8 3/4" from a 1/2 Ton P/U or Van For "A" Body

Jarlaxle said

I think the pickups & vans use a 5" lug circle...you'd need to have the lug pattern redrilled for car brakes, and maybe the axle flanges turned down to fit inside the drums. Not saying it can't be done, but at that point, you might be better off just buying new axles.

However...for a narrow A-body, couldn't you have the common B-body shafts shortened & resplined? I have never been to a swap meet that didn't have at least a couple guys selling those!

Click to expand...

Maybe some but I'm sure not all pickups and vans had a 5" lug circle cause I have a rearend out of a van in the garage that has 5 on 4-1/2 bolt circle. I haven't seen any B-body axles that you could cut down and re-spline for an a-body because right after the splines the axle necks down for a couple inches so there's not enough meat to spline. I haven't saw any axles that didn't have the neck down deal but full size trucks and van axles were so long they are usable because the A-body splines end up after the necked down portion. Just my .02