Dana 60 swap

I cut my last a body dana to 51 1/2 inches housing end to end. Why 51 1/2 and not the 52 1/2, 8 3/4 width? Because the axles are about 1/2 longer than the 1 7/8 brake axles and then the tires are in the stock location.
A point I didn’t even consider!! Thank you kindly for the insight!