Anyone thought about using a Ford Explorer 8.8 rear?

[694spdRT]

I am just curious so no stone throwing please.   

I see a ton of these in the junkyards after the Cash for Clunkers program.  For $200 the come with 3.73's, limited slip, and disk brakes.

The width is about a 1/2" wider than a stock 68-70 B body and the bolt pattern is the same.

They do have about a 3" offset to the passenger side and would need spring perches welded in.

Other than having "Ford" parts what other drawbacks are there for converting a 8 1/4" or possibly high geared 8 3/4" out for this in street car with a warmed over small block or stock big block? For a couple hundred bucks is this an option for those on a tight budget? 

[TylerCharger69]

I tried using a Ford rear end.....biggest mistake in the history of owning a Charger....They say Ford rear ends are bullet proof.......until it's put under a Mopar

[AKcharger]

No

[Rayzor]

you would lose the pinion snubber to. I rolled the idea around at one point, but did not like the offset of the pinion to one side. The 92 and later axle has a 31 spline shaft, the 91 down exploder and Ranger had 28 spline and drum brakes.

[motorcitydak]

Axle shafts are held in my C clips too. A lot of jeep guys run em on 33-35 inch tires, a lot of them put a C clip eliminator kit. Its a piece that can work, but there are better tools out there for the job