Yeah, it was quite the head scratcher. The dimensions were the same for the old vs: new bearings. The specs look to be ok. on the bearings. The outers have a static rating of 3400lbs, and the inners 4200. That's 15200 lbs of load for the whole axle assembly. Of course, being an automobile, we have to think about things like axial load and shock load. Those bearings were design to be mount on a shaft that just goes round and round, not twist, turn, and bounce.
I'm with you, the more I look at it the more I'm for tapered roller bearings or even NOS ball bearings.
BTW, Yes I am planning on keeping the front hubs. I'm currently working on disc brake setup using a Chevy van rotor and caliper assembly. The rotors fit over the factory hub perfectly. My first attempt for the caliper brackets failed, so I'm on version 2 right now. Check out my pics at
www.photobucket.com/whitedog76pics
