so i just bought this car, and the guy i bought it from said it has a rear axle from an SS. not sure what SS he's talking about, but its an inch or so wider than the original, and honestly, i hate it. yes it has disc brakes, and posi, but im not going for that look where my rims stick out of the sides. haha. i'd like them to tuck just right inside the fender, and honestly dish the back ones as much as possible.

any ideas on how to fix this? maybe get a regular drum brake rear axle, and take the discs off and convert? is this possible? sigh.....

 

Sounds like you have a fourth gen differential under a third gen. It's a common swap but the extra width means you need to get rims with the proper backspacing to tuck the tires back under the fenders. There's no real strength difference between a third gen and fourth gen diff. In 1990, third gens went from 26 to 28 spline axles. Fourth gens have 28 spline so the pre 1990 diffs are slightly weaker. The ring gear size increased around 1986 from a 7-1/2" to a 7-5/8". Not much of an increase since they're both equally small and weak and both sizes will fit on the same carrier making gear swaps easier providing they use the same series carrier. The disk brake upgrade is probably the best thing going for it. You probably have large rotors with aluminum calipers.

 

so, you're saying to go to a ford 9"? hahaha...

until i can actually do that....is it possible to convert the drum axle with the discs i have now? i mean, i eventually want to upgrade to baer or wilwood, but until then, i want these damn rims not sticking out the side of my car...haha

 

It'd be cheaper & easier to get a set of wheels with the corrected offset for a 4th gen.