Finally making room in the garage for my '46 chevy. It's got some family history so I wanna do it justice. He worked for a local pontiac dealership as a mechanic for 35 years (Renn Kirby Pontiac for any MD'ers) and they bought this truck new in '46 for their parts runs. My grandfather liked it so much that in the 50's when they retired it from duty he bought it off them and used it as his vehicle. When it got too old/rough for that it became the farm truck, which accounts for the sad shape it's in now. Cab is actually pretty good, solid corners and door skins, but that's all it's got going for it. Front fenders are completely shot, bed/running boards/rear fenders are gone (literally, thrown away years ago). But it was his truck, and my uncle gave it to me because he knew I'd put real time/money into it, so I gotta do it. The sheet metal I've got a decent handle on in terms of direction and where to get parts, and while it's fairly well apart it needs a full mechanical overhaul. I'm looking to make it a bit more useful in terms of moving and stopping, but obviously I don't want to make it modern (no disc brakes, no v8's, etc). I picked up a complete driveline from a '54 Chevy hardtop; 235 with powerglide and a 3.55 5-lug car rear end. I'm not using the powerglide, it just came with the deal. The '54 engine is good because it fits without changing the radiator or anything. Got a few questions about the rest of it. I'd like to do a Patrick's Saginaw 4spd conversion. It says it's for '47+ trucks. Anyone install one of these into a '41-'46 Chevy pickup? What's so different? I know I'll need a later bellhousing, but I've got one of those on the 235 already. Will it mount up to the truck torque-tube or will I need a whole later rear (I do already have one from the car)? The car rear with 3.55's is nice, and I'd like to use it, but I've read the mounts are different. Can I remove the mounts from the truck rear and weld them onto the car rear or are they too different externally for that? Also, the car rear is 5-lug. I can change it to 6-lug with '48-earlier axles and rear end bolted to the '54 center section but supposedly the truck axles and rear will not bolt up. I can also change the truck to 5-lugs up front. Are there any easy ways to do that and retain the stock brakes and axle? While I'm at it, is there any way to get better brakes up front while keeping it looking fairly stock? Later drums or something along those lines? Anyone got any other good tips/tricks/parts swaps for this series pickup? The engine is getting minor mods too. For sure a head rebuild with hardened seats and shaved a little, fenton headers, a good vintage intake, a cam, etc. It was a good runner with only 32k miles so I'm hoping I can just hone it and put in fresh rings, and leave the bottom end mostly alone.
If it were mine, and considering the history of the truck, I'd have to at least consider shoehorning an early Pontiac V8 in. Then you could do a mid-50's Pontiac trans/rear as well. Sorry, I don't have any info on the 4sp conversion or truck-to-car rear swap....just throwing out options.
Hey! I put a patricks shifter in my 38 chevy & it worked killer just ask Patrick & he will answer your questions! He is the best I know! Good Luck on your project! Bill
I guess it depends what you wanna do with it. A 235 and the saginaw swap would be fine, but a modern rear like an s10 or something and a 5 speed behind a mildly hopped up 235 would make driving it everywhere a breeze and nobody would know unless they crawled underneath it...
i bought an adapter for a 235 to t5 from hot rod works and a 70s chevy rear end. not too much money invested, under $300
Yeah, I've been considering changing to an open rear and a trans with an OD in it. Only problem is that it's gonna be a flatbed, so you will be able to see the rear. Still not a game killer, but I do like the look of the torque-tube. Brett, I see where you're coming from, and part of me would love to put a 389 in it (especially since there's a complete factory tri-power hanging up in my Dad's garage). Maybe, though I'm not sure I want to do something quite so radical to this truck. There is a continuing history of Pontiac's in my family. My Dad always drove one until this most recent car (what with them being out of business and all). Growing up it was a '66 Bonnie 'vert (still at the farm, maybe get around to it some day) and a '63 Hardtop til a soccer mom splattered her minivan into the front right fender. Hmmm. Wonder how hard it would be to fit a 389 in it.
Interesting tidbit...the center section from an open driveline 55-62 chevy truck will bolt into your rear housing, and the axles will fit in it. The fun problem is that the rear axle pivots in the perches, so you need to figure out how to keep it from moving around. The 51-59 truck front brakes are a good upgrade, they pretty much bolt on. Or you can use the 49-50 car front drums to keep the Huck brakes and go 5 lug. Or put the later truck brakes on, and use 51-54 car drums to make it 5 lug with the more modern brakes. You definitely want to take some time to figure out what you really want to end up with. There are a lot of ways to go.
Flatbed?!?! What are your plans? I'm leaning on going the same way, at least until I can piece together a good bed ***embly. If you'd rather, you can PM instead of filling up this thread......
Ok, I did some looking/measuring/thinking last night and I'm going to definitely stay the course with the 235 I picked up. A pontiac engine would be cool, but it's not for this project. I suppose the modifications fall into several categories, each with different problems. I shouldn't lump them together. The '54 235 I have is the best engine for the swap because it already takes care of most of the problems. It's a short-waterpump motor, with a front motor mount boss already, so it's practically a bolt-in. I would like to convert to 12v so I'll need a '55+ 235 starter and flywheel I think. The transmission is the biggest issue. The pre-'47 trucks have a lot bolted to the bellhousing (mounts, clutch linkage, etc). I think for the sake of simplicity I'm sticking with the stock bellhousing. That leaves me a couple options for the trans. I can run the stock 3spd manual that's there now, and rely on the better top end of the 235 to help me out on the highway. I'm not a big fan of this option, the 4.11's in the truck now are pretty steep but 3.55's would kill my takeoff unless I swapped to a 4spd for a lower 1st. The Saginaw swap I think can be done with the stock '46 bellhousing if I get an adapter plate for the front in addition to the torque-tube adapter from Patrick's. I would then need 3.55's for my truck rear, or install the p***enger car rear I've already got with 3.55's and convert the front to 5-lug to match (or not, since they'd be behind the hubcaps). Alternatively I can put a T5 in with the Buffalo Engineering adapter plate using the stock bellhousing. I would have to convert to an open rear at that point, although I could use the center section from a '55-'62 truck and keep my axles, brakes, and 6-lug wheels in the back. A 2-link or 4-link mount for the rear end would be needed, but that's not that hard to figure up. Or I could get an S10 rear and have 5-lug wheels and S10 brakes. A few questions. Anyone know where a T5 shifter ends up in relation to the 3-speed I've got now? I'm concerned that the shifter will end up too far back for the truck. I already put a T5 with an offset shifter into my corvette once and wasn't happy with the feel of it. Even an S10, with the shorter tailshaft and forward shift position, seems like it would be too far back. Second question, if I end up with 5-lug wheels what are my options for running the stock dog-dish hubcaps? I definitely want steel wheels and stock hubcaps for this truck, preferably a bit wider than what's on it right now but nothing extreme. Not sure how wide the stock wheels are, but they're pretty narrow. I will be running modern tires on it, not cokers or anything like that.
49-53 car wheels are 5 lug and have the clips for hubcaps, but they are smaller diameter hubcaps than the truck 6 lug wheels. You might use that as an excuse for keeping it 6 lug, use later truck wheels (they had the clip hubaps at least thru 59 on trucks). The 51-up brakes are pretty decent. You might also look for a 55-early 60s Muncie 3 speed with the Borg Warner overdrive, and run the truck 3.90 gear open center section which is pretty easy to find. If you decide you really want it to be a period truck, then you don't need to worry about five speeds and S10 rears and saginaw transmissions, you can use all the neat old Chevy parts on it
Squirrel, I love the old parts, but I am willing to sacrifice some of that for the sake of drivability. I intend to drive this a lot when it's all said and done. Weighing all the options I'm leaning towards the T5 swap with a whole '55-'62 open rear (3.90) for the 6-lugs and better rear brakes, and '55-'59 front brakes as well. I think that would give me the best balance of drivability and original-appearance in the end.
Squirrel, the 1/2 ton rears are interchangeable too? I knew the 3/4 ton stuff was but was unaware that the 1/2 tons were also...
A friend recently put a 56 center in the 46 truck housing in his old roadster, seems to be a pretty straightforward swap. It probably would be easier to change the whole rearend, then you can get the better brakes. You'll probably have to move the spring perches, or maybe get new ones, I think the early truck uses the 1.75" wide springs, while the later ones are 2"
Project is on hold for a few months due to work.... Im putting a big block/700r4 into my 46. Keeping the stock steering box/column, mechanical fan and brake pedal coming up from the stock location. The shifter should be in relatively the same location as the stock one. I need the extra power to haul a car trailer and the big block was already built with 1000 trouble free miles. I feel the setup will be very drivable.
brett - relocate the radiator to be in front of the support rather than inside of it. the modification will yield another 1-2" of clearance... and, Bobs yer uncle.
If you relocate, I guess you can lower it too, to get more air pulled through by the fan! Right?!?!?!
No, just moving the radiator forward 1-2" to be in front of the radiator support rather than it being inside of the support...you shouldnt have to lower anything. The giant wind tunnel behind the grill will funnel plenty of air. I just needed about 1.5" inches of frontal clearance for the mechanical fan. Of course, this is all mock up but everything is fitting so far... if I need to make adjustments it wont be a whole lot, I can move the motor back .5" if need be. Member Killer has done this on his '45 chevy truck and he says it works perfect.
Until I get back on the project, the only way appears to be over the frame rail. Or maybe I'll route it through cab and under the drivers seat.
Will this transmission bolt right up to the stock 1946 Chev 1/2 ton pickup bellhousing without modifying the trans input shaft or re drilling the bellhousing? What exactly did they come in, so I know what to look for.
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