SVO Brake Swap questions

[86McLarenCapri]

So, I am considering swapping my AOD out for a T-5 on my 86 Capri. I figured the best thing would be to find a donor car so I could put the two cars next to each other and just move the 'kits' between cars. There is a guy selling two cars, one is an 84 SVO that has had the motor swapped and also has the 5 lug SVO brakes! I figure I could knock out two projects at once and have a bunch of parts left over. I hate to scrap an SVO, but...he already has. It looks like an 87 hatchback.

He wants $2000 for both cars, he has a lot of other parts including an NOS front fender and new rear bumper cover.

My car is a McLaren so it has been lowered an inch (to an inch and a half?) Would I be able to swap out all the SVO suspension and brake parts? I'm concerned about the Lincoln axles. I'm thinking I would get a new set of 5 lug rear axles with the flanges for the disk brakes instead?

Description of the SVO Donor:

84 SVO w/87 5.0 drivetrain. SVO 5 lug, 4 wheel disc brakes, T-5, 8.8 w/Lincoln axles. 87 LX front sheet metal, 87 GT interior (grey). Konis, K&N, strut tower brace, Racecraft, offset steering rack bushings, 160 speedo, etc. New gas tank & pump. 54k original miles on drivetrain. Car is partially disassembled but still runs. Damage to passenger side.

[86McLarenCapri]

Just got an update from the seller--he swapped out the rear with the 87 8.8 rear end and used the Lincoln axles. He says the set-up works!?

He is about 3 hours away, so I haven't seen or driven the car, yet. I'm just wondering if it is worth it.

[ZephyrEFI]

Are you concerned that the Mark VII axles are different from SVO? Because they're not. Also consider this. SVO/Lincoln stuff is very different from SN95. The axles are a unique length (longer, so you can't use just any "5-lug disc brake" axles), the whole assembly is wider, and nothing is compatible between them, SVO/Lincoln and SN95. It's a very different design. But, if you're swapping the whole system, fronts, rears, MC and booster, it won't be a problem.

I can't believe they removed just about every last thing about that SVO that made it what it was!

[ZephyrEFI]

Just got an update from the seller--he swapped out the rear with the 87 8.8 rear end and used the Lincoln axles. He says the set-up works!?

Yes, it works.

[Mustang Marty]

I did this swap on the McLaren convertible that I used to own. I used the stock a-arms and 87-93 Mustang V8 spindles. Everything else was sourced from SVO parts list; master cyl, proportioning valve, calipers, rotors, and rear axle assembly. The SVO used a 7.5 rear end and the later Mark VII used an 8.8 but utilize the same brake parts.

The issue that I had with this setup was rear wheel fitment. Mine was slightly lowered like yours and the tire would rub the fenders in the rear due to the increased width of the axle. Had I kept the car, I was going to fix this issue by doing the flipped bracket mod. Most of the sites with instructions are gone or their pics are missing but if you plug in this site in to the Internet Archive (http://web.archive.org) there are still some good instructions. http://home.pacbell.net/black306/tech/reardisc.html

[ZephyrEFI]

The issue that I had with this setup was rear wheel fitment.

I had this problem too (a BIG reason why i went to SN95 brakes), but I didn't want to rain on your parade.

Also, to my knowledge, the axle shafts themselves are the same between 7.5 and 8.8.

[Mustang Marty]

I am in the middle of a SN95 swap on my coupe for that reason as well. The SVO/Mark VII swap works fairly well and was a huge improvement in stopping power. The 3.73 gears in the SVO rear end added to the fun factor. There are reasons it had fallen out of favor but it is still a viable swap if yo have access to the parts.



If the cars can be obtained cheap enough, there could be a low cost brake upgrade in the deal after selling off all the other parts.

[Unclesams_SVO]

I did an SN-95 swap on my SVO. Finding wheels were just too much of a pain and when I did find them they were expensive. I personally would not put SVO brakes on a Foxbody when SN-95 can be had so cheaply.

[erratic50]

I totally agree. SN95 all the way if going 5 lug.

really the only particularly viable part of the SVO setup when it comes to upgrades on a fox is the spindles which fit the 79-93 if using an SN95 balljoint and the SVO to SN95 adapter. Those correct Ackerman. SN95's do also and offer more wheel combos but SN95s don't do 4 lug.

Stock 87-93 V8 calipers and the 4 lug rotors fit. Or 5 lug can be had via SVO/Lincoln parts bin but why.....

Performance numbers wise the SN95 parts kill the fox era parts in braking performance. The 93 cobra stopped from 60 in 144 feet. This compared to under 100 from a well balanced SN95 setup.

Maximum motorsports has a factory brake upgrade kit for the 87-93. Upgrades lines and pads. Stops from 60 in 114 feet while retaining the factory parts.... even including the rear drum brakes.

[dagenham]

As a SVO owner and a guy that has done a full sn95 swap on a 91 LX, do the sn95 thing. You'll thank yourself later if it ever comes time to maintenance.