I just put a 8.8 in my '74 dodge dart. It was a relatively easy job to do. Its just a strong as a 8 3/4 and parts are dime a dozen. I spent $250 and got a 8.8 with 4.10 gears,limited slip, disk brakes and everything included. Dont forget they also are factory 31 splined axles. I did a weight comparison of the 8.8 loaded vs 8 1/4 loaded, even though the 8.8 is bigger it was 20lbs lighter. I chopped exactly 3 inches off the long axle tube and it tig welded together, I know it seems like it may be weak but the tig welder informed me that his weld would not break it would be somewhere so I guess we will see how it goes.
Then all I needed was a passenger(short side) axle to fit the now narrowed side. Put it all together and works great!
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