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Technical 8.8 explorer rear

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by Alyons05, Jun 24, 2021.

  1. Alyons05
    Joined: Jun 6, 2012
    Posts: 2

    Alyons05
    Member
    from Il

    I am working on a 1938 Chevy 2 door sedan. Back in 2013 I pulled the car apart and put a chassis engineering front subframe and rear suspension set up in the vehicle and it has sat un touched till now. Back then I purchased a 8.8 Ford Explorer rear end but never mounted it due to drive line considerations. Now that I have had years and years to figure out the direction I want to go with the car I am ready to get back to it. My ultimate plan is to drop an lq4 engine with a manual trans in the car. My current issue is spring perch’s for the 8.8 axle. I am finding perches but they are all geared towards a 4x4. I am coming from the Jeep world and muscle car world so doing an axle swap into a 30s era car is somewhat new to me. I have seen some spring perches that say they are only for spring over axle which I know from the Jeep world. The difference is the spring perch size is significantly longer and the ends are flat. I have read these will dig into the spring if there is any axle wrap and I need a perch that is rounded so to speak similar to stock spring perches. My question is after an extremely long and wordy post is does anyone have a recommendation for a spring perch that would work with a 2.5” leaf spring and a 3.25” axle tube? Or would a perch from a 4x4 work as they seem to be more common. Should I be worried about them digging into the spring if being used in the spring under axle application?
     
  2. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,942

    squirrel
    Member

    if you have the car sitting kind of low, I expect the springs will be nearly flat....I really doubt it will be a problem. If you're really worried about it, get some Moroso 85090 perches and open up the radius for the axle tube a little bit. They'd look better, any ways.
     
  3. Los_Control
    Joined: Oct 7, 2016
    Posts: 1,125

    Los_Control
    Member
    from TX

    Curious what others think about spring perches from Tractor supply? ... they sell them for home made trailers.
     
    Lloyd's paint & glass likes this.
  4. Ebbsspeed
    Joined: Nov 11, 2005
    Posts: 6,250

    Ebbsspeed
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    A longer perch will help to eliminate spring wrap to some degree. If you are concerned with them digging into the spring due to wrap, grinding a radius on the rear of the spring perches (spring under axle, if spring over axle grind the radius on the front of the perch) should allay any fears. It shouldn't take much.
     

  5. Hnstray
    Joined: Aug 23, 2009
    Posts: 12,355

    Hnstray
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Quincy, IL

    @Alyons05

    A few observations…….having recently fitted an 8.8” rear axle in my ‘37 Chevy Coupe, I would suggest you consider a few realities of the Explorer 8.8”.

    1. WMS width. 59.5/59.75”. Stock ‘37/‘39 Chevy is 59”…but that is coupled with a zero offset narrow rim. With stock fenders there is no room for a wider axle with a wider wheel and tire.

    2. The pinion offset of Explorer and Ranger 8.8” axles is significant and coupled with the narrow driveshaft tunnel and it’s central location, there is driveshaft interference with the floor. Also, stock ‘37/‘39 floor space behind the diff is very limited. The stock Chevy diff housing size is considerably smaller than the ‘truck’ 8.8”.

    If you are dealing with rusted out floors and intend to replace them, new floors appropriately shaped can allow for the clearance issues. Narrowing the Explorer housing is often done by using another short side axle in place of the long side and removing about 2.875” from the axle tube, giving about a 56.5” WMS dimension. Careful wheel/tire selection can gain width and still coexist with stock fenders. The Explorer 8.8” axle assy is undeniably a very strong unit, if that is needed, but comes with some extra size and weight.

    In my case, I had Mustang (59”), Ranger (58.5”) and the Explorer axles on hand. After considering all of the above, I chose to use the Mustang 8.8” housing as it has a nearly centered pinion, equal length axle shafts and a bit slimmer diff housing. I replaced the 4 lug axles with specific Ranger 5 lug axle shafts and 10” drum brakes (did not want rear discs). Out of necessity I used 6” wide wheels and 215 tires. I also did modify the trunk floor with a ‘bump out’ panel for additional diff to body clearance.

    Your plan may call for different axle, wheel and tire requirements, but I thought this info may be useful to you or others with similar projects.

    Currie offers spring pads for various axle tube sizes, as do others.

    008E1E54-E623-4202-BA3D-AC27C39E6958.jpeg D5B59833-07C4-432F-8E29-AE74441F5411.jpeg



    Ray
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Jun 25, 2021
  6. oldiron 440
    Joined: Dec 12, 2018
    Posts: 3,301

    oldiron 440
    Member

    The Explorer 8.8 has axle tubes that are 3.25 in diameter, I use spring pads from Calvert Racing as they fit perfectly.
     
    loudbang and fauj like this.
  7. Doublepumper
    Joined: Jun 26, 2016
    Posts: 1,535

    Doublepumper
    Member
    from WA-OR, USA

    Currie has them also. I used them on my 8.8 and they worked out perfect for me.
     
    loudbang likes this.
  8. Hnstray
    Joined: Aug 23, 2009
    Posts: 12,355

    Hnstray
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Quincy, IL

    I also used Currie pads……

    Ray
     
    loudbang and fauj like this.
  9. 1971BB427
    Joined: Mar 6, 2010
    Posts: 8,719

    1971BB427
    Member
    from Oregon

    I have used these 8.8 axles in numerous builds, and never bought a new perch yet. I simply use my small grinder and a parting wheel to carefully cut the old perches off, and then reuse them in the new location.
    I did this on my '39 Chev coupe in my avatar, and even with the axle over the springs, and flatter than stock springs, the rear was still slightly high. So I used 1"x 2" box tubing to build a spacer, and welded it to the 8.8" spring perch to make it 1" thicker, and lower the car. I'm not a fan of aluminum spacer blocks, so welding steel to the perch block is a more permanent and solid way to go. And with only 1" the stock 8.8" Explorer U bolts were still plenty long to reuse too.
    I also use the stock U bolt plates, and simply weld on what I need to work with the shocks I choose.
     
  10. JeffB2
    Joined: Dec 18, 2006
    Posts: 9,484

    JeffB2
    Member
    from Phoenix,AZ

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