I have a 52 1/2 truck that came from kansas and has 37000 original miles and is all original and numbers matching. 216 engine 4 speed in the floor. I wanting to build a good weekend driver. The motor runs like a sewing machine. I have a 55 chevy 235 to go in it that has triple carbs on it. I have search and read on this forum about the rear end swaps. 70-81 camaro rear ends will work and 99 s-10 4x4 rear ends will work. Which is Better and easlier to put in. Does one fit better than the other?
Dude, Welcome to the forum where all of us will try to do our best to help and welcome you even though you are going to chop up a 55 year old stovebolt that only has 37,000 original miles. Motor runs like a sewing machine and you want to put a different engine and rear in it so you can have a daily driver? With all the expense, time and effort to put in an open driveline, new rear, new engine, new trans, just to have a daily driver, you might as well get in touch with "Patrick's". He can swap you out new gears for your rear end and you can cruise at 65 all day long. In my opinion, don't you chop up that beautiful and rare thing (37,000 miles...really?) But...it's your truck. Andy
What Andy Said ! It's a shame really , not too many unmolested ones left these days . swapping in that roaring 235 won't make it cruise any faster on the open highway and the triple carbys mean rather short engine life too . That being said , I prefer the 235 engine and I have one along with the Patric's 3.55 gears in my '49 and it goes 65 easily . more for short bursts , 70 + runs the old tech engine faster than it should be run for long... Swapping in a late model rear end means fabricating (welding) in new spring perches and then you'll need to replace the tranny as you cannot hook the open driveshaft to your Torque Tube tranny (look under your truck , the driveshaft is enclosed ) Actually , you can , just find a '56 or newer Chevy truck with the four speed tranny and take the entire back 1/2 off that and bolt it onto your old 4 speed floor shift tranny..... Wait ~ you have a column shift 3 speed tranny ? oh crap . now you need a whole new tranny and crossmember too , maybe you can find a three speed out of a '56 > truck or even car with overdrive..... It's all do-able but not unless you're good with tools and have a goodly bit of experiance . NOT trying to pi$$ on your parade here , go read older posts to see how others have done this and see if you want to get into it as 9 out of every 10 trucks taken apart , wind up junked.... Simply tuning it up sharpish will allow for a fun to drive vehicle that will easily outlast you .
Damn, you guys are being tuff! kg4mon, here's the deal. You said that you want a dependable weekend driver? Weekend drivers, in my mind, are different than daily drivers. If you want a weekend driver, leave it alone! If you want something you can drive everyday and you're worried about longevity, fuel economy, etc, let's talk. Your stock setup should have a 4:11 to 1 rear end gear ratio. Cool for pulling tree stumps out, not good for fuel economy. Simple fix? Patrick's 3:55 to 1 rear end kit. Very cost effective. Downside to putting a modern rear end in, is that you're stuck with modifications to the frame, wheelbase, rear wheel bolt pattern, etc. If you change out the rear end, what are you going to do about the front end to match wheels? I my opinion, and i'm going to sound like a hypocrite here, if you've got a 216 that purrs like a singer sewing machine, keep it. Why would Chevy have made them for so many years if they weren't a damn good engine? As Nate said, you won't get whiplash changing it out to a 235 (OK, He didn't quite say that, but you guys know what i'm talking about). Long story short, if it runs good, leave it alone. If it looks good, be tickled with it. If it's somewhere in between, slowly make it what you want, but, above all, drive it and enjoy it!
Ok for what it is worth from the King of staying original. Don't touch her. As a good friend of mine always Leave It !! Leave It !! Sounds like a great old original truck. No need to play with it. And like Nate stated a lot of times things started with all Good thoughts end up not being finished. You want a Nice weekend driver that will turn heads and also bring smiles to faces drive it like you brought it to the dance. While I also love looking at the Hot Rod trucks_(Yes Kevin just like a Great looking woman I do look just don't play with )I still like pulling up to the local store and have people come over espically the old timers-(No offense to some of you) Can't tell you the Great stories of driving so & so truck on the farm,learning to drive on one,etc... Also think of all the money you will save!!!
Whadyah think, Kevin? It sounds like putting a six lug, modern rear end in one of these old things is a silly idea. Good thing I'm not planning on doing that- or a T5 tranny. Really kg4mon, if all you want is a "weekend" driver, leave it be. If you want a daily driver with a six, then find some recent posts of mine, 'cause I'm doing just that. (on a 3/4 ton) Starting with a 1/2 ton front axle swap, followed by a rear end swap, followed by a T5 transplant, followed by a nice, smooth, glass of cab, straight from the box!
Sorry Guys, Work got in the way, I haven't been able to post back. I appreciate the replays. The 216 motor does run perfectly but it has a couple of bent pushrods and I miss quoted when I said I wanted a weekend driver I ment to say a daily driver. I have a 53 dodge truck for a weekend driver that is all orginal that has the 6 cyl. flat head in it. My father in-law give it to me about 5 years ago. He bought it NEW in 53. Back to the chevy my fav. It is pretty rough but never been touched. I have found some rear ends. Someone give some advice please. I haven't check the ratio's or posi on any of them yet. but I found rear ends out of 74, 79, and 68 camaro any of these easlier to fit than the others. I also found a s-10 4x4 blazer rear end. Can I use my truck springs? Any recommendations on a 4 speed that will fit the 55 model 235 engine I have.
The Easiest Way... Your current four speed (Muncie SM420) tranny will bolt right up to your 235 then simply rebuild the rear end using Patric's 3.55 gearset and you'll be off to the races (so to speak) . Fit some correct size 16" radial LT tires and your truck will ZOOOM right on down the road like mine does and it'll stick to the road and handle well too .
I was wanting to change to a 5 lug so that I could run some torque-thrust wheels. But hey maybe some smoothies would look good, that's about the only 6 lug wheel I would consider. Hell, I'm really confused about which way to go with this truck. Me and my father have been restoring and building muscle cars and street rods for over 20 years. I want to keep a 6-cyl. motor and I want to keep it a 4-speed. But I want something unique.
Great Site! Thanks again, Ken- I don't know how you find all these links! With your ability to find these sites, I'm even more impressed that you stay with this site! Thanks for sharing!
The reason I stay with this site? Let me count them, in no certain order: 1. Nate 2. Coilever 3. Brit50 4. Bill Hanlon 5. Kevins48 6. Tailgater 7. Boop's Dad 8. 54 Thunder 9. Chiro Point is, websites are websites! They are only as good as the person who wrote them or sponsered them. The above names are what keeps me here because they are the knowledge, the experience, the how-to guys. Oh yeah, can't forget KentC, Soloman, 54Chevy, oh Hell, I know i'm going to leave someone out and they'll get pi$$ed, but didn't mean to There's one more reason that I hang out here. It's because mom told me to watch out for my little brother because he's "special". Not sure if that meant that he rode the short bus to school or that he really had a secret talent. Lord knows, he'll need that talent to get that but-ugly GMC to look like a real truck!
It has been our experience that the S10 4x4 rear still needs a 1" spacer if you run modern wider profile tires. If buying custom wheels many now offer a range of backspacing so getting a pair with 1" less would also work. Most have right around a 3 1/2" stock so ones with 2 1/2" would work. Your spare would need to be a skinny 75 series radial or an old 6.00 or 6.50 bias if you didn't want to have an odd number of custom offset wheels. Of course if the front would accept the same wheels as the back then you could just get five alike. Might even be better because a wider wheel on the front wants to crash into the end of the steering arm/tie rod end if you keep the straight axle. Wish, Nate, would hush up on all these abandoned "dream" projects--keeps me a steady supply of parts trucks.
YOU Said It You want something ' unique ' ? nothing more unique than a totally stock vintage truck these days... Any damnfool came make a hot rod as there's so many choices but it's only original ONCE Very few are still unmolested . -Nate
Sorry guys I've been a little preoccupied!!!! Cool another Ky guy. Where is Pineville at. I'm originally from Paducah, Ky and currently live in Nashville tn. But enough about me.... Okay maybe a little more about me. Just giving you a little background on my truck before I go spillin my guts on the rear end. 50Chevy on an 88 model S-10 frame. I'm putting a 2wd 99 and up S-10 BLAZER rearend under it (I'll get to the reason for 2wd in a minute). Air bags by air ride technologies front and rear with a triangulated four link in the rear. Okay my reason for 2wd is because it is more narrow. The reason for more narrow is the 22X10.5 in wheels I'm putting in the rear. The 4wd will not let me go with that wide of a rim and I would rather have the rim size than the posi of the 4wd. The 4wd is wider and you can use with stock size wheels and will not stick out of the fenders. The reason for 99 and up BLAZER is they are disc brakes. The 4wd is a posi trac rearend with a 4:11 gear in most of them if not all ( I really think it is all though). The camaro rear ends are disc brakes as well I do believe and definately are the correct width. About the rear bolting up to your original springs, well I don't know. But the beauty of modifying the rear is that you get to put your wheel base at 118 inches instead of stock 116 which will center your wheel in the fender. Nate you think that any body can build a hot rod, well to me it takes a special way of thinking and a lot of skill to modify one. Not just everybody can look at something the way that it originally is and twist it another way, maybe even a better way and make something else work. I'm not trying to take anything away from you guys that go original because I really do respect the trucks that are done that way. Hell I openly admit I don't know enough about the originals to go that way. But don't take anything away from us guys that have the imagination and skill to modify our trucks and make them as unique as the guys driving them.
My Apologies Kevin Kevin ~ I spoke wrong ~ I cannot build a decent Hot Rod so obviously not every damnfool can . Plus , many vintage vehicles that would have been crushed were saved and put back on the road where they belong , by Hot Rodders . I just hate seeing so many stockers get chopped up over the years and since you're in The Trade you know I'm telling the truth when I say that 9 out of every 10 oldies taken apart for -any- reason , get scrapped . This was (maybe,not to me) O.K. in the 60's when oldies were $50.00 and everywhere but not to-day . I do know and respect that a properly built Hot Rod is indeed , a work of art and reflects the artistry of the builder in many cases and I wasn't right to scattershot insult you like that . My bad but I hope this truck doesn't get chopped up . Please to remember : in the end I always say : " it's YOUR truck and YOU paid for it so build it how it pleases YOU ! ". -Nate
No appologies. It's okay Nate you're still my buddy. I agree that alot of people do get these old vehicles and decide to customize it without truly knowing what they're getting in to. They don't understand the time (years) and the amounts of money (like mine about a $20-$30k project) that it takes to build a street rod properly and still look great. In alot of cases I hate to see some of these old trucks get chopped up to. I know I'm doing a lot of mods to mine but some just take it way to far. I'm not a big fan of the convertible AD's or chopped tops (though I have seen a few that look GREAT) but they bought it and built it so it their truck. As far as your truck KG, it does sound like a nice original and maybe you should leave it the way it is. But if you decide to go a different route then their are other people on here that can help with that too. If original then their is no better place to ask than Nate and Ken. If custom then Coilover has done several and I mean great works of art. I myself have been working with customs for a while and if I don't know the answer then I may have some friends that can find the answer. Keep us posted on what you decide. You've definately joined a good group of guys here. Oh yeah and we like to see pictures.
Me? Original? I'm going full blown custom, dude. Did you forget about my hot rod mill? And upgrade to 12 volt? Shoot, i'm even thinking about upgrading those Hucks on the front and back. 4 wheel Bendix, baby! Gotta have dependable "Whoa power" for that jet engine! Way cool I ain't gonna get rid of my torque tube though 'cause they ROCK!
Hear Hear! As long as they're rollin' and loved by the guy or gal behind the wheel, that's what matters. The more of these on the street, the better this world will be! I agree Kevin, it takes a bunch of searching and risk to step outside the box and put something together that is just an idea. If done right, you won't even notice untill you look under the hood~ maybe not even then?
Well Ken I guess I looked at yours is WAY more original than what mine will be and you know your shit on the way they should be so that's why I gave that reference to you. I guess you're going that 1950's hot rod style, 235 instead of your 216, 12volts, you better look out or next you'll have some baby moons and a flat black paint job.
