What's the best way to complete the complete kit??

[Usudno]

I've nailed it down to a complete kit, stainless side pipes, chrome roll bar, wind wings, visors, powder coated frame, and body cutouts.

I'm going with fortes 306 for the engine
I will get a t5 locally and have it rebuilt if need be.
I'm really stuck on the rear end.... So far I have come up with getting a fox width 8.8 or an sn95 and rebuilding it to accept 17x10.5 halibrands. My question lies in brakes now... If I get the sn95 rear complete... Can the brakes be used once I swap to shorter axels... Or am I better off with the fox rear and swap to 5 lug axels and buy new rotors calipers and pads??


Also where would be a good place to find sn95 cobra brakes if I were looking to upgrade at a reasonable cost. I don't plan on racing it so the wilwoods are hard to justify.

Thanks again.

[michael everson]

The fox and SN95 are the same housings. If you can fine a SN95 then you can swap the axles and use the brakes with some offset brackets. Lost of vendors sell them including Fortes. If you go with a 87-93 you will still need to swap the axles but also locate brakes.
Mike

[Usudno]

if I go wil a fox 8.8 and get my hands on a set of cobra brakes front and rear I believe that would be my best route. I would get better brakes, the proper width axel and cobra calipers for that little extra touch!

[ryanmac]

You can always upgrade the front brakes to the 13" cobra brakes, as they mount to the same spindle that the 11" GT brakes (PBR) that come with the complete kit.

Ford Muscle article w/ pics on upgrading to Cobra Brakes

The Cobra rear brakes are similar to the GT brakes, but do have a different mounting plate. To switch the mounting plate, the axles have to be pulled. Summit sells Ford Racing M-2300-M brackit kit for upgrading to Cobra rear brakes.

Installing Ford Racing M-2300-M rear brake bracket kit


And, yes the fox 8.8 width will allow the larger rim width of 10.5". The 94-04 mustang 8.8's are wider due to the addition of a tone ring to each side for ABS.

[Usudno]

How about more current brakes. My neighbor has his two piston caliper 2010 gt brakes that he swapped for some gt500 takeoffs. He is willing to give them to me if they will work. He has everything from the soft lines brackets and all.

[ryanmac]

Yes, if you get the brackets then they will fit. This is the beautiful thing about mustangs...very little has changed throughout the years and there is a huge aftermarket support for parts. Here is an article about upgrading sn95 rear brakes to 2013 gt500 rear brakes.

sn95-big-brake-upgrade-2013-shelby-6-piston-brembo-15-rotors

What gear ratio are you thinking about? 3.27 or 3.55 are the most popular for spirited cruising and keeping rpms below 2k in fifth at legal highway speeds.

[Usudno]

I was thinking 3.27 but I've had 4.10 is a 99 gt that was a blast!! I doubt I do much highway driving.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Your rear end ratio decision will be partially dictated by your trans choice. The T5 can have either a 2.95:1 first gear or a 3.35:1. The 3.35 version is getting kind of short with a 3.55 or lower (higher numerically) rear end ratio---couple it with 4.10 rear gear gears and you'd feel like you were driving an old "granny gear" dump truck! After having built roadsters for myself and customers my opinion is that a T5-z with 2.95 first gear, .63:1 fifth gear and 3.55 ratio rear end is about the ideal combination for hitting all of the sweet spots with a 325-350ish horsepower 306.

As for the rear end itself my preference is to use a '94-'98 assembly then couple it with a set of axles and caliper brackets from North Racecars to bring it to Fox width.

http://www.northracecars.com/Brakes.html

While you're doing the axle change and bracket installation go ahead and relocate the calipers to the forward side of the axle rather than the rear which will allow for a simpler, easier and cleaner parking brake cable routing. When doing so remember that you'll need to swap EVERYTHING (the calipers, brackets & mounts and anti-brackets) side to side so that the bleeders remain in the correct orientation.

Cheers,
Jeff

[j.miller]

Damn it Kleiner ! I hate it when you're right. I feel like such a suck up when I have to agree with you.....maybe we could argue the color of the parts...da Bat

[Usudno]

Argue away... lol hamertone is going on the aluminum panels... being that you guys are the paint gurus, you can argue over aluminum prep!!!