Building 8.8 Rear End

[dbdragracing]

I am building a 8.8 rear end for my '89 GT. The guy that is putting it together has always raced Mustangs (Ring Racing) and is said to be the best in the area. He told me to get all my parts together and drop them off. Im curious what all parts I need to assemble the rear end...please add anything else I need to order.

-8.8 rear end housing
-girdle or cover
-Ford Racing 3.73 gear set
-Auburn HD 31-spline diff
-31 spline axles

What bearings do I need? Should I go with a girdle or just a cover? Thanks.

[cobrajoe]

If your gonna race consider a rear brace and if you go that route call Rob at Rigid cause he sent me some pics of what he's done and all I can say is it's SICK!!!!!:bigthumb

[PHAT69AMX]

There is a company in town off Northland Blvd called RaTech that sells installation kits with all bearings, gaskets, shims, etc. They have about 5 levels of kits from bare bones to premium.

http://www.ratechmfg.com/toc.htm

[ibstrokin]

Since you have it apart, you should weld your axle tubes.

[mustang8998]

What are you using this car for? Street/strip, drag only, road racing, etc.........?

[nskaats]

Do yourself a favor and buy a set of bearing cap studs. For $25 a set, they're cheap insurance but often overlooked. If you're on a budget it's a much better and more effective option than buying a cover/girdle as well.

[dbdragracing]

The car will be used as a weekend warrior some street/strip. Im just redoing everything under the car before I build the 331 sroker this winter! By welding the axle tubes you just mean welding the seems to make them a solid piece? Thanks.

[mustang8998]

By welding the axles, he means the tubes to the carrier housing.

You may also want to add to your list C-clip eleminators, or the Strange 9-inch end kit. Also, as Nick said, the studs are a good idea. But I would still run a girdle, cheap insurance.

CincySpeed carries the install kits as well. I'd check with them and compare prices with Ratech. I've personnally never dealt with Ratech, so I can't tell you which would be the better deal.

[nskaats]

From my experience Ratech can be a little bit of a PITA to deal with. If you want their parts you're usually better off ordering through one of their dealers. I ordered 3 parts at the same time and got them in 3 different shipments over a 2 week time frame. You can order their parts through Cincy Speed.

[dbdragracing]

Ok, I already have the 8.8 housing and the Auburn HD 31-spline diff so Im going to stay with an 8.8. I already have an empty housing and access to a welding shop this weekend...should I go ahead and weld it before we assemble everything or do it afterwards? Thanks.