after a night of searching the internet, i have discovered that it will be a lot cheaper to just get Selectros for my axle. if they are $300, still cheaper than converting to GM hubs. i think the Selectros are neat looking, how do you like them? are they pretty stout?
good thing this stupid axle only cost me $150, lol...now I get to spend spend spend on buying what I need.
i'm actually kinda scared to think what this will cost to get it under my truck...it needs rebuilt, and swap to 4.56 gears; i would like a power lock up front; these Selectros; if the inner axleshafts are the step down type, then I will replace them with regular ones; new brake stuff; crossover steering; hi-steer...the list goes on and on, AND ITS JUST THE FRONTEND!.
I guess that since I won't be doing much rockcrawling I don't need the 35 spline stub shafts, at least thats something else i dont have to buy...unless mine are shot, lol.
the price we pay to be addicted to these old trucks, lol...
oh and moving this around sure was fun...we picked it up in my dad's F-150, that thing rode like a Caddy with all that weight...lol.
the junkyard guy has this crazy vehicle he uses to move stuff around the yard, its built on a 4x4 truck frame of some sort (no D60 front, tho) but it has no cab or sheetmetal...has a seat, and a boom that can move almost a full 360*, 2 winches, and a flatbed...uses stick controls like a backhoe. he smashed a Ford fullsize van out of the way, and lifted the axle into my dad's truck no problem.
when we got home, we tied a tow strap to a sturdy maple tree, and used a come along to lift it out of the bed. then lowered it onto the little dolly i have it on to move around. lol...redneck engineering at its best...