Hi guys I’m Steve from England, I have been a member for a while and already had great advice from Nait and Evan I am rebuilding my 1951 3600 as near original as possible (without being to picky) but after reading on here that the ¾ ton 1951 Chevy 3600 long bed still has the Huck brakes on it I have decided I will go for discs up front, I would also like to match the rear stud pattern as well 5 stud if I can, so I looked for a disc conversion for the front, great , not great, they don’t do one for the ¾ ton so I’m thinking half ton axles front and rear then a disc conversion up front and a servo? But like I said I’m in England so I cant take a trip to the scrap yard and find some they don’t have them here, so I’m waiting for somebody to advertise some, until then do any of you guys know what else I can use bearing in mind I want to stay at least looking original (discs accepted) as much as I can, is there a known hub/carrier/calliper that I can replace the existing with from the kingpin out? Any other suggestions gratefully received. (as soon as i have bolted back something to photograph i will post them) thanks Steve
1/2 ton axle swap Steve, the half ton axle bolts right onto the 3/4 ton. If you get a '52~'54 front axle, you could just continue with the drum brakes they had. OR you can go with the conversion to disc with 6 OR 5 lugs. Find a rear end that has the same, and you're good to go. I have a 3/4 that I already have a 1/2 ton axle under the front. I'll be going 6 lug disc conversion because I want to keep my original 6 lug wheels that came with the 1/2 ton donor. Good luck! And yes, we would love to see some pictures of your truck!
yep, listen to Zig he has done a lot of research on this and is doing it on his 3/4 ton. now if you only had a GMC not a chevy
re axles hi all and thanks for getting back to me about the axles on my 3/4 ton Chevy, i may have a solution to my problem a guy in the UK has got in touch saying he has a mate with what he thinks are axles of a 52 1/2 ton GMC now i am assuming they are the same as Chevy, but i just thought i would make sure with you guys? i have (if i have done it right) posted the picture that i brought the truck off eBay from, i imported it from California to the uk on the understanding it was a half ton truck no doubt had i had more experience i would have been able to tell from the picture it was not, anyway i was hardly going to send it back was i, so the quest continues...... thanks to zig and wolf for there help with this. steve.
8 lugs and an ugly hub~ Yesser, you got yourself a nice 3/4 ton truck, alright! How 'bout that. Your Chevy will have a GMC axle, my GMC has a Chevy axle! I went ahead and put on new springs as well. They are 2" lowered by Eaton. This is such a simple swap, you don't even need to do anything except unbolt the old and bolt in the new. Now once that's done, the REAL upgrade will be swapping out that 8 lug rear end! Even with that stock 4 speed transmission, a mid 3. something will improve it's highway speed! Good luck with everything, Steve!
Zig... about how much was your spring upgrade? Did they come with the shackles and everything? Brian ________ maryjane
UK sites Hi fellow brit, if your looking for axles then check out flea bay regularly as they do come up also look on the nrsa message board parts for sale, see them on there too where guys are chucking em out for new front clips etc. i have a spare 1/2 ton axle but its just the bare beam, no spindles, brakes etc, i swapped it out for a 4'' dropped one from sids. Ps, do your self a favour and avoid them G*C bits. like poison to a true chevy
If you want to keep the 8 lug rear end, then change out the pumpkin to 410/1 or get a 342/1 from a 1972 and use it. It will be alittle wide as some do not care about that, others have the 1972 cut down to the wheel base our trucks have. If you really need the lesser bolt rims (5) then go for the t-bird or jag rear-end.
Eaton Brian, they have the shackles, but mine were fine so I just got the springs that had new bushings in them, and I got the new u-bolts that bolt it to the axle. All said, it was about $500. I just want the front end to be brand new, lower, as well as a new braking system.
