1988 thunderbird turbo coupe rear end

hsean

10 Year Member
Jul 24, 2006
656
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dearborn,michigan
does an 88 t-bird turbo coupe rear end bolt up to my 87 mustang it has the rear disk brakes.another question is if i want to switch to 5 lug will it make it easier?do i have to replace the hand brake cable?what about the brake booster thanks in advance
 
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In short, yes the 88 TC will bolt up... I dont know about using the 88TC stuff to swap to 5 lug so I wont answer about that at all...

But to make the 88TC rear work, you need to read this:
(79-93 4 Lug Ford Fox Body Mustang Brake Upgrades)

These are 4 lug 10" vented rotors. This is a great swap if you can find the whole rear end! It is a 8.8" rear end, and the stock gear ratio is 3.55 for the manuals, 3.73 for the autos on the Turbo Coupes, and 3.08 on the 93 Cobra. Keep in mind the axle is .75" wider than the stock Mustangs, you will need to adapt the brake lines fittings. The easiest way is to use the drum brake rear hardlines and adapt at the caliper softlines. You need to drill the quad shock mounting holes 2" lower on the T-bird axle for the Mustang. For E-Brake cables, you need to purchase use the FMS cables. If you have a '93 vintage, you need to use the '93 Cobra cables. Ford made the '93 E-Brake cables like the Sn95 units with a center mounting in the tranny tunnel. 93 Cobra E-Brake cable #F3ZZ-2A635-A.

If you cannot get the whole axle or do not want it, get all the brake lines, calipers, bolts, rotors and axles. Then swap this into your existing axle. Here is a parts list that you need to do the swap from the '87-88 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe or '93 Cobra:

* 10" 4 lug vented rotors
* rear calipers
* rear caliper brackets
* Axles -- if you use the stock caliper brackets. They are 3/4" wider than the stock '87-93 units.
* soft brake lines
* (2)FMS M-2809-A ebrake cables for '87-92 cars, '93 Cobra units for '93 year cars
* (1) FMS M-2810-A center Ebrake cable
* FMS M2450-A proportioning valve solid end cap
* Adjustable proportioning valve
* new 2 port 4 wheel disc master cylinder (1" bore for stock front calipers or 1 1/16" for the 73mm fronts)
* 3-2 port master cylinder conversion. Click here to Order
* 2 adapter fittings to use the stock drum brake hardline with the softlines - Click here to Order

The discontinued Ford M-2300-C kits uses the same calipers and rotors from the 87-88 Turbo Coupe, but stock length axles. SSBC and other companies have picked up this Ford kit and sell them for about $600. If you can get the calipers and rotors, but not the axles or axle brackets, call North RaceCars for these brackets! These will allow you to use the stock length rear axles with the TC rear disc parts!
 
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In short, yes the 88 TC will bolt up... I dont know about using the 88TC stuff to swap to 5 lug so I wont answer about that at all...

But to make the 88TC rear work, you need to read this:
(79-93 4 Lug Ford Fox Body Mustang Brake Upgrades)

These are 4 lug 10" vented rotors. This is a great swap if you can find the whole rear end! It is a 8.8" rear end, and the stock gear ratio is 3.55 for the manuals, 3.73 for the autos on the Turbo Coupes, and 3.08 on the 93 Cobra. Keep in mind the axle is .75" wider than the stock Mustangs, you will need to adapt the brake lines fittings. The easiest way is to use the drum brake rear hardlines and adapt at the caliper softlines. You need to drill the quad shock mounting holes 2" lower on the T-bird axle for the Mustang. For E-Brake cables, you need to purchase use the FMS cables. If you have a '93 vintage, you need to use the '93 Cobra cables. Ford made the '93 E-Brake cables like the Sn95 units with a center mounting in the tranny tunnel. 93 Cobra E-Brake cable #F3ZZ-2A635-A.

If you cannot get the whole axle or do not want it, get all the brake lines, calipers, bolts, rotors and axles. Then swap this into your existing axle. Here is a parts list that you need to do the swap from the '87-88 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe or '93 Cobra:

* 10" 4 lug vented rotors
* rear calipers
* rear caliper brackets
* Axles -- if you use the stock caliper brackets. They are 3/4" wider than the stock '87-93 units.
* soft brake lines
* (2)FMS M-2809-A ebrake cables for '87-92 cars, '93 Cobra units for '93 year cars
* (1) FMS M-2810-A center Ebrake cable
* FMS M2450-A proportioning valve solid end cap
* Adjustable proportioning valve
* new 2 port 4 wheel disc master cylinder (1" bore for stock front calipers or 1 1/16" for the 73mm fronts)
* 3-2 port master cylinder conversion. Click here to Order
* 2 adapter fittings to use the stock drum brake hardline with the softlines - Click here to Order

The discontinued Ford M-2300-C kits uses the same calipers and rotors from the 87-88 Turbo Coupe, but stock length axles. SSBC and other companies have picked up this Ford kit and sell them for about $600. If you can get the calipers and rotors, but not the axles or axle brackets, call North RaceCars for these brackets! These will allow you to use the stock length rear axles with the TC rear disc parts!

thanks for the response