thanks innuendo! that helps as where to measure it from and too! yeah i was not sure if slip yoke should be all way in, just a rough estimate looking at it.
I think my cross member is an aftermarket one that was bought from somewhere. came with my turbo 350 when i put that in. just somewhere along the lines it lost the bits on the side to bolt it in, so it got welded into mine, (was not my idea, i was going to get it fixed like i have now, it got put in when while i was elseware for a day ) I do think things are more lenient here in SA, but my dad is a welder by trade anyways so when it comes to engineering everything I do not think will be too much of an issue. hopefully!