will wheel fit?

Honestly, put the entire axle in as an assembly. It will fit, and it is longer overall, so you can put wider wheels with a larger amount of backspacing. 94-98 axle will not put your wheels past the quarter panel edge. I have a 99-04 axle in my 81 notchback. I have 17X8 wheels on there right now. The wheel edge is EXACTLY to the edge of the quarter skin. It lines up perfectly. I also put my 17X9 Cobra R's on the back, and they do not stick out at all! This is because the offset is the same, the 9" wheels have more backspacing...(more wheel under the car) The 94-98 axle is shorter than the 99-04, so your wheels will not come to the edge, they will still sit in a little bit.

It would be a lot less work installing the enitre axle than it would be to tear two apart and build one just to upgrade brakes and switch to 5 lug.

if you swap in a 94+ axle, won't you have to change the master cyl and change the brake line set up?

lang williams said:

if you swap in a 94+ axle, won't you have to change the master cyl and change the brake line set up?

Click to expand...

Good question! I am installing the ENTIRE drivetrain from the 01 to my 81, so I'm not worried about that, but for him...........

I would leave the master cylinder for now. I would add an aftermarket brake proportioning valve on the passenger side shock tower/firewall area. This way he can change the amount of fluid going back to the rear brakes. IF problems persist, change the master, but I think he will be OK with just the addition of another prop valve.