Centering Ford 8.8
 

Hi folks,
My V8 conversion is finally gathering some steam. I'm fabricating the rear mount (based on excellent pictures and drawings from others). The 8.8 housing itself is odd in that nothing appears symmetrical. I trust that the first concern is centering the "pumpkin" so that the axles are equally spaced from the hubs, correct? And then pinion flange location, front mounting "ears," rear (offset) mount to differential cover just fall where they fall? From what I can tell, the MM differential mounting system front mount plate locates the "ears" an equal distance from the center line, but I can't tell if I am looking at a 7.5 or an 8.8 (and I'm not sure how much difference there is). Thanks! Likely a silly question, but I want everything aligned properly before I start welding away.

I have no knowledge of the 8.8 but the Cadillac rear end is offset a bit.
The way you can tell is that the two axle shafts are different lengths.
Wish I could be more help.

Thanks for the response!

From what I can tell from the Ford 5.0L build threads, where folks are using the 8.8 rear, the "half shafts" are the same length, so I'm going to go on the assumption that centering the half-shaft input flanges in the subframe is the key target.

Cheers,
Bryan