[79vette]

Edit:. I found a 14b sf from a square body (8 lug) and a 6 lug one from a 88-98 truck.

Does anyone know if I can use the square body casting and put the brakes/shafts/gears from the 88-98 one on it to get my existing 15" 6 lug wheels to work? That seems like the easiest and cheapest way to go. I need to redo the gear setup anyway to put in an ARB, so moving the spring perches seems harder than just swapping everything I to the other housing when I have it apart anyway.

Originally Posted by kipps

The 9.5 14bsf came in some big-block half-ton gmt400 trucks, and would have been drilled for six lug. Those are probably getting quite rare now, and even if you found one, you'd have to move the spring perches.

If you have a friendly and competent machine shop locally, you could probably have a set of squarebody 9.5 shafts welded shut and redrilled to a six-lug pattern.

Also consider a gmt800 10.5 14bff axle with disk brakes. The disk brakes lose a lot of weight compared to any drum brakes, and the ring gear and housing can be shaved for an additional 2" of clearance.

So far I've found a 6 lug 14 bolt with the correct gears from an 88-98 truck. Seller wants $775, and it has the right gears. I would probably be into it $2300 or so with a new ARB, bearings seals and brakes. I would need to move spring perches. I asked about the drum diameter and am still waiting to hear back, but do you know if those drums will fit a 15" wheel?

A different guy has a square body 8 lug 9.5" 14 bolt (out of a k20) for $100, but it has the wrong gears. Would this bolt into a k5? I think the perch width is the same. This one would probably be $2000 total rebuilt like the 88-98 axle (gears, ARB, brakes/bearings/seals), but then I still have 8 lug axles that don't fit my wheels. Do you know if there is a 6 lug shaft/drum that would work, or is welding the holes in the square body stuff the only way?

Also found a 12 bolt for $600 which seems insane and is a worse axle, but all my parts transfer over. Could sell the gears and Eaton locker out of the new one and be out of pocket ~$400

Originally Posted by Ziegelsteinfaust

Go buy the rear end width you want, and go for a 6 lug disk brake conversion. You may need custom axles, but would be the nicest overtime

Are you saying buy an 8 lug axle in the correct width and covert it to 6 lug using custom shafts and a 6 lug disc brake kit? I didn't realize that could be done, but sounds great. Any suggestions for sourcing such custom shafts? Yukon?