Hi Keith,
First let me thank you for your service on behalf of our country. We support you and your fellow troops.
The reason not to use the 8.8, is that it will cost quite a bit to modify in order to fit it into the Alpine body. Both the 8″ and the 8.8 need to be shortened in order to get them to fit, unless you leave them as wide as thy came and just put some fender flares on to accommodate the wheels. The 8.8 will need to have C-clip eliminators if you cut the housing and axles, or you’d have to machine the end of the axle to accept the C clip again. If you retain the C clip and run the axle using the stock axle bearing, you will be using the axle itself as the inner race of the axle bearing, so if the bearing goes bad, you’ll have to have another machined the same as the first, in order to fix it.
Changing gears in the 8.8 requires more work and expense, because it is a Spicer type differential. The 8″ can change the gears in less than two hours, if you have two different pumpkins and just swap them. I like having two gear sets, so if I want to go on a long cross country trip, I can install a set of 3.55′, and if I want to go racing, I can put in a set of 4.11’s.
If you feel you need a bigger rear end than the Ford 8″, you could use a 9″, but it will be much harder to fit, because of the limited space in the Alpine body. The 8″ is pretty tough, especially in such a light car, so I would recommend using it instead of the 8.8.
Jose 🙂