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New guy and truck seeking advise

bammiller84

bammiller84

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New to the forum and just got my 1948 Chevy pickup in late March. My father-in-law and I completely redone the interior paint and all. I have done a few other things to it. Truck is stock with the 216, 3speed on floor with granny gear, and stock rearend. The motor runs good and max out at about 46-48mph. I want to keep the 6 in it and put Fenton headers and dual carb intake possibly or should I look for a 235? Is the 3:55 gears my best option to get a little faster on the highway?

Also attached a few pics.
 

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Hi and welcome!

Great pics, thank you for sharing.

The 3.55 is one option, the advantage of that approach is it lets you keep your existing rear end (with enclosed drive shaft, aka torque tube). Also discussed recently is swapping the transmission to a 3 speed with overdrive, downside of which is having to swap the rear and driveshaft - not necessarily more expensive than the gears, install kit, and labor. There are a couple of active threads on the OD swap in this forum.

The 235 is a nice swap, in that it nets you a few more cubes and a full pressure oiling system. There is also a 261 CID version of the same block, with a good bit more giddyup. They came in bigger trucks, and are a little harder to come by (but not impossible). If the 216 runs well, you may want to keep it for now as you develop long-term plans for the truck and decide how you will use it.

Welcome!
mark.
 
Welcome aboard and enjoy the ride while here. Great looking truck, thanks for posting them for us to admire. You can order the parts 355/1 from Joe (mothertruckers) on this site if you need to .
 
235 gets you dependability and good oiling. An S10 5speed and modern rearend gets you better drivability and better brakes. A disc brake kit for the front helps stopping tremendously.

Check my tech threads for installs on most of these.
 
Welcome!

You must have read that we like pictures, huh? :D

Yeah~ What they said for speed/dependability.

Max speed is around upper 40'S? Sounds more like a 3/4 ton. I had a '50 1/2 ton Chevy when I was young and stock it did 55 okay. (Sure didn't go much higher than that however...)

It seems like several of us have opted for a new rear to go faster. Plus disc brakes up front to stop better. The good news is the disc brake conversion bolts right onto a 1/2 ton axle. Kits for this vary a bit in cost and ease of installation. (Some MC don't require a proportioning valve, others do. Some mounting plates require the removal of a steering stop, some don't. etc.)

Anyway, welcome! That is a great job you've done on -everything!
 
Yep I knew I had to post some pics before I got any help. Thanks for the great info. A few things to think about and decide. Good thing is I will just keep cruising the way it is and enjoy it until I decide.
 
Your 216 or 235?

I see things in your engine photos which lead me to question whether you do have a 216 in your truck.

The rocker cover side panel on the passenger side of your engine is short more like a 235 cover. Your carburetor is the correct Rochester B, your intake looks identical to the intake on the 56 235 in my 54.

Short tires may be holding your top speed down as well as the 412 rear?

The 216 valve cover will fit on a 235 if one installs the studs to tighten it down and uses the 216 cover gasket.

I will peruse your photos closer.
Enjoy

Jim
 
I have 235's on the rear. Top speed is over 50, but seems to run smooth at about 48mph.

I found the casting on the block and it is GAA940I28. Where is the code on the heads?
 

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Welcome bam !

Nice looking truck you have there .

You have a 216 CID " Babbitt Pounder " engine there , make no mistake so keep the RPM's below 3,200 except when running it up through the gears else you'll blow it up quickly .

What size tires does it have ? a tiny bit of increased outer diameter makes a HUGE difference in how fast you can reliably run it on the Highway .

The 3.55 final drive is the shiznit , I had and loved it .

Dual carbys will help too but be aware that Fenton dual exhaust headers will actually reduce the available power until the engine is wound up tightly RPM wise ~ they're designed for RACING , not tooling down Main Street no matter what the folks who weren't there back in the day will try to tell you .

If you're on a budget , the '51 ~ '67 1/2 brakes are Bendix and a vast improvement over the Huck (rhymes with SUCK) brakes it has on it now , you can often get these better drum brakes cheap or free from Hot Rodders who have up graded to disc brakes....

Taking it slow whilst you drive and enjoy the rig , is the smart move .
 
You certainly can get better highway cruising with higher (numerically lower) gears, but the higher you go, the less power you're putting to the ground.. Remember you also have to stop if you can get it to go. Disc brakes and a good master cylinder are a must in my opinion.

I chose the functionality of a more modern drivetrain, but I like to drive the truck a LOT. I've put as much as a 1000 miles on it in a week during hot rod power tour last month.

I went 350 with a th350, disc brakes, and 12 bolt rear with a 2.72. It's not fast, but it'll run down the highway at 75 all day long. It stops pretty well and has few bad manners....
 
Great info so far. So will the dual carb intake run good on the 216 with the stock headers? What year 235 will work as replacement for the 216?
 
Sure looks like a 235 to me. Get the numbers stamped into the flat pad directly behind where the distributor mounts into the block and we can decipher them. The side covers on a 216 fit all the way up to the valve cover and the sparkplugs screw through this cover. I have never seen valve cover hold downs like yours.
 
Fun year with New Truck!

This year was a fun summer in the new 48 chevy truck. We got a lot of miles, some cruise-ins, and had a great time at the Goodguys show in Indy. Somehow someway the truck won an award for the Suede and Chrome! There was a lot of nice cars and we won not sure how but will take it. This is my first award so felt pretty good. Just wanted to show and say thank you for all the great info on this site that helps keep the truck on the road.
 

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bammiller84 said:
This year was a fun summer in the new 48 chevy truck. We got a lot of miles, some cruise-ins, and had a great time at the Goodguys show in Indy. Somehow someway the truck won an award for the Suede and Chrome! There was a lot of nice cars and we won not sure how but will take it. This is my first award so felt pretty good. Just wanted to show and say thank you for all the great info on this site that helps keep the truck on the road.
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Nice looking truck, BamBam. ;o) These guys have 'all' the information we need to build/work on these trucks! I'm in the process of installing the 3:55 gears in my truck now. I'm sure you'd be happy with this conversion, as several have stated. It is a little pricey though. If you're paying someone else to do the labor, expect about $750 in labor, with about that much in parts for the gear set, (mine came from Joe, "Mother Trucker"), and the installation kit. I entered my truck in a Halloween show, and won my category as well! It was my first time, too. Congratulations, and welcome!
 
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