He left the door open to do some work.  He mentioned that he had everything I need.  Maybe I should have asked if he had an 8.8 rear end too.  

Yeah. It's worth a shot. He's Dad was one of the best in the business. He's not his Dad, but he's still good. See what he want's to build one. I know he won't rip you off.

That car on the intro page off his web site was he's Dad's car. He would drive it any where. It ran on pump gas and he would say it ran 9's. I know it was faster then that. That car is completely unreal.

Thanks.  Sounds like good advice.  I just sent him an e-mail asking about pricing / avail. on a rebuilt or new 8.8 (and freighting it out to CA).

See what he comes back with. I'm afraid that the frieght might but it out of the ball park. You could use that # and go to someone closer to you and see if you can get a rear done for the same money with the same parts. Wait and see. Let me know what he comes back with.  

I called him and he thought the freight would be around $100+ which seems fine to me.  He did not have a rebuildable core currently, so I am looking into a few other options like getting a core locally and having a local outfit do the work. ... or maybe if I can figure out which parts to have Eric start with, that may work too.

I guess I'd need to know what kind of parts to put in.

Without blowing the budget out of the ballpark ($800-900 for the core, new parts and having a shop do the work), can you recommend a few heavy duty parts to beef up when having a rear end built.

Ironically, my brother has been a professional mechanic for over 27 years (he lives in a different state), but I've never rebuilt a rear end.

Could you recommend a book?

I don't recommend doing that job on your own. It's to easy to screw it up then you've trashed a bunch of parts. As far as parts? Well what do you plan to do with it. Are you into drag racing? If so I'd say go with 31 spline axles. Well come to think of it get them anyway. I don't think the price difference is that much. It's worth it to not have to worry about it breaking. Get a Ford differential. I have 2 extra clutches added to mine. That was a trick that Eric's Dad used to do. Anything else is up to you. If you plan on going 11's someday then maybe get c-clip elem. kit. If you want to go 5 lug now is a good time to do it. So is adding disk brakes if you want. Other then that you don't need to spend a fortune on a good rear. A friend of mine just got a 9 inch for his 71 Trans Am. He got it from Currie. It's really nice. He went all out though. Here is there link. www.currieenterprises.com See what they have. I just did. OUCH!!! http://www.currieenterprises.com/html/custom/rearendPackages/rearendPackMustang.htm

I think the Moser package is $820.  Check this link.  I'm not sure if it includes Posi, but it sure sounds reasonable for a bomb proof alternative.

http://www.moserengineering.com/moser_interior/products.asp?CatID=8

My brother (the mechanic) basically steered me clear of trying to do this myself.  So if I can't figure out a way to get a fairly new high quality 8.8 for less than the $820 Moser deal, I figure I might as well go with Moser.  Maybe a local retailer can save me on shipping.

A friend of mine has been a Ford mechanic for over twenty years and he is always wrenching on a friend's kid's Mustang.  The kid has one of those 340 HP Ford Racing 302's and he is on his 3rd 8.8 rear  end.

I'm mostly thinking about getting 3.55's and then doing modifications for traction.  If I can figure out how to get the tires to hook up, I figure I might need some rear end modifictions. 

Half the fun is trying to figure out how to set it up and the other half is driving it when you're all done.  Actually getting the work done ... well, that's my weak point.  I'm really slow lately...

Want some more links?  Here's my homework so far...

Also, here is some word of mouth information I can pass on regarding the Turbo Coupe rear end:

"Automatics came with 3.73 gears
5spds came with 3.55 gears

The 4 lug disc brake assembly is wider than the stock mustang drum brake assembly. The difference is in the axleshafts(anti-lock ring.) The housing itself is the same length as the Mustang housing. ... the guy I talked to is ... running the drums, backing plates, and axles from ... his ... stock mustang rear end on the turbocoupe housing.

The driveshaft flange is the same as a mustangs.

Mustang 7.5" axleshafts, backing plates, and drums are the same as 8.8 parts. "

i.e if I got a Turbocoupe rear end I could even reuse my 7.5 " axleshafts, but based on your suggestion I would replace them with 31 spline units.

Man you have been busy. I'm in the same boat as far as doing the work. I love picking the parts, and getting everything to work together. It's just when it's time to get out there and put it all on the car. I'm not good enough with turning a wrench. So when something does'nt go right the first time I get pissed and walk away from it. Then after a few days I'll go back until I get pissed again. That's why my coupe is still sitting on jack stands almost 3 years later.

I don't see that Moser builds complete rears. Eric is hooked up with Moser. He might be be able to do better then 820 on that kit. It doesn't hurt to ask. How was the company that MM&FF got the rear from for Frightning? I know they got it complete. The Currie rear looks nice but 1700 is a lot to pay for a rear. Well, I have more into my rear but that's another story.  Did you try DTS yet? http://www.drivetrainspecialists.com/index2.htm

I didn't see any fuul rears on there web site but I know they build them. They have a 800 # give them a call and see what they want for a rear. Another thing to look into is getting a rear from one of those mustang junk yards. If you can get one cheap enough then send it out to be rebuilt. I'll keep looking.

I think you've got the right idea with just walking away from the project right when it gets frustrating.  I do enjoy turning a wrench, but when it's my own car, I feel rushed unless I can just walk away from it when stuff goes wrong.  I've had the front end up on ramps for over a month just to do some silly stuff like change a fuel pump, put tape on some bare wires, put in a cop car clutch fan, take off the underdrive pulleys for my smog test, etc.

I want to drive the car, but I've always got a couple of little things to *** and then I have this whole fantasy project with changing the rear end.  ... maybe next winter ...

I used to have a nice 68 Camaro with a 3.86 12 bolt rear end.  I was 19 and that was the fastest car I'll ever own.   Man, could that rear end take punishment.  I could be going about three miles and hour revving out to 7000 RPM's in second gear and the rear end never even gave me a single problem.  I guess with a little work, you can get an 8.8 to that level, but I sure took it for granted when I had it. 

The proplem with walking away is it never gets finshed. I tried to get the coupe done before my son was born. I got about 75% there and that was it. That was two years ago now. I'll get it done, just not sure when now. 

My rear is strong enough to do what you used to do with the Camaro. I have 3.73's in it. So to do a nice burn out I allways do it in second gear. I can't tach the motor to 7 grand, but I let the clutch fly around 4 grand and the car just goes ape sh#t. That's with drag radials on it. I told you what's done to my rear. Nothing to trick. The 8.8 is a good strong rear. It just needs a little help. Mainly axles, and if you're going to put any real power to it then get the axle tubes welded, and get a girdle. Other then that they will take all kinds of power. Keep looking for one you'll find one. Did you try e-bay yet? I'll bet there is a few on there.

er, uh, okay 7 grand in a 2nd gear burnout.. maybe exagerated RPM added for affect.  If I was just doing a burnout and it started to overrev in 1st gear, I would just do a smooth shift into 2nd.  Sometimes it would grab traction and lose RPM's and sometimes it would take a hop on some little pothole or something and start heading off to parts unknown.

I called one place today and they wanted $375 for a used 8.8 and they made some number up for it's gear ratio like 2.89 or something.  They were clueless & the price was a rip.  How much should I expect to pay for a used one? 

I don't really know what would be a good price. I guess the more you call around the more you'll know what a good price is. That rear had 2.73's, I'm sure.  I just found it. http://stangparts.com/home.cfm?section=products/index $225 for a 8.8 with 3.08's drum to drum. The question would be how much would it be to get it shipped.  Then you have to add in a rebuild. That will be say 800. So you're still looking at a grand for a new rear. That's better then 1700 though.

That link didn't work as planned. Click on Rear Suspension. Then it's on page 3.

Thank you.  That is a great link.  This gives me a reference price (for haggling) and also a potential source for a rebuildable core. 

Here is another way of analyzing this one.  If I bought a new 8.8 with a 3.55 gear ratio from Ford it would be $ 799.00 and it would be a 28 spline unit.  If I buy a unit like from the link you provided and have it rebuilt with 31 spline axles, and it costs me a grand (total) then I'm okay with that because it is closer to what I want.

I was reading some of my Mustang books for traction modifications today (panhard bars, traction bars, traction separators and torque arms).  I definately have sensory overload on this  one.  What do you use and/or prefer for traction modifications?

The Cobra's suspension is stock except for a torque arm. I can't even tell you if that does any good or not. The coupe has Mega bite Jr lower controll arms, and Mega Bite upper controll arms. It has Eibach drag springs with the air bag on the rear. With Lakewood drag shocks. The front isn't done yet. I have the drag springs  for the front. I'm not sure if I'm going to use them or not. You're right about there being so many choices out there. I do recommend that you pick a good company. Then stick with them. That way you'll know that each new piece you get will work perfectly with what you already have. The biggest thing I do know about suspension's is don't get Southside lift bars. They work good but they will trash your torque boxes. What have you been looking at as far as suspension's?