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Rear End

Rear End.  The rear end in SlowGT is a reinforced and strengthened factory 8.8" that was bought from a junk yard for $150.  Mike decided to stay with the 8.8 primarily for weight concerns - it weighs approximately 30 lbs. less than a good 9-inch.  The aluminum cover is made by T/A performance and is designed to pre-load the main axle bearings for extra strength.  Mike chose to use a Strange spool (to eliminate problems with the limited-slip setup) with 5.13 gears; this one change to the car pretty much makes it "strip-only".  We would probably prefer to have higher numerical gears (maybe 5.50 - 5.60), but none are currently available.  To calculate your own gear preferences, check out the gear related calculators on the Racers Math 1 page.  The axles are Moser 31-spline units with C-clip eliminators.  Mike did all the work himself and this setup has lasted for more than 2 years and 400 "dump-the-clutch" launches at more than 6,500 rpm without a problem.

Reinforcement.  The big problem with the rear end is that the tubes will begin to rotate within the center section when you begin to make big horsepower and actually hook it up. Mike ran into the trouble while still in the mid 11 second range.  If you look closely at the picture to the left, you can see how Mike solved the problem by welding box-tubing section to the bottom of the tubes and center section.  The box tubing is notched and cut to fit both the webbing on the center section and the bottom contour of the axle tubes.  An alternative approach is to weld the axle tube to the center housing along the seam where they meet.  However, making a strong weld to cast iron is difficult.  To solve this problem, Mikes' arrangement relies not only on the weld itself, but also on the box tubing notch surrounding the center section webbing.

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Last Updated: June 03, 2001

5.0 liter Mustang drag racing 5.0 liter Mustang drag racing 5.0 liter Mustang drag racing 5.0 liter Mustang drag racing