[oihannah]

I'm working on slapping together an old project of mine. An 88 Thunderbird 5.0L 302 and had a few questions on the finer points of this build.

First off I've been looking into swapping out the rear drums for discs but the rear-end appears to be an 8.8 but also has 5 lug drums, So in that respect I'm trying to find out the best way to convert them without buying a lot of parts that I don't need. I would assume all I need are the rear discs calipers and conversion brackets, and obviously all the hardware, (lines etc.)

Secondly I've been looking at a set of GT40 cylinder heads and was wondering what other parts I need to have an effective combo. Engine is mostly stock so I'm asking about everything from throttle body size to injectors here.

[FoxChassis]

Are you sure it's an '88? Thunderbirds didn't have five-lug until '89 (MN12 platform).

If it is an '88 we're not going to be able to tell you the parts to buy to convert it from drum to disc until you tell us what the rear is out of, of give us some basic measurements. We don't know the length of the axle housing, length from axle flange-to-axle flange, what the axles are out of, what brackets are on the rear, etc., etc.

[oihannah]

yea she's an 88 alright, but to be honest i'm not entirely sure if it started its life as a turbo coupe. Did they have 5 lugs stock? Both front and rear are 5 lugs, but the previous owner built race cars for a living so he may have made the conversion. If the turbo coupes didnt come five lug what kind of measurements am i going to need to identify the rear end?

[FoxChassis]

Turbocoupes ('83-'88) were four-lug.

Fox Thunderbird = four-lug
MN12 Thunderbird = five-lug (also IRS, and disc brake)