The 3/4 tons had a long bed, and the different rear springs. So you get an open driveshaft and a longer wheelbase. (longer e-brake cables, longer running boards, 8 lug wheels/ suspension and bigger brakes) Most everything else is interchangeable. Good luck!
hey soul man, the biggest difference in appearance is the wheelbase, 116 in on the half tons vs 125 1/4 in on the three quarter ton. most of the sheetmetal will be interchangable except, of course, for the bed sides. mechanically, they are different, i.e. gross vehicle weight, rear end gear ratio (4.11 on half ton vs. 4.57 on three quarter ton). If you haven't already done so, you need to call Chevrolet and order their free restoration package. it's got a lot of good info in it.
To add to the information already submitted, the frame is also quite different from the 1/2 ton unit. The 3/4 ton frame is not flared all the way to the rear of the truck as is on a 1/2 ton'er. Being that it is virtually straight from the cab back it makes the rear bumper brackets different too.
Wow - you gotta rare truck there S.M. not a lot of these one year only trucks left , be gentle with the bed as it's different . The _really_ good news is : you can easily swap out the pumpkin with one from an automatic tranny equipped 3/4 ton from '57 ~ '72 and gain decent highway speeds and it's a true BOLT UP deal ! wow ! now go looking in Pick-A-Part yards to find the vans , they're out there but oh so popular so the pumpkins go quick . ENJOY your new truck ! .
Thanks for all the information. It's nice to have such a wealth of it out there. I have lots more questions, but start with one. The truck has a two-piece radio in it. Under the dash is a tuner, and under the dash behind the steering column is the works of it. I was driving down a Kansas farm road when the I guess the tubes warmed up and the radio blared with static. I tuned it in and the very first thing that came on was "I'm a soul man." Interestingly enough, at some time long ago, someone had painted on the drivers door, "Sanford and Son" It's like the truck told me what name I should put on the antique tag. Anyway, what can you tell me about this radio? Is it stock or aftermarket? Is it worth keeping?
I remember the old radios well. You'd turn them on and get a humming noise out of them until they warmed up. Yes the two piece design is original to your truck,but I can't tell you how many were made.
IIRC , Chevy had done away with the two piece radios by 1954 but it could easily have been a high end (better quality) aftermarket unit . It uses a vibrator to boost voltage up for the plates in the tubes , the points tend to stick every so often and the bouncing of the truck popped them loose , is why it came on ~ that's the faint humming sound you hear when you switch on a vintage tube typ car radio .(the vibrator working) I'd say yes , it is worth keeping , replace the speaker with a _matching_ ohms one ASAP to see how well it works , then figure out if you want to have it rebuilt or just keep it working , self servie is easy , remove the case cover and look for the big ftall topped aluminum tube looking thing , that's the vibrator , it'll have either 3 or 4 pins and they now make replacement ones that are transistorised and ground specific , the old ones bon't care about polarity . if you're on a real budget and it stops working , carefully pry off the cover and run some stiff lint free white paper between the points to clean them up , this fixes 95 % of vibrator troubles . Write down the tube #'s and get some N.O.S. spares off E-pay or other old stuff site , they only cost $5.00 ~ $10.00 each and many older TV repair shops will have them sitting on the shelf... Having it rebuilt is better as the capacitors are crummy quality (old tech) and should all be replaced to protect the rest or the radio from burning out should one fail catastrophically . Enjoy ! .
Thanks Nate. Is there any easy way to replace the 8-bolt drums so I can find wheels that will fit it easier? I'm guessing these are larger than on the 1/2 ton, so they wouldn't be interchangelable. I don't think I've seen any 8-bolt wheels that I like. Gary
Easiest way is my lazy way : go to junkyard and buy whole axles with 6 lugs.... I dunno if that's practical but I'm a cheapskate and a farm mechanic so that's how I'd approach it ~ living as I do in Los Angeles , I'd prolly beat the bushes for someone who's hot rodding one and buy his axles and etc. for pennies on the pound , hot rodders think stock stuff is junk even though it'll outlast 90 % of all the hot rods on the road... You'll need to measure your spring width of course to ensure the perches will mate up sans welding .
Nate, Cheap is good. Before, you said "you can easily swap out the pumpkin with one from an automatic tranny equipped 3/4 ton from '57 ~ '72 and gain decent highway speeds and it's a true BOLT UP deal !" Does this mean another straight 6, or possibly a v6 or a small V8? I really would rather stick with a 4-speed, but is that possible? Is there a dependable diesel that would be "bolt up?" And, forgive my ignorance, would the axles from the above mentioned van be a good fit? How do I know which rear end would give me good highway service when matched up with any particular tranny? Thanks. Gary
Gary ; Your response tells me I may have exceeded your mechanical ability here . The ' Pumpkin ' is the center part of the rear end that holds the ring & pinion , spider gears etc. ~ they're interchangable from 3/4 ton AD's and later model 3/4 ton Chevy's , vans with automatic trannies in particular tend to have a better (higher) ratio . there are some details one must be able to follow though , like counting the splines on the inner axle ends . I wasn't talking about engine swaps as there are _NO_ modern engines that ' bolt up ' to your truck . I don't want to give you advice that will result in your truck in tiny pieces and you pi$$ed off... This is not beginner stuff although it's not terribly difficult either .
Nate, Thanks for the explanation. I'm not a beginner, but not highly experienced, either. I helped my son do a complete rebuild of his '85 Toyota 4Runner down to and incluiding making changes to the frame. Still, I'm not up on all the lingo, and reading what you have to say is very helpful. I anticipate learning a great deal through this project, and would far rather ask questions on what I don't understand before I make the big mistakes than after. Thanks again. Gary
O.K. Gary ; Lots has been posted on these old trucks so read up and take notes , if you can fix a Toyletta , this truck will be a cakewalk . Always ask questions first ! the only ' stupid ' question is the one not asked . Shop manual and parts manual for your truck will be invaluable to see how it al goes to-gether again , cheap too @ $29.99 each or less if used and there's plenty os used ones out there .
