wanted 7 1/4 BBP rear axle

I'm having an issue with my 7 1/4 BBP rear end and need a drivers side axle.
The bearing you can slide on by hand and wanted to find a replacement.
I'm kicking around the idea of installing the 8 1/4 I already have on the side of my house. any thoughts? This might give me a reason to install the 8 1/4, I wanted to get my car on the road after a v8 swap so I waited on the rear because I would have to have the drive shaft cut and rebalanced. Is there anything else I'm forgetting about with the 7 1/4 to 8 1/4 swap? I have the 8 1/4 u bolts and base plates. Thanks