I have no interested in a disc brake rear end. I just want the plain jane Ranger drum brake rear end. I also need to make sure there's enough room to redrill the axles and drums to the small bolt pattern. If not, I will stay with the 7 1/4.
That 7-1/4 aint gonna last in front of anything with any power. They are designed for nothing more than a /6 from what I understand. The thing to remember is the offset axle tube length of the 8.8. Maybe the ranger is centered? Not sure, but if you get an 8.8, then grab the short axle from another 8.8 and leave the long original behind. The long axle tube gets shortened like 2-7/8" (in the middle of the tube, not the end) if memory serves. For a couple of hundred bucks and maybe some new wheels, you'll be way ahead of the game. If you want to stay with drums, that's always an option as well.
Also, you might look for the Rustang GT rears, they are all 8.8 after a certain year and again, might be centered already.
