So I haven't updated anything in here for a while. Some stuff has been going on that required the space in my garage so the poor thing has been hanging out just outisde the door all wrapped up snug. Throughout the duration, I've been ironing out some details on the drivetrain. I want to have the "actual" axles, tires, and wheels under the truck when I start to shoe-horn the modernized drivetrain into the chassis.
The new drivetrain is using driver's side front differential for clearance issues. With the Cummins Turbo and the large diameter exhaust occupying a decent amount of space on the passenger's side; sneaking that past a girthy Allison transmission and wide New Process transfer case would be difficult and inefficient use of undercarriage space so I opted to move the driveshaft output to the driver's side and in doing so am running a Divorced NP205. The original choice of front axle, which I had already procured was a Dana 60 King Pin, dually, from an '86 or '87 F-350. Super strong axle, high pinion gearset, beefy half wall tubes, and the common 8 on 6.5 wheel pattern. However, the spring spacing on the WC is 30.75" as I measured it on this exact truck... The pad spacing on the Dana 60 is 36.5"... So WAY off... Additionally the driver's side perch is part of the casting and there is a very short tube on the driver's side with differential very close to the frame and the overall WMS-WMS of the front axle is 69.25" which is way wider than the rear axle. I'll address the solutions to these problems after outlining the rear axle and its role in the front axle...
As for the rear axle, all is still well. I am using an Eaton HO72 rear from a '68 GM Suburban. It is 65" WMS-WMS (wheel mounting surface), so its not terribly wide and will allow the selection of various different wheels. So, this rear axle has a similar appearance to the axles currently under the dodge. Granted it has a round cover, its still the 3rd member style rear, with the steel tapered housings... and if you are familiar is a smaller version of the axles found under the GM 2.5 tons of the same Era. I have a couple of these axles around because they are super stout, I like old stuff thats been proven to work, and they are just cool.
So, as I stand there staring at this "modern" looking front axle next to my vintage looking rear axle.. It dawns on me; I was going to have to pull the tubes from the Dana 60, shorten one side, extend the other side, reassemble it, and have custom inner axle shafts made just to get the spring perch spacing to work, and was still going to end up with a modern appearing axle that is identical to the one under my trail J**p. The gears start turning and the smoke starts billowing and I start cutting things. I decided what I can do, is build the front axle out of the two axles, and keep my vintage appearance (aside from the closed knuckle) acheive the correct spring perch spacing, yield an even stronger axle than the Dana 60, and in the end not have spent anymore money or time for that matter....
So, here is where I am so far with the building of my "resto-mod" custom front axle.
Donor front housing...
Rear HO72, cut down and spindles cut off.
Dana 60 Front Donor Axle