I'm putting a front Ford RC Dana 44 under my 1990-91 YJ. I need to stay SUA. Which knuckle should I put on? (Once I become rich from being a teacher, I'll retire my YJ from the road and do the spring over. But, that won't happen any time soon...)

I'll be swapping in a waggy dana 44 rear as well. Can you convert a waggy 44 to the same bolt pattern as the F150 5 on 5 1/2?

Also, the Ford will have to be cut down to match the waggy rear. Do I have buy custom axle shafts or can I find junkyard shafts from another 4x and use that instead? What vehicle could I get the shafts from?

As far as the axle widths you could look for a front Dana 44 off a Wagoneer that matches the rear's width. Pull the shafts and have the Ford cut down to match. That way you don't have to cut down the shafts and have them resplined.
You might as well pull the knuckles off the Wagoneer too to maintain the 6 bolt pattern.

That is a great idea with the axles!

Would I be better off on the trail having 5 on 5 1/2 though. More donors. Seems that more parts would be available on the trail and off. Or is it common to run the 6?

RSQJEEP, how many Jeeps are you building?

If it were me, I'd stay with the 6 lug. It's the same bolt pattern as Chevy trucks, Toyota trucks and of course Full size Jeeps. If you wheel with guys that run those, you could at least use one of their spares. OTOH if you redrilled the rear to be 5 lug, you can swap tires between your CJ and your YJ. If your coming from stock YJ axles, you've got to buy rims either way. Your call.

Unless you really want the high pinion for some reason, just use both axles from a Waggy.

I really do want to go with the high pinion 44. I know it's going to be a lot of work, but I thing the results will be worth it. Plus, not many people have done it.

I think going with the 5 on 5 1'2" is great because then I can use my CJ wheels and tires as well. No Toyotas and Chevys with us wheeling. More Jeeps than anything.

How hard would it be to redrill waggy rear axles to 5 on 51/2"? That way I can keep my Ford knucles and hubs and only have to change the rear.

(G-Pa Jeep: Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it. I have 4 Jeeps that are always needing something. I bought the CJ thinking to use that as my trail rig and use my YJ as my everyday driver. Well, the bug bit and I started building my YJ and ignored the CJ. Now, I'm bored with the YJ and want to get back to the CJ. Also have a 64 CJ-5 that needs help; no spark, new generator and fuel pump; it never ends)

I don't think it would be hard at all. The bolt circle is the same, so you would only have to drill 4 of the holes. I have no idea how to accurately drill them though. I would take them to a machine shop. You could either drill the brake drum too or see if you can find some 5 lug drums that would work. Probably easier to just drill them at the same time if they're in good shape.

my first thought (since your SUA) is that you can use some knuckles that mount the tierod on top of the knuckle. (just to be higher out of harms way) there are some others, i'm using '75 chevy 44 knuckles (also have flat tops) for this reason myself...it has 6 bolts for the spindle, i'm not sure if your ford has 5 or 6 bolts holding the spindle to the knuckle. (i know some fords have 5)

I used a 78 Chevy Blazer's knuckles with the flat top. I used a high steer arm on the passenger side to connect a Rockstomper drag link to the steering box and a Rockstomper tie rod that mounts on top of the stock knuckle mounts.
The Ford and Chevy spindles are a different bolt pattern and not interchangable (unless you redrill them), however are the same size as in bearings and length as a 78-79 Ford Dana 44.
For the rear you could take the shafts to a machine shop and have them redrill them for 5x5 1/2 or order some alloy shafts from Moser or Dutchman. Just get a drum that is the same depth and diameter as your current one with a 5x5 1/2 pattern. That way it isn't weakened in any way by redrilling.

Very early (like pre-72) Waggy's were 5 on 5.5" just like the Ford
There is also a F-100 Rear Dana 44 to consider they would match up pretty close to a Waggy front (63" F-F..or so)