[Rory McNeil]

Like others have mentioned, it`s best to bite the bullet and get a good trans, clutch and rearend together, from the start. When I first put my 85 Mustang Stocker together, I had thought that since the T5 in high 12 second street strip 302 Fairmont held up for 5 seasons, that a lighter Mustang should be a good place to put another T5 into. I was wrong. Although the Mustang was only running a couple of tenths under the index at the time, by the end of the season, I had 3 hurt T5`s, bent mainshaft, burred up sliders, a cracked case, and bad gear teeth, (folding over).A few years ago, I bought a nice Jerico DR4 from this website, and considering it was from a 5.0 Fox Mustang, and came with a shifter, clutch and flywheel, I considered the $2000. asking pice a bargain. The Jerico has been in my Mustang for 3 or 4 seasons now, and has been absolutely flawless. I also have a Jerico in my 10.0 ET bracket car, (also bought used, over 10 years ago), and other than breaking 3rd gear earlier this season, (parts cost $300. to repair it), it has also been trouble-free. Plus, unlike most racing parts, the Jericos really maintain their value, I could likely get back my purchase price if I ever decided to sell one.(extremely unlikely!). As for the diff, I have a 8.8 in my Mustang, but if I did it all over again, I`d prefer a 9". The ratio selection is much better, and after breaking 1/2 the pinion teeth of my 8.8 gear set a month ago, I`m a bit jaded with the 8.8. Plus, the housing has been flexing, hopefully a recent pair of braces will halt that.Of course, gear changes with the 9" are simpler, especially if you have a spare "chunk" on hand. Good luck.