67 Barracuda project... narrowing 8 3/4 rearend

Brandt Fonda said

Good point, it would be even more pricey if had to redo the rear because of failure. Thank you for your insight. What is your opinion on narrowing? I have right at an inch till tire contact with leaf springs (QA1 suspension will replace the leafs which should give me a little more room) will I be able to get enough tire under the car without narrowing? tank, shocks, and my 3" exhaust are taking up a lot of real estate!

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narrowing slightly should not be a problem -- but i would first determine which tire size you are going to use along with the size and back spacing of the rim
once you have the rims and tires, i would drop the rear axle , springs , shocks leaving the gas tank in place
place both the tires into the wheel wells , leaving clearance you need at the outer lip (3/4 to 1 inch ,,, check the inside of your wheel tub for clearance as well as the clearance to the gas tank
now measure the distance you have between the 2 wheel mounting surfaces of the rims and this will give you the overall width of the rear axle needed
leaving the tires in place you should be able to locate where your rear suspension will be hung , if not , mock up the original axle with some templates of your suspension brackets etc. ,,,place the axle on jack stands under the car and work from there.