Making The Weak 7-1/4 Rear Axle Live... Kinda

michiganpat said

My small bolt pattern 7.25" rear is 57.125" wide. a dakota will be way too wide for an A body, they're over 60" wide, and the spring perches would need to be cut off and rewelded.

the closest easy to find latish model rear end that is close to the right width are 93-09(?) ford rangers. they're 58.5" wide. 90's to early '00 ford explorers are 59.625" wide. both need spring perches cut/rewelded.

the closest mopar product is an XJ cherokee, they're 60.5" wide, and 3.55 geared 8.25's are common in them. to get any real width as far as tires with that much width, you'll probably need high offset wheels, somewhere in the +30-+38mm offset that mid 90's-mid teens mustangs had.

Click to expand...

For the hard core Mopar people, either cut the long tube and shorten to the short side length. Then get a NEW short side axle. The reason for new is the axles can "get used" to torque applied in one direction. If you switch sides and apply higher torque, you could end up with a failed axle.
Another way is to hole saw the welds out that hold the tube in and press the tube out. Cut the axle length difference off the inner end before pressing it back in. Verify tube is straight and weld it back in. Go around the outside off the tube starting 90° apart, and verify straight. Weld one 90° and then directly across. Verify straight and weld the rest. Weld where you cut the original welds out. Weld the short side tube to the housing the same way.