TheDude

Ah that's right on the lower plate. Someone had told me that it can be modded but now I see what you mean. And thanks for the tip on welding the tube. I've seen people do that with 8.8's in rock crawlers, but didn't know if that was needed for our cars. May as well do it since we'll be welding on it anyway. Thanks again.

Thanks, that helps a lot. Yes, it's from a 2000 Explorer. 4.10 gears, trac lock and disc brakes. On the perches, I'm thinking of going longer than standard to help with spring wrap. But sounds like the standard ones are working fine for you and you are running a lot more power than I will be so might rethink that. I have the stock Explorer U bolts so hopefully those will work for me. Not sure what I'll do on the lower plate just yet, but was thinking of moding the stock lower if possible. I had the driveshaft made for my new trans not that long ago so hoping to make it work with a

Hey Kevin, I've tried searching up and down the forums for details on this but having a hard time as I think it doesn't do well with using 8.8 as a search term, so I'll ask here or if you can point me to some threads I'd appreciate it. I finally found a 4.10 rear end now and am looking for details on parts needed to complete the job. Any details you have on things like the spring perches, lower leaf spring plate and the axle flange would be a big help. Thanks -Will

Nice video. I've done some very mild scratches this way and with metal polish in the past with pretty good results. I had a DA sander get away from me and slid down the center of my back glass. So I've got some deeper stuff I need to try and deal with there. I know I won't be able to get them all the way out but hopefully I can make it not so obvious.

Another while you're in there item is I'd probably add some insulation. A lot of guys put in sound deadening which is great, but if you can get something that will insulate for heat and sound, even better.

Thanks. Yeah I'm pretty sold on them and seems like a fairly straight forward install. I'll look up the other links you mentioned. Thanks I like the idea of the bolt in 9", but they are just a lot more money and less plentiful around here anyway so I think the 8.8 should be a big upgrade as it is. And yes, I'm thinking that 297 MPH might be a tiny bit of a stretch for this car. I still haven't had this thing past 90 so I have to think this thing would disintegrate long before that even if I had the power to do it.

Perfect, thanks. That's really the confirmation I was looking for. Loads of them in some parts of the country. Around here they get gobbled up for use in jeeps so having a hard time finding that combo. I'll keep looking. Thanks

Howdy folks, I'm in need of new rear end gearing in a bad way. Currently running a 6 speed with I think 2.73's. According to the calculators, I can just about hit 70 in 1st gear, over 100 in 2nd and 297mph in 6th, so yeah, just a tiny bit tall lol! Not planning on racing, just spirited driving and the occasional abuse of rear tires and still good freeway cruising So I'm looking at an 8.8 from an Explorer and 4.10 gears, trac loc and disc brakes. Love to get 2nd opinions from people that know more than me about this if this gearing sounds like a good fit and secondly if the Expl

For this car it wasn't the clear coat, but the paint itself. The car had been repainted a couple of times over it's life. Those old paint jobs didn't adhere to the previous coat as well as factory factory paint. So when you apply what amounts to a giant super sticky sticker to it then pull it off over and over again pain that otherwise seemed OK other than having a lousy finish would peel up. It really was a nightmare after spending ages getting a door or fender just perfect, then after a couple hours and almost done with wrapping a panel and it's looking great, suddenly a 3" chunk will just p

Since the day I got my car I had fully planned on wrapping it as I've done other cars and I knew it was a fast quick way to get the car looking really good. Body work it like you are going to paint then wrap. The right wrap and color can actually hide some crimes and even things out a lot along with just looking great. The problem I had though was that the old paint on my car was in such bad shape that it would lift when applying the wrap. When you lay the wrap, you need to stick it to the car and lift it over and over to get it to lay down clean. Since the old paint was in such bad shap

I know people will put the cans in the freezer and they claim to get weeks or even months longer. Never tried that myself. This. The stuff is gnarly so don't mess around and do wear a good mask. Also the stuff really carries so mask off a lot more than you think you need to. I've used the 2K sprays a fair bit. I love the product overall, but have issues with the cans. When working with larger areas, if the can isn't totally full and the can warmed up if will start to sputter when working on horizonal surfaces. With a gloss finish this can usually be dealt with by just going ove

Why would you want to cover the factory 12 pack compartment designed to stash your beer when you are supposed to be working on the car? Seriously though, looks great. Very nice job.

Still haven't had it out much to get pics, but here's one from last night. Really need to get the front end down as it's pretty tall right now. On my list of never ending projects and $$

FWIW - Here's mine running craigslist 20's all around. Sorry don't have great pics as we've been working on it non stop. 20x9.5s in the back with 315/35/20s and 20X8.5s with 255/40/20s up front. With that wide a tire there is still a reasonable amount of sidewall in the back IMO and looks pretty good. The front sidewalls look to thin. It's at stock height so I think lowering an inch or two up there will make that look a lot better. Eventually I'll probably go 18's or 19's with a taller sidewall. Personally I'd stay away from 17" wheels unless you know exactly what you want and don't thin

On the pedals, keep an eye out for people parting out cars. When I did mine, I got the complete pedal assembly with both pedals for about $125-$150 from someone parting out their car on ebay. I picked up a bunch of other unrelated things as well. Also there's Scotty Strickland on Facebook that has a Mustang boneyard. I never got anything from him but he did seem to have a lot of stuff for sure.