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1980 MIRADA

F/M/J body axle width is very close to A body.

...but F/M/J has a much more generous wheel well, allowing you to get away with a wider one.

I'd say a 68-70 B body would probably work.

I really don't know if they put Dana's in 66/67 cars, but that would be closer.
Allow me to interrupt; F,M,J body= B-body diffys and you'll need to replace the alignment pin and drill the spring pad. Perches are about 1" narrower so each spring comes in about 1/2" . They work great.
 
Does that 9.25 bolt into a Mirada?
I can't find my dang book now but If I remember right when I was looking 3 years ago the spring perch width on a cordoba/late B was like 47" give or take.
I think on the earlier B's like 1970 it was more like 45". E bodies and C bodies had their own dimensions. I think C body was 2" wider.

I might have my F/M/J dimensions backwards with which era it matches to. I am not an expert on the 80's cars. I suggest a 9.25" because I think they were available on gov't cars and are otherwise laying all over the place. Dana 60's for a Mopar car are expensive, and I don't think there is much else outside of trucks to find them, which obviously everything will be too wide then.
You can measure your spring perch distance, if it is closer to the 45 then the 47 then your best bet might be an 8.75" from a 1970ish car, unless you don't care about the 4 grand price tag of a Dana. If it is closer to the 47" a 9.25 out of a Cordoba should bolt in.
The other thing about 7.25/8.25/9.25 is the driveshaft length is the exact same, an 8.75" needs the shaft shortened a bit to be correct. I am sure a Dana would need adjustment also. Brakes swap from 8.25 to 9.25 also so you can skip that expense altogether maybe.

Sorry I am not giving definitive answers for you, but double check all this before you pony up for a Dana :) that's a chunk of change to find out it won't fit without an overhaul. I will keep trying to find my book for my Monaco project, I had this nifty pictogram with the dimensions in it, showed flange width, spring perch, and axle center to u joint length(driveshaft). Maybe someone else has that handy to, I think it was published in a Mopar book.....
 
Mirada 8.25 perches are 44.46” and flange to flange is 54.34”
Edit; drum to drum is 59.34”

62 to 70 B-Body rears are 44” on the perches
65 to 67 B-Body rears 54.24 flange to flange
68 to 70 B-Body rears 54 15/16” flange to flange
Edit; Drum to Drum is 60.13


J body 44.46” springs can be coerced to span 44” B-Body perches.

As stated the DS must be shortened

ISO delete using B-Body shocks and shock plates along with the U Bolts are the way to go.

Tire clearance is tightest between the front, lower inside edge of the wheel well (almost by the leaf spring)

I actually move an 8.75” B-Body rear axle back 1” by drilling the perches and the shock plates for added tire clearance.

A standard 15X7 Mirada rim with a 275/60/15 (28X9) tire will just clear without moving the axle back.

Anything bigger like a 30” tall tire will rub on the inside front edge of the wheel well.
 
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Not to take away from this thread, but since you mentioned it. Here is my old 86 Daytona Turbo Z (2.2 5speed. The car passed 305,000 miles all original!

View attachment 1743319

View attachment 1743320
I still have my 5 speed 86 Turbo Z CS version. I drove it daily from new in 86 until 2001. It runs but recently the fuel pump died. I'll get to it eventually. I did that job in 2008 and don't look forward to it. Otherwise it's all original. Oil changes every 2500 miles, it may run forever... 20230510_175835.jpg
 
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