rear axle swap help...??

[59weasel]

Hey guys,

I put the '87 rear axle in this wknd. with new lowering coils and adjustable panhard bar. Now i'm kinda stuck as to where the axle pads that bolt between the axle and the control arm should set. What i'm saying is i want to "tack" them on after centering my rear end, but not sure what the measurements i'm taking should come out to be. The axle is 1/8" within dead center but the arms aren't straight... what for instance should the distance be from the pads to the backing plates be on a stock 66 (ish) rear axle? I have like 7 1/8" on pass. side and like 8" on driver side.... just want to square the arms up good before i tighten the U bolts down and put a couple tack welds on it. ( wish I would have pulled some measurement off the original rearend before scrapping it)! Thanks for any help!

[Captainfab]

I would position the trailing arm mounts to be the same distance from the backing plate on both sides. Keep in mind that your '87 10 bolt is 1.5" wider (.750" each side) than a '63-'70 truck 12 bolt. Then to center the differential side to side under the truck, you may need an adjustable panhard bar. Don't forget that you need to get the pinion angle correct before you weld those trailing arm mounts to the axle tubes.