your gonna need a lockout,heavy duty clutch,big carbs and intakes,timing plate,big bore domes,TZ and max load bearings and probably an override tranny cause it won't shift with all that power on a stock one.
I just did the same thing last weekend and the ball came out ,but the shaft was stuck.I took 1/4in socket extension and put it in the shaft and gave it a good whack with the hammer and it broke the weld,then the magnet pulled it out.
A buddy of mine did just that same thing your asking about and it works fine.I think the conflicting advice might be when the larger bearings for the drag axle comes into play.