Ok, odd ball thing. I'm hopefuly getting a new rear for my car soon. A freind told me he had a "
ford 8" dana 30* out of a 79 fairmont. I was told it had 3.73 TL in it. Now I wana know is this even possable because I looked all studyhall in school and never found a dana 30 in a fox. I found a dana 30 in jeep frontends, thats it. If it's real I'm getting it for a steal at $80 as it's susposed to bolt right up to ou suspention as I'm assuming it's a control arm rear like ours. I've never seen this rear as it's in his car but I'm curious. Anyone have any imput here?
not sure it would fit
Not sure if there is even such a thing. I've heard of a ford 8" in early stangs like yours but never a fox before. I'm unsure of everything about this. I hope I can get some info before I end up shooting myself in the foot on a bad deal.
http://www.ratechmfg.com/fordappchrt.htm
so it had to be mad to fit, cause thats a light truck axle
79 Stang was fox right? That had the 8"? Is that what he could be talking about? The info itself is word of mouth. If I could see it and grab pics it would help.
79 was a change over year, i highly doubt it would fit, it would take alot of work i think
I'm just wondering a few things
1. was the info I was given correct
2. Does he have a 8" and a 8.8" confused
3. Is a 79? fairmont fox?
4. Reguardless of weather if fits or not ( if it does it's a bonus) is it worth teh $80 to get it?
79 stang was a fox, that was the first year they changed the body form the mustang to, i know i looked it up in my mustang books. But im almost positive the mounting is different. No idea about the fairmont. 8.8 came out later, 8 inch was before
See IMO it all adds up to possible but unlikely. As for the 3.73 TL, I did talk to him, he built that part up. Didn't say what it was before, open I'm sure.
The Fairmont is the original Fox.All of the drivetrain from a Stang will bolt righ up to a Fairmont...or our cars,except for the driveshaft of course.As far as a dana with 3.73 and TL in a Fairmont,I doubt it.Not from the factory,not even an 8.8 since the Fairmont never had V-8 power.
See. His has a swapped 351. Someone did work to it, it's how much and where did they stop at. As said before, he told me that the 3.73 gears were put in it by him. I assume the Tl was too. I guess the over all question is IF it did come with the rear and *IF* it is a 3.73 TL rear, WILL it fit in an 84 bird?
thats my thoughts it was MADE to go in there,and id be willing to be its not gonna want to bolt up into a bird. Would be a nice to have, they take a beating
And it has to be better then a 3.08 gear, 7.5" god know what rear end in it now. And for $80 I really can't say no to it, even if it doesn't fit.
if its not gonna fit stick it on ebay starting bid 80 people pay there own shipping, and you might get a present from me anyway if i go to catjam
Yeah, but what would be better, again IF this fits. A 8.8" or the 8"? I wana grab all the info I can before I go head first into another bad decision
if its from a 79 its a 8" i think
Yeah, it's a 79 Fairmont. Thats why it is all starting to seem like it could be. The big if I'm caught up on is will it fit. It is 4 lug he told me, it is control arm he told me, and it *should * fit he told me
you should get pics and look before you decide anything
I plan on it, just a feeler to whether it's worth it or not.
Yes they did. There were 302's in the '78 and '79 cars for sure. They used the 7.5 with nothing higher than a 3.08 ratio.
Stop guessing.....Foxes came with one of 3 rear ends from the factory...
The 6.75", the 7.5" and the 8.8. PERIOD end of story.
A '79 would have had either the 6.75 or the 7.5. ANYTHING else would be custom or aftermarket.
It's "possible" he's rounding the 7.5 to 8. 3.73 gears are available for the 7.5.
As far as it fitting....you must not pay any attention to all the threads concerning rear axles, etc. The 7.5 rear housing will be the same as what is in your car. Swapping in your axles and brakes will result in the same track width. The Fairmonts used the Mustang control arms front an rear. The Tbird rear arms are different, but obviously the bolt to the same housings without issue.
ok i learned something so now i don't have to guess, i was waiting for you to kick in chuck
I learned too. But the question wasn't answered. Can an 8" fit into a fox? It's not what came factorybut what will fit. I know it's probaly a pipe dream but ya never know. I'll get pics and more info as I get get it. Thanks for the help/info guys
Measure it. and let us know.
Unless it was modified to fit a Fox, or you mod the car to fit it....no.
If it was "stock" to a Fox, it was NOT an 8"
Get some pics before you waste your money.
Will do. This is why I hate trying to buy parts without knowing anything about it or having pics. Next time I see the kid I'll snag what I can. I'm building this whole thing off of word of mouth so I'm unsure of everything. I'll keep you all informed as, well, this jst seems like a different topic
Thanks for clearing it up, Chuck. I think the thing Mike really wanted to ask is what could've come in the car. The 6.75 was the one I was previously unaware of. I know the car is a fox chassis and bolting it in would not be an issue. I was just at the other kid's (also named Mike) house today. I'll try and remember the next time I'm over there to take a digital cam and get a picture of it. He bought this car a couple years ago and found out after owning it a year that it was a 351w instead of a 302. So it's clear the car's been wrenched on quite a bit. Including a few mysterious wires under the dash. He's going to buy the other 'narrow' 8.8" I had previously under my t-bird from me & that's where Mike (fila) is getting this unknown piece from.
Thanks Brian, I owe ya when we figure this out
I wouldnt want any parts from that Fairmont...or trust a word that comes out of Fairmont Mikes mouth.
Oil salesmen.
Why, If I may ask. Even if it's a 8.8 TL with 3.73's as he said he put in, it's better then whats in the car. And for $80, thats a screamin deal.
Back from teh dead, I finally have pics of the rear. Still in the car, but you'll get the idea. To me it looks to be an 8.8 maybe, just just donesn't look exactly like one. Also not enough olts for it to be one ( 8.8 has 10, this only has 8). I'm guessing, so here's the pics. Set me right as to what it is and if it's worth it
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r9/84fila/000_2245.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r9/84fila/000_2246.jpg)
Heres a chart
http://coloradok5.com/axleguide.shtml
that definitely does not match an 8.8
is this in your t-bird?
No, freinds 79 Fairmont. He claims it's a " Ford 8" Dana 30 with 3.73 TL in it". Thats what we are trying to figure out. I don't even see that rear on the chart. Reguardless, this is in my bird. A 7.5 for sure
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r9/84fila/000_2215.jpg)
Might be a 6 7/8" or maybe 7 1/4" I think thats the size. came in real early fairmonts. I think its like the pinto rear end. but don't hold me to it.
Can you even get gears and TL for that. And it sounds worse off then my rear even if it has all that stuff he claims he did to it. Your guess it better then mine
you might try to find a pinto or mustang II in a yard to compare it. I know around here in central fl pintos are rarer than fox birds in the yards. all the roundy round guys used them up years ago. now they run the fox bodys and they're even hard to find used parts for.
I did some research and came up with it is an 8" rear.All the 8" rears I ever saw the chunk comes out thr front like a 9". I still say it looks like a pinto rear though. The carrier doesn't come out the front does it? my sourse shows an 8" in 78.(ringpinnion.com)
Very well could be. I know next to nothing about the car and the rear. It's in a 79 Fairmont. Originaly had a 4 cyl in it but someone shoehorned a 351 in there. Is an 8" even a fox rear end. Not out of the possibility for someone to adapt the rear to the car if not, but thats an ass load of work
That guy is full of shiznit (like I said before) about that being an 8.8....it's one of the 6.75" rears used in the early non-V8 Foxes.
(http://www.turbochuck.com/images/80Z7/axle%20swap.JPG)
The top is the 6.75 and the bottom is the 7.5....
Those pics you posted are of a 6.75" rear end....no question.
Thanks Chuck. As for him claiming 3.73's and TL, I'm assuming thats BS too?
yup
Agree, that pic of Chucks matches.
Early rangers got that rear end too.. the 2.3 n/a could break it.
WEll, it's behind a 351 right now with no problems. Possable it has any work done to it. Maybe the owner isn't totaly full of it. I almost hate to ask but not worth the $80. I need every cent at this point in the project, and don't wana wate it on some junk rear end
Again...for the last time....no..it's junk.
Chuck, what differential is that inside that 7.5? It sure doesn't look like the one I just took outta my car (and I don't remember what the T/L diff looked like in my old Sport)
Ok thanks everyone. Last question.... Tell the owner he's full of shiznit and the rear sucks or let it die into memorys?
mind your buissness about it lol. just say your not interested
That's just a std TL diff. That 7.5 in the pic is from an '84 5.0 Mustang. It resides in the '80 Z7 at the moment. The 6.75" rear above it is the stock one from the Zephyr, which was originally a 2.3L car.
Dont believe a word that dude says. I know about him.
Im pretty sure my 81 6 cyl auto Fairmont has a 7.5. Though the 200 was a bit grunty than the 2.3 was, Im sure it would have broken a 6.75 a lot easier than a 2.3.
I defiantly wouldn’t buy it for my bird Fila. 8.8's are to easy to come by and cheep.And as for telling him why. That’s none of his business, I would just say "not interested" and let it die into memories with the exception of a mental note to self that the guy is full of shiznit, and to be skeptical of what else he says. Why I say that is because if the rear was in the car when he got it and he's just passing on what he was told it was then it's a mistake, mistakes happen.But you mention he told you he did the work on this rear, adding the TracLock and all. If that’s the case he would have to KNOW what rear it is, meaning he is flat out lying to you about either what rear it is or him doing the work. Walk away and don't trust a word he says.
Fair enough. Looking at a few local 8.8's for after I do the intake...... again
The person who's rear this car in DID NOT do any work the the rear axle and DID NOT claim to. This thread is finished.