i just completed my 7.5"-8.8" rear axle swap. what a difference! new u-joints, new shocks, and a new rear with 3.55 gears made my weekend.
the swap was pretty straight forward, and i used my axles and brakes from my 7.5... it only got a little tricky when i tried to bolt up the caliper mounting brackets onto the axle flanges, only to find that the bracket on the rear end the bolts pass through didnt line up. and so at 8,000 rpm and about 45 minutes later, i dremeled the holes to accept the existing hardware. this just seemed odd to me becuase of all the rear end swaps ive been involved in and all the countless hours and years gathering information, i had never heard of a difference this minute between the LX rear and the GT rear.
but anyways, with the mods on my 97 3.8L and now with this locked 3.55 rear, she purrs just nice.
the car has been treated to
(BBK 56mm throttle body)
(Cold Air Intake w/ Fenderwell Pick-up)
(Mac Underdrive Pulleys)
(Full 2.5" Exhaust w/ h-pipe and Flomaster 40 series Mufflers)
(Bosch Platinum Plus2 Spark Plugs)
(Hurst Short Throw Shifter w/ Pro5.0 shifter handle)
(Procar Racing Buckets)
(8.8" Trac-Loc rear end w/ 3.55 gears)
etc...
the swap was pretty straight forward, and i used my axles and brakes from my 7.5... it only got a little tricky when i tried to bolt up the caliper mounting brackets onto the axle flanges, only to find that the bracket on the rear end the bolts pass through didnt line up. and so at 8,000 rpm and about 45 minutes later, i dremeled the holes to accept the existing hardware. this just seemed odd to me becuase of all the rear end swaps ive been involved in and all the countless hours and years gathering information, i had never heard of a difference this minute between the LX rear and the GT rear.
but anyways, with the mods on my 97 3.8L and now with this locked 3.55 rear, she purrs just nice.
the car has been treated to
(BBK 56mm throttle body)
(Cold Air Intake w/ Fenderwell Pick-up)
(Mac Underdrive Pulleys)
(Full 2.5" Exhaust w/ h-pipe and Flomaster 40 series Mufflers)
(Bosch Platinum Plus2 Spark Plugs)
(Hurst Short Throw Shifter w/ Pro5.0 shifter handle)
(Procar Racing Buckets)
(8.8" Trac-Loc rear end w/ 3.55 gears)
etc...