Dana 30 rebuild

I'm tearing down the dana 30 this weekend and I have some questions. The axle has been modified from its original build. Originally it was a drum brake axle (I have the old hubs). Now its equipped w/ later style (7/8" rotor) discs. It has 6 bolt caliper brackets (jeep Al) and 5 bolt hubs w/ jeep hub locks. I had considered putting the old hubs on and doing a Chevy disc setup, but since everything is already here I may leave it as is. The kind of wheeling I do is mostly river bottom sand, mud, and water crossings. The plan is to rebuild, regear (4.88s), and add an Auburn Gear LS. Talk on the site here suggests the 5 bolt hub locks are weak and of course the bigger 1 1/8" rotors and Chevy brakes would add some more meat to the binders. Should that be a concern?
Any other thoughts are certainly welcome too.:v6:
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Are the hubs interchangeable?

How do you decipher the date stamp?
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After looking I realize I erred when thinking AG made a LS for Dana 30s. However, Randy's, Tom's Bronco, and Reider Racing all have powerlocks. So I may buy one of them. If that doesn't pan out it'll be a TrueTrac.:v6:

 

I'd check the bearing sizes inside the bearing hub. They might be different. I know that they were when I did my swap.

 

the hubs are interchangeable. either will fit your spindle. i'm not certain about the bearings, but i believe they are the same (inner and outer) for the 5-bolt and 6-bolt hubs. also should fit either rotor.

however, the locking hubs are not interchangeable (5-bolt vs 6-bolt).

i converted my drums to the 7/8 rotors with the 2-bolt calipers, using a 6-bolt wheel hub and my original 6-bolt locking hubs. i had to change the spindle from the drum spindle, which had identical inner/outer bearings, to the "disc" spindle, which has an outer bearing with a smaller inside diameter.

personally, i don't find the 7/8 rotors to be a problem. the cj stops fine running 34x10.5x15 ltb tires. i even used the original master cylinder.

edit: your original drum wheel hubs won't fit on the newer disc spindle using the original bearings from the drum setup. the newer spindles are tapered, whereas the earlier drum spindles weren't, and used the same bearings inside and out.

 

To throw something else into the mix, you have the 6 bolt calper brackets. Those were originally used with the thicker 1 1/8" rotors. The 7/8" will "work" but really aren't correct. If the pads wear too far and the rotor wears too far you could have caliper issues.
I'd definitely switch to the 6 bolt locking hubs and bearing hubs as they are much smaller.
You can have the back of the older hubs machined for the rotor if necessary, then put on the 1 1/8" rotors and use your existing calipers and brackets. That will save you the money and time of purchasing the Chev calipers and brackets.

 

What do you mean here Nick? :v6:

 

Oops! Brain fart at 6 am. I meant much stronger. Sorry about that....