That rear you mentioned should be the closest one that I know of. The trans from a 55-67 truck muncie transmission should also work, it's the open drive line version of the 53 four speed truck trans. Don't know of any Saginaw transmissions used in Chevys in 62, but I know that a lot of folks don't realize the Chevy transmissions from that era were mostly Muncies, including the truck trans.
I have a TRUCK rear under my '53 - year unknown, but it's a tad wider that the '60 p***. rear the PO installed. Measure the '53 rear - drum to drum, then go shopping. I don't think they changed much in width between the '60's-'70s. Most mid-'70's and later trucks had automatics, 3.23 gears I'm thinking... LOOK for a Vega (Saginaw) 4-speed, as they have a 3.11 low gear, nice spacing between gears. EASY to spot - funky counterbalance plates bolted to the tailshaft, TWO grooves cut on input shaft. Next best is a Sag from a late Camaro - 2.54 low, ONE groove on the imput (I think). I also used a VEGA driveshaft, with NEW U-joints, about 1" longer than the '60 shaft. Did you NOTE that the stock rear is NOT centered to the rear fenders? TRY to find a rear still in the truck, so you can figure out WHAT trannie. Sticks had 3.73 gears or lower... Hope this gets you started... Good Luck, Tim
hi there. I have a 50 Chevy Styleline with a 235 in it. I have installed a BW T-5 5 speed in it and am running a 3:55 rear gear with 26 inch tall tires, this set up gives me about 2100 rpm at 65 mph. the trans I have was out of an 88 2.8 liter v6 s-10. I got an adaptor plate that is about 1 inch thick due the fact that the input shaft is 1 inch longer and the bolt pattern is different. I used a 9 inch clutch disc from a 5.0L Camaro and the stock flywheel and pressure plate. the rear end I used was from a 62 impala. I made short blocks to re-center the axle in the wheel wells as the pivot of the enclosed rear was 1.5 inches forward of the center of the 62 rear end. this moved the housing back 1.5 inches and got the axle back in the center of the wheel wells. I took the trans input yoke, along with the rear yoke measurement and the length needed, to a driveshaft shop and picked up the new shaft the next day. I don,t know if this will help you out. but I would not trade this setup for all the tea in china. good luck.
The Jalopy Journal
