A friend on another forum made it for me.
Next project: Narrowing a diff at home
I researched methods of narrowing housings and since I am a DIY guy, I decided to do it the old way....with a large pipe cutter I bought at HFtools for $20 and a little bit of muscle. While I do have a chop saw, I was not comfortable with it's ability to make a straight, square cut.
The BBR's axles have enough spline to narrow it 1". Believe it or not, 1" per side will make all the difference in the world. It will allow me to use a 'normal' 15x8 rim with 5.5" of BS with plenty of fenderwell and leaf spring clearance. I *should* have done this before I built the last housing, but I did not anticipate the wheel fitment issues I ended up with. Live and learn I suppose. Anyway I had the B-body housing sitting over in the corner so I decided to cut it down to the correct width.
First I measured and marked the axle tube cuts. 2.75" will be coming out of each side. Then I scribed a horizontal line to use to realign (clock) the tube ends back on after the cuts. Surprisingly, the distance from the axle flange to the centerline of the spring perch is already correct, so I decided to take the 2.75" out on the inside of the spring perches.
Beginning the cut.

Close up.

Finished cut.

This thing leaves a great finish on the cut and it *might* already be beveled enough for welding. All 4 cuts have been made and it is almost read to weld them back on. This housing will be getting a backbrace and shock mounts very similar to the other one. The plan is to get it all ready and just R&R the other housing.
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