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How-to

1986 Ford Mustang SVO Rear End Swap From a Thunderbird Turbo Coupe

1986 Ford Mustang · Swap · Expert

Documented by SuperMotors from Tom Cherry AKA Hawkrod’s photos

An 88 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe 3.73 Trac Loc rear end was fitted into a Mustang SVO, a swap the owner reports will work in all 79-93 Mustangs and Fox chassis cars. The work covers the two modifications the housing needs: removing the Thunderbird caliper bracket and shortening the quad shock mount.

  1. Step 1

    Start with an 88 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe 3.73 Trac Loc rear end. The owner notes the housing itself is exactly the same width as the original, so the stock axles and brakes can be reused, while the Thunderbird axles are about 1/2 inch wider per side if the car is being converted to disc brakes.

  2. Step 2

    Identify the two changes the rear end needs before it will fit. Remove the original Thunderbird caliper bracket if the stock Mustang brakes are being used, and shorten the quad shock mount. A car with no quad shock can leave that mount alone. The owner's SVO already had 5 lug disc brakes rather than the Thunderbird 4 lug.

    before i really started modifying. actually the only difference is you need to remove the original tbird caliper bracket if you are using t… (1986 Ford Mustang)

  3. Step 3

    Cut the top off the Thunderbird quad shock mount.

    this is the top cut off the tbird quad shock mount (1986 Ford Mustang)

  4. Step 4

    Cut a notch out of the front of the quad shock mount to shorten it.

    this is the notch cut out of the front of the quad shock mount after i shortened it. (1986 Ford Mustang)

  5. Step 5

    Trim the outside of the bracket and drill a new hole to mount the quad shock.

    here i have trimmed the outside of the bracket and drilled a new hole to mount the quad shock. (1986 Ford Mustang)

  6. Step 6

    Check the shortened mount against the original. The owner reports the angle differs very slightly, so the inner hole was left undrilled until the rear end was in the car, then the shock bushing was used as a drill guide to keep it square to the shock. The owner has put over 100K on it with no problems.

    fits like a glove. the new shorter mount is just like the original! actually there is a very slight difference in the angle so i did not dr… (1986 Ford Mustang)

  7. Step 7

    Fit the rear end under the car and sort out the brake lines. The owner rebent the original SVO lines, and notes it goes a little easier with brake lines from a Lincoln Mark VII.

    fits like a glove! it will work a little easier if you have brake lines from a lincoln mark VII but i just rebent the original SVO lines fo… (1986 Ford Mustang)

  8. Step 8

    The photos end with the leftover trimmed pieces, which show everything that has to come off a Thunderbird rear end to make it fit a Mustang. Reuse the original axles and brakes, since the Thunderbird axles are shorter than an SVO axle and longer than a Mustang axle and may cause interference.

    the leftover parts! this is what needs to be trimmed to make a tbird rear fit in a mustang. also note that you need to re-use your axles an… (1986 Ford Mustang)

Some product links go to the supplier the owner bought from. SuperMotors does not earn a commission today; if that changes, this line will say so and creators will be paid from it.