Neil Mastroianni '50 3100 Shortbed Hi All! I recently have started the 5 lug disc kit for my truck and in doing so, contacted Stockton Wheel to have them use my centers to build wheels that will provide clearance for the calipers. While on the phone they recommended that I get a 64-77 Chevelle rear end which would be 62" wide. They suggested this so that I may have 4 of the same wheels as opposed to 2 front 5 lugs and 2 rear 6 lugs. Is this a correct suggestion for rear ends? If I do decide to get this rear end: 1. What's the best way to go about getting one? 2. I would have to get a custom made external drive shaft, right? 3. Would the old four speed transmission I have installed be able to stay on this truck? Just don't know how it would take being hooked up to an external drive shaft. Nationwideparts.com has a rear end assembly fitting the suggestion for $2050 newly made not used. Is this good? Thanks for your help!
RE: 50 1/2 Ton Rear End Swap 64-77 Neil, the width sounds ok, but I think the Chevelles used coil springs. It would mean grinding off all the old brackets, etc. and welding on new ones. I used a 1980 camaro 10 bolt for my conversion. They used leaf springs. You may still have to grind and weld, but less. A lot of it depends on the rear suspension you will use. I found one with a 3.43:1 ratio. There are some that came with disc brakes also, some posi too, but you may have to search. The axles are often worn at the bearing surface, so keep an eye for that. What kind of budget are you looking at, and what kind of engine setup? The 10 bolt is good enough for most normal applications. 12 bolts are even stronger. A late 90's camaro rear disc brake setup is a bolt on, with parking brake cables, and possibly shocks being the only real custom issues. As for the tranny, you need an open driveline, which means the yolk, and rear cover from a later 4 speed transmission is needed to convert it. A custom driveshaft, with a slip joint built in is also needed. What rear springs, or suspension are you using? It may make a difference on how a differential is mounted up. Driveline angle will also need to be set. And keep in mind, disc brake calipers may be a rim clearance issue, so decide front and rear brakes before custom building rims. It sounds like a lot, but it's really not too bad. Let me know if I can help, as I have made some of the changes to mine, and may be able to save some headaches......Mike
RE: 50 1/2 Ton Rear End Swap 64-77 Neil Mastroianni '50 3100 Shortbed Here's my situation: I am closing on a house in a few weeks and would like my truck operational by then to help with the move etc. The truck currently has: A 235 six cyl. engine with a 4 on the floor. The truck is lucky to hit 55 downhill with the wind behind it. That's ok, for now. It has the enclosed drive shaft with the matching differential and two rear leaf springs and tube style shocks. It's just going to be an around towner for now. I would like to, within a 1.5 years, put a '63 283 small block in that my dad has laying around. When I do that, I will need to get a new transmission, well, a new driveline. I know very little of "setting driveline angle" or anything like that. I would definitely appreciate your guidance on this project. You did some/all of these things to your truck? Do you have pictures? A website? I'll start taking pictures of mine and I'll put it on a website within a few days. Try... http://www.geocities.com/suancho/50.html in a few days. -Neil
RE: 50 1/2 Ton Rear End Swap 64-77 [updated:LAST EDITED ON Sep-10-05 AT 05:35 AM (CST)]Neil, I have a 73 Chevelle rear end in my 52 1/2 ton. It fits perfectly. The only thing I had to do was weld spring perches. No biggie. I found a drive shaft that didn't have to be modified at all. I don't remember what it came off of though. For the perches I took a piece of square tubing, drilled the proper size hole for the diameter of the housing and cut it in half, thereby having both perches. Set the housing so that the carrier housing is tilted up 4 degrees from level. phantom
