The housing is modified in a large way, as I have welded coil spring pockets and 4 bar mounts and a Panhard rod to the housing that is now installed. As far as working under the car as opposed to "on the bench", yeah, your right---its a pain. I was curious about the rearend gear change, but right now gasoline is selling for $4.28 a gallon in Ontario, so I probably won't do anything that will increase my gasoline consumption.