major mods or wishful ?thinking?

hey new to the jeep experience but not to mechanics or to modifying cars-trucks ,my question is my 87 yj that i have allready lifted 4 inches  with superlift  spring lift and 1 inch daystar body lift has a 2.5 ax5 np 207 tcase 8.8 rearend with 4.10 gears  i know with my 33x12.5x15 tires and wheels that doesnt leave much for highway speed especially since it allready has 200,000 miles on it, yay jeep!but i did fail to mention those miles were on stock spring with 205 75 15's  but to the point, i am going to swap the 2.5 to a 350 with holley projection,ax5 for a sm465 the np 207 to either a np231j or a dana300 which leads me to my main question should i bite the bullet and go for the dana300 and put a early waggy 77 or 78 model with a passenger side drop d44  or should i flip the dana300 and go with a later 87 or 88 waggy d44 frontend i know it will be cheaper to do the passenger side drop and not flip the dana300 but will i have enough room for this and has anyone ever done this setup and by the way for those of you with the 2 spare tire question i am going to change both axles to 5 on 5 any help will be greatly appreciated and it will be driven on the road to and from trails  

I don't think I'd flip it, if yer after the sticks get the axle, otherwise use a 231 or a 241.  
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I'd decide based on what I find as far as a D44 front.

The 231 is a plenty strong case if it has a SYE installed and has a better lo gear than a 300. But a 300 is a super tough case and you can't go wrong with it either.

My first choice would be pre '78 Wagoneer and Dana 300. Pre '78 has flat top knuckles for a good hi-steer setup. Probably the hardest to find and the most expensive.

Next would be '78-'79 Wagoneer and Dana 300. No flat tops.

Next, '84-'91 Wagoneer and NP231.

Stay away from the '80-'83 Wagoneer. They are vacuum disconnect.

As far as lug bolt pattern, I'm not sure how you're going to get to 5 on 5.

Your 8.8 must have 5 on 4 1/2. You can have your rear axle shafts dual patterned or buy some alloy shafts with 5 on 5 1/2.

The Wagoneer can be converted to 5 on 5 1/2 by using a Chevy spindle which has a 6 bolt pattern to bolt to the Wagoneer knuckle. Then use a Ford hub, bearings, seals, and brakes. The chevy spindle needs the inner journal turned down slightly for the Ford bearing. You can have your machine shop do the work or you can buy one from PartsMike.com already turned down.  

thanks ftgiles i had a brain fart on the 5 0n 5 deal but the reason i wanted the dana 300 was because i am going to twin stick it put 4 to 1 gears hd output shaft flip it mate it to a sm465 350 combo and  since i allready have a 87 model gw d44 that i got for $20.00 that is in great shape that i am going to regear and convert to fit my yj would you still consider the 231 since i wont have to put a sye kit in the dana300 and the fact that the 300 is shorter than the 231 even with the 231 having a sye kit i havent started anything yet and it will be over the course of about 12 to 16 months before i can start installing anything because i am trying to get everything i need which is alot before i start and also on a budget each month  ,i know there will be hidden surprises but i want to plan ahead as much as possible and be proactive instead of reactive do it right the first time which reminds me of the motto we used to display at the machine shop that i worked at (why is there allways enough time to do it right the second time and not the first?)also (we have done so much, for so long, with so little we are now able to do anything, all the time, with nothing at all)LOL  and thanks in advance for the info it is greatly appreciated   Curt  

Do you have a 300?

You'll be $1200 bucks into the 300 besides the cost of the 300, by the time you get the flip kit and the 4:1 lo.

And, you'll have the time involved to put it together.

If it's about 4:1 lo, the only choice is an Atlas, IMO. They are on sell right now for $1999. That would be an easy one for me.

I question the need for a 4:1 lo with the 465. That's the beauty of the 465, the granny first.

So, money being no object, go with the Atlas. They are cool.

Otherwise, I'd probably put the money elsewhere and use a 231. There are also super short SYE's that cut off another 2-3 inches. But, I'm not sure how much of an advantage the extra couple inches makes. Running a Double Cardin drive shaft already cuts the working angle in half.  

Rock crawlers with a manual transmission should have a crawl ratio between 70:1 - 100:1.

A good trail 4x4 with a manual transmission should have a crawl ratio between 40:1 - 60:1.

With 4.10 gears, an SM465/231 (2.72:1) would have a crawl ratio of 73 in first gear.

With 4.10 gears, an SM465/300 (4:1) would have a crawl ratio of 107 in first gear, and a 59 in second gear. This may make your 465 first gear not very useful and you're giving up an overdrive, which leaves out some options for differential gearing and hi way use. 4:1 would look like a $600 expense for little use.

4.10 gears and 33" tires would still give you a hi way capable 2700 rpm at 65mph with the 465 in 4th gear.  

once again thanks for the advice i had allready used the novak calculator for the crawl ratio and rpm at 65 mph and didnt feel that it was a bad decision for the sm465 and np231j combo with a 350 but being new to 4 wheeling i wasnt sure how high of a crawl ratio i would need. most of the wheeling will be done at URE or Telico especially URE since i live about 20 minutes from there here in New London N.C. thanks for the info, Curt