solid axle group buy, who would be intersted

[zepfloyd69]

how many people here would be interested in trying to put together a group purchase on solid axles for our 03 cobras?

since i know there are a good amount of us that want to do this i was thinking about seeing if any company would be willing to do this. let me know what you all think

been looking for a solid swap for a while now and the search continues.

 

[SVTBlackBolt]

I would..i'm in South Florida with you...but before i do i want to know what the IRS is worth? and is this Solid Rear will come with everything..which means i wont have to modify or buy anything except the Driveshaft and have my Exhaust re poistioned.

 

[bond99]

What Blackbolt said

 

[zepfloyd69]

from what i have seen, the irs is worth anywhere from 800-1200 depending on milage and how fast you want to sell it. i agree with both of you that it should be just a bolt it set up. however we need to consider brakes, control arms, abs crap, exhaust hangers, etc. im thinking if we can all agree on a set up of the housing, center section, and axles, maybe control arms and brakes too we should be able to set something up

i put this post up like i said because i know alot of us are contemplating this idea and dont feel like spending 2500 and up for a serious rear. if we got enough people im sure we could work something out with a manufacturer, what company do you guys have in mind?

post your input wiht what parts you would like to get and when we all agree we should definately start making some calls and see what we can put together.

thanks

 

[03CobraRed]

I had called a priced a setup from Drivetrain Specialties and they were very informative about what I needed to have and what I didnt. Try calling them and see what they say. I am in on this deal if this group purchase happens. They priced me a Solid Rear with 31 Spline Axles and an Eaton Posi with 355 Gears for $1675.00. And whatever else I need I would buy from Steeda or Maximum Motorsports.

 

[Brad]

If you have the money cool, buy it. I realize some of you may also want to keep the IRS just for a back up. But if you go on any mustang site and tell a GT guy, "give me 500 and your rear end I'll give you my IRS," they'll do it. For some reason GT guys love the IRS.:thumbsup:

 

[SVTBlackBolt]

http://www.currieenterprises.com/html/custom/rearendPackages/rearendPackMustang.htm

I found this site and they have a Built Rear for 1600,you pick you're gear ratio..all you need is brakes..then of course like i said a D/S and Exhaust modifications. But doesnt sound like a bad deal.

Of course Stage 1...but i'm guessing if we get a G/P then they'll lower it.

 

[zepfloyd69]

actually the gt guys should pay us, not the other way around, our irs is more money, although we want their solid rears, so i guess supply and demand, but im no business major

 

[Brad]

Originally posted by twin screwed03
actually the gt guys should pay us, not the other way around, our irs is more money, although we want their solid rears, so i guess supply and demand, but im no business major

Read what I said again.

"give me 500 and your rear end I'll give you my IRS,"

 

[SVTBlackBolt]

Check the site tell me what you think...Heramann was saying he was going to have some setup available...maybe it will compare in price with this...

 

[carstocks]

Originally posted by Brad
If you have the money cool, buy it. I realize some of you may also want to keep the IRS just for a back up. But if you go on any mustang site and tell a GT guy, "give me 500 and your rear end I'll give you my IRS," they'll do it. For some reason GT guys love the IRS.:thumbsup:

The reason is.... The grass is always greener!!!

 

[Dana]

Originally posted by 03CobraRed
I had called a priced a setup from Drivetrain Specialties and they were very informative about what I needed to have and what I didnt. Try calling them and see what they say. I am in on this deal if this group purchase happens. They priced me a Solid Rear with 31 Spline Axles and an Eaton Posi with 355 Gears for $1675.00. And whatever else I need I would buy from Steeda or Maximum Motorsports.

I called DTS about 5 months ago and they quoted me about $2150 for a similar setup. Something is screwy.
Yours may have been parts only, with setup extra?
I'd double check on that price.
As a matter of fact another member here called them and got about the same $2150 price.
So I did my own.

The whole job, by the time you are finished will run in the area of $2500, because there are a lot of little extras to get, including
~$330 for a new catback, plus springs ($80), adj shocks($100), caliper mtg brackets ($150), ABS sensors ($125), exciter rings($30), good upr & lwr cont arms ($350), reinforced rear cover ($125), etc.... And this is assuming you keep the Cobra brakes.
Did I mention a sway bar or anti-roll bar?

But it's well worth it to be able to dump the clutch and not worry about the rear end blowing out.
Good luck,
Dana

 

[bassin247]

Dana,

can you go into detail on your particular setup? Where did you get it? What components? Install time?

Now that I have the KB, I'm worried about my IRS. I'm really considering buying a solid axle. I don't want to spend 700 bucks on DSS half shafts when I can pick up a solid axle for another 1500 and not worry about breaking a half shaft at the track and calling the tow truck for a 100 mile ride home.

 

[SVTBlackBolt]

What Drive shaft would we use??

 

[Steel City Pimp]

I called dts as well. Not including brakes but with a good cover, shipped with tax and everything was going to be around $2300. I have no doubt it will be an awesome piece of work and pretty as well but after talking with Dana and several others, it can be done a lot cheaper. If you got a ford hook up and can get the 10% over cost or even better it can be done for around $1500 give or take a little. Depends on your particular set up. If any of you get a chance do a search on ebay titling "ford 8.8" Not sure of the quality or rep of the company but power train usually has an auction. The kit is just under $600 and includes the posi unit, ring & pinion along with gears, bearings, races etc. What are your opinions on this???? Then you can buy an new empty housing from ford, axles and the remanding stuff needed.

Mike

 

[Steel City Pimp]

Originally posted by SVTBlackBolt
What Drive shaft would we use??

You can retain your existing DS, you just need the input flange off the irs.

 

[Steel City Pimp]

Originally posted by 94SVT Coupe
Maybe so, but I believe the reason is far better handling and an improved ride. Not eveyone is out spinning their tires everyday and trying to eek out a few tenths in the 60'.

A solid axle car with big tires and rims rides like crap compared to the IRS. Handling, no comparison AT ALL until you add another 3-4K of aftermarket parts to the solid.

I've spent lots of time and miles behind the wheel of both so I'm not just talking out of my ass here..

IMO, buying a new 8.8 is kind of crazy. There are plenty of 99+ 8.8 out there for cheap. GT's get wrecked every single day. You could do most of the upgrading to it for the difference in price between new and used.

The only problem with getting a used 8.8 is that it can be pretty expensive. I tried junk yards etc and it wasn't worth it. It almost seems like once something like this is in demand they dissapear fast or sore in cost. Just the the spoilerless decklids from a v-6. Im not a fan of spoilers and can't find a good deal on any of these declikds.

 

[Dana]

Bassin,
If I had a KB, I'd be worried about the rear end too if I were you, but since I plan on getting a Works, I'd REALLY BE WORRIED ;-)

Ok, the housing was a new empty unit from Ford (2002 GT) $450.

I installed an Eaton Posi and 31 spline Strange axles and 3.73 gears. With the set up parts(brngs, seals, etc) ~$900. All from Strange.

You can reuse the stock D/S but have to install a 5 inch Cobra pinion flange ~$30.??? I forget.

You also need 2 exhaust hanger brackets ~ $20

With the caliper mounting brackets I mentioned earlier, you can reuse the Cobra brakes 11.7 inch vs. the GT 10 inch brakes.

If you want the car to launch flat and hard, you might consider an anti-roll bar instead of a sway bar. Expensive but worth the investment. ~$700 installed

The swap is not difficult, everything is fairly obvious. It's just getting everything together.

There are a lot of little nuts & bolts to round up that will take time unless you are doing a transplant from a GT.

The trick is to build it right the first time and then inspect it regularly. I check mine once a week for loose fastners.
I also learned that EVERYTHING gets assembled with locktite.

The costs can be reduced by finding a good GT diff and just swapping it in, but with 600 HP, no guarantees...

Dana

 

[Steel City Pimp]

Here is a link to the kit I posted about earlier.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33731&item=2439797381

 

[Steel City Pimp]

Originally posted by Club "33"
Here is a link to the kit I posted about earlier.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33731&item=2439797381

$559
Axles $225
New housing $450
Cover $100
and after the misc stuff I think you can keep cost to $1500 or even less depending on your shopping skills and needs.