Axle shaft for '58 Firedome Ambulance

That all sounds correct and, yes, they are Mopar only. Since you'll have to find someone with a used axle shaft (and I am not sure if the p/n is machined onto it anywhere), be sure they have confirmed it's 31 5/8" long and/or know that it for sure came out of an open rear differential. The reason I mention this is because the sure-grip shaft is a very close 31 1/2" long and you'll end up with too much axle play if you use them. I would try the following parts guys for shafts:

Murray Park (NDC member): Email, text, or call, www.cbodies.com

John Fowlie at Big M Automotive: http://www.bigmauto.com/

French Lake Auto Parts: https://www.frenchlakeautoparts.com/

Regarding bearings and seals, those are indeed available new. I bought Timken brand bearings through RockAuto just last year for my '59 Fireflite. Timken parts are mostly made in USA and also matched the brand of what I pulled off my car. When you get to ordering bearings, I used the factory Mopar Parts Book (which it looks like you have access to) to get the Mopar numbers and then I found a website to punch them in and get the Timken equivalent numbers. For some of them, I searched the Timken number on RockAuto directly, rather than going through the standard menu for the car because they showed up that way, but not under the car parts menu. Also note that RockAuto incorrectly showed some Firesweep bearings for my Fireflite when I did look at the car parts menu, and the Firesweep differential is different. I found the correct ones by looking under "Adventurer", which is common with the Firedome and Fireflite. I'm just saying this so that you verify what you need as RockAuto can sometimes be wrong.

Thanks, David.  yeah, I noticed that the lengths listed in the parts book were nearly identical.  1/8" difference?!  I should confirm the rear end that is on my car as I really don't know much about this car yet.  thanks for the tip about Rock Auto, too.  Not sure I would have thought to try them for a car of this era.

To help positively identify the rear end on your car, you should be able to find stampings on the differential housing on a smooth/flat section on the passenger side, maybe about the 4 o'clock position if viewed from the rear. It should list the ratio (ex: 3.31), as well as a separate "S" if it's a sure-grip. I had to degrease mine in order to see the stampings.

I see you also have a '67 Chrysler Newport Custom listed in your signature line. I grew up riding around in a '67 New Yorker and my dad had a number of '67-'68 Chryslers, including some '67-'68 Newports and Newport Customs. Since I love that body style and the 2-door fast-top roofline, I purchased a '68 Chrysler 300 2-door hardtop in 2024. It's a largely original car and well-optioned, including the 440 TNT option. That is my second c-body in my current collection (a '66 Fury III 2-door hardtop purchased from the original owner being the other) and third c-body I have owned ('66 Chrysler New Yorker town sedan). Here's a photo of my '68 300 (I will be swapping the Cragars for Magnum 500s in spring) and a link to the story on the Fury if you're interested:

https://www.forcbodiesonly.com/mopar-forum/threads/original-owner-documented-survivor-1966-fury-iii-383-commando-v8.89792/

Shawn-  I show the same part nos. in the 1959 parts book.  1675 448 for the 31 5/8", 1829 266 for the 31 1/2" Sure Grip.

Getting those brake drums off the tapered axle can be a real bitch, even with the proper tools.  The factory tool (pictured) is a 3 point puller.  NDC member Les Fairbanks makes a 5 point puller that works better than the 3 point, keeping even pressure on the drum to avoid warping.

Good luck!

Glenn

David, that is a gorgeous looking 300!  Mine Newport Custom is a bit of a Frankenstein creation.  My grandparents bought it in '69 and gave it to me 20 years later when I graduated HS.  My uncle, who ran a shop, rebuilt the engine for me (and has provided invaluable assistance with it since).  When I went to do a full restoration on it in the 90s, we discovered the rust monster had done major damage the frame rails.  So, I found a California car and proceeded to transfer the entire drive train and interior (which I had also redone) to the new chassis.  The original engine was a 383 Magnum (the car was a June '67 build so this car got one of the early 68 Magnum engines).  As a bonus, the California chassis happened to have the "police package" suspension!   I got about 95% of the resto completed before I had to move across the country and now the car has been sitting in my garage for two decades because I took on a 100-yr old house restoration.  All that is left to finish is the swapping of the dash (my original car is blue with blue interior and the CA car was all black...:/).  One of these days I will get back to it.  Unfortunately, all of the pics I have of it are from before I owned a digital camera.   btw, I do have some extra parts if you are ever in need of anything.

@glenncolburn Hey Glenn, yeah, I got one of Les Fairbanks' pullers and had it sent to the shop and I hope that works better.  They tried that 3-legged style and had no luck (and destroyed my axle shaft!).  Those are the risks you take when your car is in a shop 80 miles away from where you live.  I'm just hoping to get this thing moving and stopping again under its own power so I can get it close to home and do the work myself.  I've screwed some things up before but never that badly.  geez.

I can attest about the problem of using SureGrip axels with an open rear end. My gear guy thought 1/8" on length wouldn't make a difference. After 5 miles of driving, the rear end locked up and also destroyed the reverse band of the transmission.