Dodge rear end change over

Ok..I bought a Dodge Dakota rear end to use on my build but I really dont want the 6 lug holes on it.I contacted a few shops that will drill them out ( I have a Ford axle front end by the way..) but what bolt pattern..? Drill them out to use Ford rims on the back..? Then what do I do with the drums..? Can you have drums drilled out to match the new bolt pattern.? Why do I get myself into these messes..??!?! Or ditch the whole thing and buy a Ford 9 inch..?

Yes you can drill the drums to match, but with pulling the axles and all that machine work you could have bought a 9 inch in the first place. Not too mention the 9 inch is much stronger and easier to get parts for and modify. (different gear sets, posi units, etc.) If it is from a truck or bronco it would also have a matching bolt pattern for your front axle. Chalk it up as a lesson learned...

Yup. You can drill the drums as well as the axles. If I found myself in your situation, I'd drill em to match the front so a single spare wound bolt anywhere on the car.

Dodge rear end..MORE

The more questions I asked on this....the worse it seems to get.So anyone else THINKING about going this route...DONT,unless you want to put up with a mis-matched set-up.Pull both axles out today to head over the the machine shop that will re-drill my axles.I call him yesterday and he says he will wait around until get there and tells me 55.00 dollars to do the work.I grab one of my front hubs JUST in case.I meet the guy..( who by the way IS really cool..he LOVES Hot Rods..) and we talk and I tell him what I want and what I have and WHERE I HOPE I am headed..He looks over everything and says.."Hate to tell you this..but the flange on those axles from that Dakota read end WONT take a re-drill to match that 1948 Ford hub you have." Now I have that sinking feeling again...MORE wrong parts. I asked him about what else could I do.." Buying a pair of 1989 to 1990 Dodge Dakota axles will work...BUT you wont have the same bolt pattern as you do on that Ford hub." So off I go...wondering about WHAT else I have bought that doesnt or wont work.

???

think i'd get a second opinion.... mine are redrilled @ 5 on 5.5 and are working fine.. maybe i just got lucky. dp1

Dodge rear end

I also went to DTS in Michigan....Drive Train Service.He also looked at it.Measured the flange from the 1948 hub...7 inches across,measured the flange front the Dakota axle...6 inches across.Looked at me and said.."No,cant do it"...I can give you a smaller 5 bolt pattern and you might be able to fit a Mustang rim on it but as far as wire wheeled rims..I dont know....you would have to carry it around and see if you can match it somehow."

See what I mean? It sucks to have to learn this way, so always research what you want BEFORE you buy. It will still happen occasionally, but sometimes when you are inexperienced being too overzealous on a project can really bite you in the ass. One other thing I will let you in on now, if you are wanting to run early Ford wires on the rear they won't work with a modern rear end. They will be fine on the '48 hubs, but you will need a spacer flange to make sure they seat properly. I would reccomend getting a 9 inch rear and running '40-'48 Ford 16" steelies all the way around. They are strong, readily available and just about the coolest hot rod wheel you can run IMO...

Dodge rear end..comments from a newb.!

Sucks to learn this way..?!?!? No,no one knows the FRICKING half of it.I have a ton of parts in my garage that I CANT use or if I want to,it will cost me even more money and time wasted and spent.!! Yes I asked questions,but when 1 question leads to 3,876 different answers,who do you listen to.?!?!? Buy this steering box..OK,I buy it,cost plus driving to go get it because someone said ITS THE WAY TO GO..!! Hey guess what..?!?!? That box is the WRONG one,that wont work..buy THIS box.Ok..buy another box...WRONG AGAIN..!!This axle is thee TRICK SET-UP..buy it...OK fine I buy it..wanna guess what I am going to say ..??!? WRONG AXLE..!!! But this is what others are using..YOUR WRONG CAPT.BUY IT WRONG..( thats me...famous for buying parts I cant use..!! .)..Buy THIS axle..BUZZ...WRONG,now you need this spindle to go with that axle..( Hmm...4 sets of spindles and NONE of them are the RIGHT ones..!!!....).Buy this rear end..TRUST ME..its thee awesome set-up...!! WRONG AGAIN..!! ( 3 rear ends later..and GOD only knows how much money I spent ...!! ) it still sitting in the garage because ITS WRONG..!! Use these headlight buckets with your set-up...wanna take a small wager whats next..?!?!? Hmmm..anyone..?? WRONG..now you need to buy the metal headlight buckets that go into it..!! MORE MONEY..!! 2 transmissions and I STILL dont have the right one..!! Hey..I have the engine you need for that build...Hmm..No,just run it,came out of a 1932 Ford coupe..tear it apart because I know better....GUESS WHAT...?? Needs a total re-build..!!! Countless hours on Ebay plus Craigslist and still looking at a pile of THE WRONG parts and havent even made any headway on my build. Read and research BEFORE you build you say..?...LMAO..I read almost all I could find and asked over a million questions...and like I said,4,234 different answers..TO ONE QUESTION..!!!.. Whos right and whos wrong..?? Frustrated isnt even close to how I feel.Does a newb REALLY need to go through this..? Who knows anymore.Look at some of the posts on here and read how some are answered about using 1 part or a set-up.Yeah I am learning but at what cost..?? I wont give up...but I cant keep buying parts I cant use then trying to re-sell them only to find out..I AM THE ONLY SUCKER who bought it and NO BODY ELSE WANTS IT...!!! I think UPS HATES driving down my street anymore...LOL.I know the Postman REALLY hates me...LOL.!!I am TRYING REAL HARD to understand BUT you cant have several people telling you 9 millions different things..! There HAS to be a common ground on whats right and whats wrong and what works and what dosent work..!Maybe I am just making a mountain out of a mole hill..putting too much stress on all of it.I still do enjoy sitting in my cab and making VVRRROOOMMM noises...

No one mentioned adapters. I don't know if they make that one or not, but it is an option. (they are billet) ( not legal in all states) ( they are super strong these days and are used alot among the 4x4 crowd.)

Dodge rear end..more

I am NOT lashing OUT or making anyone on here feel like I against THEM and I am SORRY if someone feels that way.I needed to vent about this and hope some NEW guys sees it.Bonehead,I hit a forum tonite about adapters...( do they make forums for everything..?!!?! .) and the general agreement was NOT to use them.I never did find an answer as to why though...one guy said they never stay tight and create problems BUT didnt say what problems.

I am running as set, and have been for years, on my Wrangler. I have done many of the trails at Moab, and logged 40,000 miles on them so far. No problems ever. The old ones from the 70s were cast aluminum, and broke. The billet ones are strong, and work well. There are some cons. Like the 1.5 inches wider on each side, and having two sets of lug nuts to take off to get to the brakes. And the added leverage, (similar to deep dish wheels.) But don't go that route if you are uncomfortable running them.

hot rod

badratt,

hot rodding is just that, hot rodding, there is no set way of doing things. back before the internet HOT RODDING didnt have forums for everything, how did guys get those kool hot rods? they built them! they built them on the cheap! by MAKING THING WORK THEY COULD FIND! there wasnt ebay or r.r.r. or the ..h,%$b, or any other major highway link to get the perfect answer.

you went to the junk yard you looked how the factory did it. and applied it, some worked some didnt.

you went to car shows and looked how other guys did it.

YOU LOOKED IN YOUR WALLET AND.. knew how you could afford to do it.

making it safe was the priority as well as making it cheap.

hotrodding was and always will be, MAKING WHAT YOU CAN WORK!

yeah there are tons of parts now and if some people buy em and (SNAP) together a hotrod, thats there way of building it,. and expect to payed bux to do it

i guess what i'm trying to say is, THERE ARE TONS OF HOW TOO BOOKS AND FORUMS OUT THERE,,,,, BUT IN THE END THEY ONLY TEACH YOU ONE THING.......... HOW TO READ!

R&D ask all the questions you want from builders but in the end, YOUR TRIAL AND ERROR are what you will find to be the best from you hotrod build.

nobody has all the answers(especially me) and there is no PERFECT setup.

SO take a break, then, take a deep breath, now take some pics of setups you like, go home and try to build it. tackle one thing at a time, it will eventually look like a hotrod, YOUR HOTROD. GOODLUCK.

Yeah..

Ya missed the WHOLE point...

point

oh sorry though you ask'd for help in building your hot rod and were stressed out cause you ...."got all those parts and all those different answers"..... from everyone. and thought maybe starting out like the millions of ol hotrodders did would get ya back grounded.. SORRY FOR NOT GETTING UR POINT, JUST TRYING TO HELP.