I was going to hunt around for an Ls6 drive shaft and rear pinion yoke, to backup my Big Block. I knew if i could find it would be costly. What i did not know was i had something under my nose that is stronger, cheaper and will work just as well. This is what i found and would like to share:

A 1987 chevy 4x4, 4 spd/new process 208 tf case driveshaft is 3.5" diameter, u-joint spread is .75" shorter, however the massive yoke is 2" longer, so trimming the yoke down 1" gets you in the ball park. The yoke is 32 splines as the m22/ 400 trans, outside diameter is the same, so stock output oil seal is used. (The cradle for the u-joint accepts the trw -054 massive u-joint that is also on my F350 powerstroke diesel.) Now i had to figure something out for the rear. I went to a bone yard and spent sometime digging through a rear pile. I found a truck yoke to accept the 054 u-joint ($20), and bolt onto my12 bolt pinion. It was out of an early to mid 80's 1/2 ton- Blazer. The final ingredient was a pinion seal: a Timken #8622, or cr# 19277 will do the job.

The result is a driveline heavier than an Ls6 at a fraction of the cost,
Most bone yards don't charge more than $50 for a truck driveshaft. I was able to keep the same u-joint front and rear, rather than the adapter / cross joint in front with the little u-joint in the rear.

Parts needed:

1) Truck yoke casting # GM8 385, 30 spline, 3 5/8" u-joint spread, 1 3/16" caps

2) 80's 4x4 driveshaft from a np 208 transfercase 32 spline

3) Pinion seal for rear cr#19277, or timken #8622

4) TRW 054 U-joints

For questions regarding this process, please E-mail Chris Unger : squeakymilkman@hotmail.com