Progress Thread My first fox. 88 vert

Hi!

I bought this for my self for a wedding present. Searched ALL over for a coupe (of course) and even a hatch and couldn’t find one at all. This convertible caught my eye and I pulled the trigger. I feel like I over-paid, but whatever. I’m happy.

I ran the vin and it said it was and AOD car. But now it’s a 5 speed so the previous owner swapped it.

What does that mean for my rear end? Is it a 2.73? 8.8? Any help would be appreciated.

It needs paint. Bad.

The photos are attached in order of how I got it and to how it sits today.
 

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Nice car man. I love the color and the wheels. 17 inch ponies right? I had a vert the same color, that was also my first mustang. My vert was also an 88. Bought it in 99. Looks good!
 
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Nice looking car. The 2:73 is the gear ratio of the rear end gears. 2:73 came stock in an AOD car usually. People usually swap gears to a higher ratio for better acceleration. 3:73s are a common swap. All v8 cars came with the 8.8 rear end.
 
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Some dudes say 3.55’s, never had em in my stangs. I do like the 3.73’s I have. I drove my car today after a couple months, loved it!
 
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The easiest way to tell what is in the rear is to put it on a lift ( in neutral ) and spin the wheels by hand. Mark the driveshaft and one of the wheels and count. Three and a half turns to spin driveshaft one complete turn is 3.55....three times 3.08...less than three 2.73...three and 3/4 turns 3.73....four turns 4.10.

You may already have 3.73 gears. Also, if both wheels spin same direction when turned by hand then it's good posi rear. If only one spins ( or other wheel turns opposite direction ) it's an open rear or the clutches in the rear need to be rebuilt.
 
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Since you get to pick the new gear ratio, I recommend 3.55. If you ever mod the engine to put out decent power, 3.55 is plenty of gear.

With my 400 hp at the wheels, I think 3.73 that I have is too much.
 
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Id say 300hp or under go with 3.73. Over 300, I recommend 3.55.

With my 92, I get great action all through 3rd and 4th and no traction problems. Forget 1st and 2nd I have to nurse or else its wheel spin. So I think my overall setup would be more usable with 3.55. I would be able to give more throttle without traction problems with 3.55. Maybe I'll change out the 3.73's someday
 
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