I am in the Midst of swapping in a 350TPI/350 A/T in place of my old and tired 258/T5 tranny. I am considering beefing up my AMC20 rear axle only because I have in the past invested in a Detroit Locker. My concerns are that even though I plan for the most part to keep the front end on the ground while on pavement that in time the 20 will eventually give way under the horsepower. I am hoping that there is someone out there that has been here before and has some good sound advise on where my money might best be spent as I definitly do not have money to burn but at the same time do not want to spend good money after bad so if upgrading to a stronger Axle is the best bet then so be it and if so whats the best most economical way to go.
EG

Well, here's what I would do. given your situation and nudget.... (but others will have their own ideas)

Go ahead and swap in the SBC TPI and the TH350 auto tranny. Since you already have the Detroit Locker in the rear AMC 20, leave the rear axle as it is -- don't spend any more money on it. Wheel the thing as you want. If the AMC 20 holds up to the type of wheeling you do, fine. If it doesn't, then replace it with a stronger axle. Sell the Detroit Locker -- lots of guys out there with AMC20 rear axles who'd jump at the chance for a low cost used Detroit Locker. I wouldn't waste the time or money putting in a D44 for the rear axle. I'd jump right up to a Dana 60. That way, when you decide a few years from now to "add some more beans" to that SBC motor, you won't have to worry about whether your rear axle will take it.

Were it me, I'd look for a D60 axle for the front, too. Mainly so I'd have the same wheel bolt pattern front and rear. But it's not necessary. You can keep the D30 up front until/unless it breaks, and then put a D60 up there also.

The AMC 20 isn't a bad axle. It is 8 7/16" ring gear, as long as you don't have huge tires and you don't do burn outs all the time, or trans drops, it should hold up for some time. In the mean time I would save my pennies and look for a 9", but thatÆs just the Ford in me talkin. Most will tell you to save your pennies for a Dana 60
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AMC 20 is bad, the ring and pinion is good, who cares about strong R&P if the shafts and housing shell out?
Yes, they can be trussed, yes 1 piece shafts are available.
Sell the detroit to a guy with a AMX who cares.

Dana 60 and never look back.
But is must be a custom d60 (like I build)because there are none in the wild with the right width, 35 splines, disc brakes, wheel pattern ect...

Let me know If you want a quote.

SD

Sounds like good advise and thanks for that.
I have even considered changing out the axle tubes in favor of thicker wall tubes as I am a welder and Machinist by trade so I should be able to do this myself. From what I am hearing it sounds like the tubes and Axles shafts are the weak links on the 20.
But even with doing the work myself I will be out a good $400 and for that would I have an Axle that I could feel good about so I just may run it stock for a while and save up for a D60 or may even look for used 60 and modify build & Beef it up myself. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Superdawg, from what I hear a good "low buck" approach to aquiring a D60 is to look for an older used Jeep 3/4 ton truck thats got the D60 in it. I may have to do a bit of searching and from what I hear would have to shorten the Tubes and Shafts and have them re-splined but this certainly must be much less than purchasing an Axle from Currie or equivalent. You mention that you build build custom axles as well is your pricing in line with Currie or are you less than the Big Boys?

Another possibility is the following...

If you get D60 axles front and rear, and if the axles aren't more than 4 or 5 inches wider than the OEM Jeep axles, you can live with that. That means that the wheels wouldn't stick out more than 2 to 2.5 inches on each side. If you're going to lift the vehicle, that wider stance will make the Jeep more stable. You can always get wider fender flares to cover the tires.