This so far has been the hardest part, finding, adapting and modifying a rear end. The original rear end can't be used for several reasons, one it swivels the better part of 10 degress because of how the original torque tube is designed and there is no suitable donor third member for this axle housing.

So I ended up using a Chevy S10 rear end out of a 93' Blazer. The S10 doesn't have the best of reputations but that's because many people use them behind high power V-8's and blow them up. In my case 150 H.P. isn't going to be an issue. The specs call the rear end width out as 58" inches, but it's actually 59" because the brake drums are 3 1/2" inches wide instead of a normal 3". I figured it was close enough and a 1/2" each side shouldn't be a show stopper.

I wanted to keep my original 6-bolt wheels so I had complete new axles assemblies made up from Dutchman Motorsports. This was necessary because I couldn't redrill the 5 x 41/2" circle. They produce a great product at a great price very fast.


I kept the original spring shackles from the 37' because they were almost the same diameter as the S10 and allowed me to use my original U-bolts and hardware, plus they have a pin that locates the axle assembly correctly on the leaf springs. The coolest part is you can set up the axle pinion angle very easily because the whole assembly rotates slightly on the original spring shackles. Once the angle is set correctly tighten everything down and it's ready to go. I'll have the entire assembly welded in place once I'm on the road.