Axle Swap and 2nd-3rd Gen Wheels

Hey Guys, I am thinking about the stuff I need to get rid of the full time system in my '78 RC.This truck will not be off-roaded or beaten in any way, so 1/2 ton axles with the 5 on 5 1/2" bolt pattern is my goal.If I am going to go thru all this work anyway, I might as well put modern offset 2001&up 17" Dodge wheels on this truck if possible. I would need wider axles to make the wheels fit correctly.Rear discs would also be a plus, but not a deal breaker.I am going to keep the original 440/727 in the truck and will locate an NP205 transfer case.Do you have any suggestions as to what axles might be the right width to accomplish this? I have all the time in the world and little money, so patience is the order of the day.I can handle stripping and relocating mounts, ect. but could never afford having custom stuff fabricated.Any and all thoughts on this subject are very much appreciated!Thanks

2nd-3rd gen would be a 40's truck

The rear will be easy, should just bolt in. The fronts off the newer trucks have coil springs so that will be a problem. I had a 76 Ramcharger that I put 3/4 ton diffs in. Used a 97 rear and a 1st Gen diesel D60 up front. Had to put wheel spacers up front to run the newer wheels, and keep the widths the same.

Trucks newer then 94 moved the front axle center section to the drivers side so your existing transfer case will not work. Plus the coil overs would make them a pain. So you will be looking for 80-93 front axles, or just everything from the knuckle out(D44 only) its not hard to swap them.

They are all the same width though so I am not sure how you will find wider, unless you found a dually front end with the extensions but those would probably be too wide.

The transfer case would either need to be converted to part time or swapped out, this involves changing the transmission output shaft and adapter.

How wide were the spacers you used?Did they screw up the steering or make the tire wear funny?

What about re-tubing a 1980 to 1984 non CAD D44 to get the right width?

That is one way, probably not cheap. You would need new inner axles but you might be able to find a different application that has longer ones.

I had the 1.5" spacers. The truck was a dedicated off-road truck so hard to say on tire wear. It had crossover steering and hydro assist as well, everything modified. Worked good for what it was built for, but for a stock steering on the road, I'm not sure. Jeep guys use them all the time, so I would think they would be OK.

Does anyone have the WMS to WMS measurements for the '80 to ''84 Dodge D44 as opposed to my '78 full time axle? I think a C-body 8 3/4" might work width wise for the rear...got to check.

The C body 8 3/4 is going to have the wrong wheel bolt pattern, besides, I believe the C body rear end is the same width as a truck rear end.

73-93 Dodge trucks all that the same front axle widths, and the same rear axle widths except the dully trucks have extensions on the front and the rears are wider.

A lot of mid 70s Dodge trucks got some pretty wide and deep offset wheels from the factory. They were rough on the front wheel bearings, but they made the truck look a lot wider.

If you have the correct wheel bolt pattern, bolt them on and see what they look like. Gene