I got the rear axle housing all disassembled, now I just need to drill out the plugs that hold the tube in the center section. pull the tube out. using the one cut method, cut 2 15/16 off the end of the tube and insert tube back into center section. weld everything in place and reassemble with two short side axles. let me tell you, those are some beefy axles. this thing will be very durable.
a little progress, I went back to the wrecking yard where I bought the housing from and traded them my long side axle for another short side axle, no cash involved, small victory...
Yesterday I got the 3 plugs that secure the axle tube into the center section drilled out, tomorrow I'm taking it down to the shop where I work to see if We can get the tube extracted from the center section .... stay tuned.