Axle Clarification on types

[VTX_Cas]

I've read hundreds of threads here on axle swaps here and there appears to be a couple things that most appear to consider common knowledge, but I'm unsure about, so I'm just hoping for a little guidance from those in the know

To start, I've got a '67 M715 and I'm swapping the axles out. Most of my driving will be city/highway with a little 4 wheeling when working on my property, nothing major, just hauling trees, rocks, animals, etc.

I have a Chevy 350/700R4 I've already swapped in since the original tornado was seized when I bought it.

Anyhow, I see the Dana 70HD swap that really looks promising as a bolt in (give or take shock perch re-weld).

1. The Dana 70HD from a 1T Chevy Express Van appears the easiest to find, but what year? I'm finding almost zero references to a compatible year. Am I over thinking this? Does any year for the one ton series work?

2. What about the front Axle, I see Dana 60's referenced quite a few places with the same 14 bolt are these coming from the same donor such as the express van, GMC 3500, Chevy G30s? or is this coming from a different source completely? And again, are specific years involved?

Sorry for the stupid questions, I promise, I really tried to research first

[TMO]

I'm kinda in the same boat. Researching and trying to learn. Hopefully someone points us in the right direction.

[smokeater7]

I would find a truck that has a 14 bolt rear axle and more than likely you will find a dana 60 front end to match. 14 bolt i assume will be much easier to find. 14 bolts come in a variety of trucks and vans that range in years from early 70's to 2000s.

[rockhound66]

You should be looking for a Chevy one ton (K30) 4x4 single rear wheel axle set from about 73 to 89. These will be 14 bolt full float rear and D-60 front with lock outs. Duallys are easy to find but the rear width and front hubs are wrong. The best option is a set from a military M1008, they are 4.56 geared and most have lockers stock.

[VTX_Cas]

I would love to get my hands on a CUCV for simplicity's sake if nothing else, but they're almost impossible around my neck of the woods.

I've continued researching elsewhere, based on some of the clues here and actually going to a junk yard to see them up close. I have to say billavista.com is awesome, they have the Dana 60 bible including a spreadsheet you can download. Pick your gear ratio, etc and you have a list of donors and casting BOMs to look for.
http://billavista.com/tech/Articles/...ble/index.html

Same for his 14 bolt bible,
http://www.billavista.com/tech/Artic...ble/index.html

but no spreadsheet there, but awesome information, including:

<quote>
The 14bolt is found in a huge number of GM 4x4 pickup trucks and vans, 3/4 and 1 ton, from the 70's right through until at least the 2000's. You can find it in:
•1973-1996 C20, C25
•1973-2000 C30, C35
•1973-2000 G30, G35
•1973-2000 K20, K25
•1973-2000 K30, K35
•1984-1988 CUCV
•1988-1991.5 V30

</quote>

[ray steadward]

So much of axle swap choice is driven by what you want the end result to be and your skillset that it is hard to quantify in one place. If you don't mind moving axle perches, there are alot of options. Do you want modern disc brakes? Do you want to swap gears later? What is the total axle budget? Do you want to move the frame mounts? There is some good info in the axle swap thread, but it really depends on what is available to you for resources....

[VTX_Cas]

I completely get it. I've been through the Axle sticky several times and the years were the biggest missing point. Mulitple people would post something like "installed x, y, z" and only had to move shock mount.. or in one case, reference to a chevy express van was a direct fit, but again, no years or clarifications of what type of chevy express van, the 15 passenger 1 ton/cargo, or the box van.

As for the dana 60 front ends, I haven't see anything on those other than "use them", on which models were easier to swap with less mods necessary.

Personally, I am indeed on a limited budget attempting to do this as I go. Working on an exhaust right now based on pieces I brought home from my last trip to the pick-n-pull. I'm keeping my eyes open for possible donors now, looking for an express van to compare with what I have now as stock.

I've got a yard stick marked up with all the locations of the spring, shock, distances to flange, distance to center, etc. that I started to take with me to keep it straight looking to see how "close" I can get.