Reusing Torino Ends?

[Alponcho]

I have an assembled 9 inch rear end (DSE housing), and I need to narrow it by like .25" on both sides. A local differential shop said simple fix and no need to buy new ends--they would just cut the Torino ends off, trim the tube (and the axles), and weld the ends back on. Sounds too easy, so I'm a bit skeptical. Does this sound right?

[dontlifttoshift]

I've done it in a similar situation. Just make sure the ends are still round before you try to reuse them. They are machined perfect but welding them on usually pulls them out a thousandth or two from perfect, which isn't an issue. More than that and I would replace them.

[astroracer]

Like Donny said, if there is nothing wrong with them it is perfectly legal to re-use them. Re-used the ends from the axle I narrowed for the van. No problems putting it together.
Mark

[badazz81z28]

Are you making it more narrow then DSE specs? Well perfect time to upgrade to a floater axle???

[Alponcho]

Are you making it more narrow then DSE specs? Well perfect time to upgrade to a floater axle???

Was considering narrowing it slightly so the wheels tuck in a wee bit more. But I really don't need to given how rounded the wheel openings are on a Firebird (as compared to Camaro).

I did look into having a new rear end assembly built for me. Wanted to upgrade to floater axle, and if I did that, I figured I should have it built wider so I can run more modern looking one-piece wheels. As you might imagine, it really started to add up.