203 to 205

[zac]

My np 203 is working fine and I intend to use it for awhile. But I've been crawling around alot of junkyards lately and have been thinking I should look for a good 205 for my '79 sooner rather than later. I'd rather do that than convert the 203 to part time. My truck has a th400, so I know I need the 32-spline version. I also know that later sm465's had 32 spline outputs. Will these work on my truck? I've seen references to long and short shafts. What's that about? Same for the round and figure eight bolt pattern. I also know there are probably crossmember and driveshaft issues here, maybe making it more trouble that it's worth. I'm just looking to get enough info to have some idea what I should be looking for. If someone could put this in a nutshell or point to another thread or online resource, I'd appreciate it.

How about swapping the input of an early 465 or th 350 case?