What can I get a 8.8 out of?

I was going to take an 8.8 out of an 89 crown vic. I just assumed it was an 8.8. Never really got to the point of actually getting my hands on one because I found a TC rear end instead. Just a thought to start your search.

Mark..
 
86 was the first year with the 8.8. The 7.5 actually is pretty strong. I just replaced mine only because I'm making 600 plus horsepower. The 7.5 put up with 13.8 quarters with drag radials and 4.10's. I even ran it for awhile with my current setup. True the 8.8 is stronger, but I doubt youll break a 7.5. The reason your only peeling one tire is because you need to rebuild your trak-loc. If you want, you can have your local rearend shop find an 8.8 housing for you, and then go from there. Your only choices are 86-95 fox bodies which would include T-birds. Though the 94-95s are slightly longer, it will still clear with no problems. I'd get one of those because they are newer, have disc brakes and 5 lug.
 
The 8.8 housings for the following cars are the same dimensionally and will bolt into a Mustang:

86-98 5.0 and GT Mustangs (the 99+ 8.8 housing is wider)
87-88 Tbird Turbocoupes
86?-92 Mark VII

I'm sure there may be others, but these are the ones I know of. All the brake parts and axles interchange, so you can use your drum setup with any of these housings if you don't want the disc. The best all around one is the TC due to the gears and traction loc. The Mark VII does not have the quad shock mounts and only a few had traction loc, with 3.08 or 3.27 gears. Plus I've heard that the lower control arm mounts are a bit different resulting in a different pinion angle, but do not know this for sure.

I have a Frankenstein rear end in my Mustang with a TC housing and gears, Ranger axles, and Mark VII brakes.
 
When I called the salvage yards looking for a tranny, the people laughed and said good luck at almost everyone i called. then i called looking for a 8.8 inch rearend out of a stang and no one seems to have one worth a damn so I want to do the swap from another vehicle. also how hard it is to rebuild the trac-lock, and how much will it cause?
 
To make rear disc work correctly, you need to get a new MC and adjustable proportioning valve, along with a few other things. Read Matt's website for more info: http://svo73mm.cjb.net

And regarding the Lincoln Mark VII........yes the axles and the stock disc brake assembly is 1.25" longer on each side, for a total of 2.5" wider, BUT the actual 8.8 rear end housing from axle flange to axle flange is the same size as the Fox 8.8 and also the same as the 7.5 rear end housings. If you reuse the stock drum brake setup like I mentioned, it will all fit just like the Mustang 8.8 or 7.5. Or you can do like I did and modify the disc brake brackets to use stock Fox length axles, like also mentioned on Matt's website.