Originally Posted by
FBinNY
Shimano has been using the same freehub/shell interface for decades, so just about any Shimano body should fit. If you stick with one that has the same number of speeds, and use the same length axle there's no redishing of the wheel needed. OTOH, if you go with a wider body, or lengthen the axle accommodate a wider frame, then you'll need to redish.
I've never noticed you being wrong on mechanical matters, but I find myself scratching my head over this one. I went the opposite direction last year (put a 9-speed freewheel on a 7-speed hub) and I don't remember having to redish. The original hub used 130 OLD spacing, and it stayed that way with the new hub. It seems to me that as long as the axle spacing doesn't change the number of speed that the freehub can accommodate shouldn't matter. So if the OP puts a 7-speed freehub on an 8-speed hub body, I'd expect just a few extra millimeters of axle showing but no need to redish. Am I making an incorrect assumption somewhere?
BTW, when I did my hub transplant I think I kept the non-drive side cone and dust cap from the original hub body but used the parts from the new freehub on the drive side.