the light duty discs and spindles. The only reason I got that rear is because the hood would not open! When I would walk junkyards, I'd open the hood first, then if it was an 8, I would crawl under it and look for a 9". The hood latch happened to be broken on this Monarch, so I crawled under and found the 9". Later I found the 6 cyl and realized that if I had opened the hood, I wouldn't have gotten the 9", for $79.00 no less! The owner of the yard looked up the price for a 81 Monarch 6 cyl rear and the only one listed as available was an 8"... $79.00. I learned that day never to be rigid with the rules on Fords. The owner of the yard would have learned well too, but he didn't even recognize that the rear was a 9" when he helped me load it up. Dave
Sorry I was tired and grumpy....as for what I've found was I have 3 8" 4 lug here one in a 70 grabber,one in a 70 2 door,and one in a 71 2 door all 3 have the smaller bearing than the 3 8" 5 lugs I have and they are out of a 73 grabber,72 grabber,and our 73 4 door.....add that to the 2 5 lugs that Matt has and the 4 lug 8" and all of them are different 4 to 5 lug.......and Ratio 411 from what I have seen on the granada/monarchs you have a good chance of a 9" if it is a square head light car.....most of what I have seen is when they introduced the lincoln version with the disc brake option there seemed to be more 9" thrown around.....for the record my 9" came from an 80 granada with a six as well.
this is interesting...what kinda posi rear ends would bolt up right to my maverick??? How do i know if they are posi out of the junkyard?? and i was thinking about a modern 8.8" but wasnt sure if it would bolt up because of the leaf suspension setup on mavericks.
You could do the 8.8 with enough welding... They are coil spring type and most are 4 lug. You could possibly find a pre-IRS, post-4 lug, Mustang and take the thing to a welding shop and have them cut off all the brackets and replace them with yours, BUT, they better know what they are doing. You have offset and pinion angle to get right. Then you would have to mod your driveshaft to use the 8.8" style yoke/u-joint. 8" trac-loks were common in Mustang 2s. I have even heard they were standard in V8 cars. That rear won't fit, but the 'pumkin' will. All V8 M2s came with 3.00 gears. To get a lower gear from a yard, you will have to find a 4 or 6 cyl Pinto, Bobcat, or M2... Then you lose your trac-lok though. Now you have to buy 3 rears... 1: A Maverick, Granada, Monarch, or Comet 5 lug to get the correct axles and housing. 2: A Pinto, M2, or Bobcat to get your 3.40 or 3.55 gear. 3: A trac-lok 3.00 from an M2 to get your diff. Marry it all up and you will have a nice street setup. I have done it in the past, but the stuff is harder to find now and the prices are up. Used to be super easy and dirt cheap 10-15 years ago. Dave
nice....thanks dave. i also heard that the 8.8 from a ford explorer would work because it has leaf suspension...i was told that it will bolt right up to my mav i like the idea ...can anyone verify this as true?? thanks -beau
I see it, it says that the 8.8 arrived in the Bronco in 1983. My dad ordered his Bronco in 7/84, as a 1985 model. It's got a 9" rearend. Believe me I know the difference. He still has the truck.
Interesting idea... How about a Ford Ranger? Didn't some of those come with 8.8s? They have leaf and 5 lugs on car bolt pattern if memory serves... they would be narrow. Dave
