Hello All, Specifics: 54 235 Stock 3 spd tranny rear end gears? 3.90 or so I'd guess... Haven't spun the rear tires. Yesterday I took the truck out on the highway and I realized: a.) I have no idea how tight I AM winding the engine, and b.) I have no idea how tight I SHOULD be winding the engine. I "felt" by ear that I was close to the "red line" but I do not know. I can take my old meter, create some long leads and I have a cobbled tach. But what is safe? Can I go 60 MPH safely? 65? Cheers!
Cruising RPM's Bruce ; Do the tach thing and figure out where 3,000 RPM's are and try not to exceed that when driving on the freeway . Winding it up a bit whilst going up through the gears is O.K. as long as you understand this is NOT a Honda engine I know many folks run thier 235's @ 3,200 RPM's all day long when travelling the freeways but much more than that is asking to put a rod through the side of the engine block .
Tall tires bruce 16" tires will help that 390 gear in your 54 a bunch when cruisin at 60-65. When you finally get tired of all that whirligig racket going that fast in your near stock AD, get ahold of a ring and pinion set of 355's. Like majic, 65 mph at 2600 rpm. 60 is real comfortable at 2400 rpm all day long. The difference a gear can make is unbelievable. 355 gears and 16" tires on your 235 will take you the long way home. I can even listen to my radio at highway speed. Jim
Jim, Thanks - that's exactly what I was looking for. Where's the best place to pick up a R&P set for these trucks? Cheers!
The place to go for the R&P set is "Patrick's". Very pricey. $700.00 including installation kit plus shipping. I have been toying with the idea of putting in a torque tube rear from a Chevy car that has a power glide in it. I have been told these rears have really low ratio's. Can't remember exact ratio now. I have to look it up again. Guy near me has one and would pull it and give it to me for nothing. From what I understand, it is a direct bolt in. Only thing that has to be done is to pull the axles and have them re-drilled for the stock 6 lug bolt pattern as the cars had five lug IIRC. Certainly would be cheaper than the Patrick's kit. I have never done a R&P set myself, so the cost would be prohibitive for me to go with Patrick's as I would have to have someone actually do the installation. Patrick quoted me a price of $1000.00 IIRC to set mine up if I shipped it to him. Add shipping costs of this very heavy item and having him do it is just not in the price range. Really nice guy though and I will definately be buying some things from him. Guy around the corner from me did the installation himself and absolutely raves about the results. Naturally, taller tires can help out a lot. 16" tires and wheels are what most the guys talk about, but I think you can get a set of 15" tires nearly as big. Our Grand Poo-bah, Nate recommends tires that are close to 30" in diameter. I am running 235/75 R15 tires which are just over 28.5" in diameter. Haven't actually been on the road with them yet as the truck is not road worthy yet, but I'm working on that. If they don't do the trick for me as far as crusing at highway speed is concerned, I am going to look into doing the powerglide rear swap seriously. Andy
R&p I got everything from patrick's, they are also very helpful technically, and I always need help. You will also want to kit the whole torque tube and axle set with new bushings and bearings while you have it apart. make everything new. Swab everything clean inside. Note that the ring and pinion sets are made for 47-53 torque tube rears and the 54 is one of a kind. This requires you to find a donor carriage for your new ring gear from an earlier rear end. One of those "oops" items the parts folks generally don't advise us 54 owners about until we are torn down and own the new ring and pinion. Almost any donor will do. I really enjoy my 355 gears. Jim
Powerglide Torque Tube Andy ; IIRC , you can use the axles from a '47 passenger car to get the 6 lugs , might fit all the way back to '40 in fact and these are usually tossed out by the Hot Rod builders . _before_ you put any time or effort into the Powerglide T.T. swap , take a TRUCK U-joint rear yoke and test fit it onto the front end of the driveshaft where it pokes out of the Oakie Bushing as GM fiddled the spline count & width a few times over the years ~ IIRC you can mix 'n match the spider gears to make the earlier passenger car axles work in your truck's Banjo . I'm far from my shop manuals but I seem to remember about 3.72 for Slip 'N Slide Poweglide equipped cars .
