I have been really working on the 54 lately and want to have it driving by next spring. Besides spending hours and hours s****ing the undercoating off, I have been looking at a new front sway bar and adding a rear. I went down and picked up a stock 8.8 sway bar off of an Explorer for $25 at the wrecking yard. Its a hair over 3/4 and it looks like it might just work! I still have to fab the mounts and drill a hole or two in the frame, but mocking it up looks good. I will keep you guys updated with the process!
As soon as I get the floor pans repaired and painted, I can drop the body back down onto the frame. Currently it is sitting on 2" blocks for extra working room. From there I can tell if it will clear the gas tank and spare tire well. I sure hope so!
I used a front off 85 t bird -bolted right up with energy suspension bush/bracket kit what year explorer is the rear off of?
The rear is a 92 Ranger 8.8. Its a bit narrower than the Explorer. Downside is, the Ranger is 28 spline while the Explorer is 31. However, the Ranger was the right width and didnt need narrowed. The sway bar is off a 95 and up Explorer. I would love to see the t-bird bar pics. Do you mind sharing?
Maybe I missed another post somewhere, but I'm curious.....is the Ranger 8.8 offcentered like I believe the explorers are? Is it trac-loc?
It is off center. If you see the sway bar compared to the cover, its pretty obvious. Mine is a trac-loc, but not all are. You can also beef up the trac-loc by using another rebuilt kit and arranging the clutches and plates differently as well as adding a couple more. Also, add a F150 S-spring instead of the softer Ranger spring. The clutch setup and bigger spring stiffen up the limited slip quite a bit. Alot of the offroad guys do it, when they havent upgraded to a locker yet.
There is a great technical section on 8.8 rears in the FAQ with a link to this: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/index-axles.shtml
sorry for the late response, no don't have picks, found the info thread on the HAMB before the site redesign and can't find it(link). It said t-bird front and rear work, straight bolt-in. The rear links lined up with existing holes in the frame, he just tapped the holes and done. I already removed mine after mock up. as I said, it bolts up to oem sway bar frame holes. T-bird rear , I have had no luck locating one. Think they were mostly put on turbo & supercharged cars. here's a hamb link for the rear using '80-96 f150/bronco rear bar - Bolts in???May be it's the same as bird??(http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=788124) As far as the explorer/ranger, It doesn't look like it will do much the way you have it mocked up. too much movement in the link hookup. I got mine from the yard today, gonna try my hand with the explorer first since I have it
Mine was simply tossed in with hose clamps to make sure it fit inside the frame and such. I have yet to attach the links or bar. I will be curious of your findings.
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