Projects What should I do? (1952 chevy)

So I have a 1952 Chevy buisness coupe and I’d like to go highway speeds. I’d hate to tear out the rear end because I just put one in it out of a 1951 deluxe. I want to keep it as original as possible. This car was my grandfathers car and I’d hate to rip it apart I’ve put a lot of money to keep it original as possible. Heres my specs for the car and I’d like to know what I can do to go highway speeds on a BUDGET. Change transmission? What would bolt up?
216 1bbl carb
Original torque tube drive train
3 speed manual
1951 rear end (rebuilt)
12 volt conversion.

 

Find an overdrive 3 speed set up

haven’t seen one for an inclosed driveshaft gm

The Muncie 319 isn’t hard to find. Could still use the column shift.

or go T5

 

What exactly would I be looking for would I need any adapters or modifications?

 

You won’t want to hear this, but your cheapest solution is going to be a power glide rear axle which if memory serves me is 3.54:1 vs the 3spd rear ends are 4.11:1.. ‘51-‘54 will work and being it’s from the same era cars, nobody will know. I’d cannot remember if one of the restoration suppliers had gear sets for the old torque tube rears but I seem to remember they did.

I had a ‘51 Fleetline through high school. Was a power glide car that I stupidly sold

 

Could I switch out gearing for the rear with my 51 rearend? Or will it require more than that?

 

Don’t quote me because I’m more familiar with trucks.
My 49 gmc had a later 3 speed and it bolted right up to the 49 bellhousing.
I’m replacing it with an overdrive version.
Mods to do this is a rear end swap to open drive shaft.
Slight shifter rod mods.
Then hooking up the overdrive. It’s electric.

but just to cruise at hwy speeds a gear change in the original rear end would be the least amount of work

 

I think the power glide cars are 3:55
The 53/54 should be 3:70 for a manual trans.
4:11 for the 52 down

maybe

 

https://store.fillingstation.com/de...194054_PASS_RING_PINION_GEARS_3551_RATIO.html

 

Taller tires.

 

https://store.fillingstation.com/de...194054_PASS_RING_PINION_GEARS_3551_RATIO.html

EDIT: Sorry @anthony myrick , I just saw that you beat me...

 

This seems like a good and easy fix. Has anybody done this conversion and succeeded?

 

Any good shop that can do rear end rebuilds could set it up.

 

this is a good fix and makes the car very "drivable" for todays speeds.
It does require mechanical skills to get it right and it does take some shop time. rear has to be removed.

 

they did make overdrives for the torque tube... anyone ever seen one?

 

I’ve never seen one, only the advertisements. The only other thing is perhaps a later model 3spd overdrive trans could be converted to torque tube. But it doesn’t seem logical… a simple re gear is all that is needed.. my old ‘51 with power glide did 60 mph without a fuss. I never went faster than that but they are not highway cars, just enough to keep up on a 2 lane road.

 

Powerglide rear end 3.55 gear will run all day 60-65 mph

 

Do I need a power glide rear end or just change the gears in my original rear end?

 

I swapped my 50 over to a 55-64 style rear. It is a bolt in. Makes it open drive. Lot's of 3.36 ratios out there.

 

Mike knows what he’s talking about. He drove his Chevy from Texas to Lloydfest. Super cool car.

 

My girlfriend's '51 got a rearend swapped in from a Powerglide car after we sold it and apparently it's the way to go, bolts right in and really increases top speed. As fastcar1953 said, taller tires do actually help. The original tire diameter of those old bias plies was pretty tall and that does affect the final drive ratio, so depending on what you're running for tires, that can help.

Adapting a different transmission is going to be a shitload of work in that car, not something I'd take on unless you're an expert with drivetrains. And that kit with gears I'm sure would work, but costs a shitload and will take a lot more effort to swap in. You'll be able to find a rearend out of a 51-54 Chevy car that came from the factory with Powerglide for less than the cost of that gear kit, and assuming it's in good shape, it's a bolt-in deal, doesn't really need to be "set up" like a gear swap.

That's your answer.

 

Sometime they pop up cheap
PG rear? Don’t know

 

There's 3 in my back yard ....

 

So Andrew where are you located? I know where there is a 51 Styleline Deluxe in Iowa that is about to lose it's powerglide rear end. I'm putting a 9 inch in and have a 10 bolt for a backup plan. Shoot me a PM if you're somewhere close.

 

Sometimes knowing there's parts you need at the end of the trip, warrants a hot rod road trip.

 

picture!(s)

 

Not a good shot ...
Model 103 & a 101
101 fit '41 thru '50, 103 '51 thru '54
They converted 1/2 tons, too

 

Hello,

If you are going to keep it relatively stock, the motor/trans combo is fine. Enough power and style to drive nicely on flat surfaces. But, if you are planning on several mountain steep roads or hill climb adventures, you will be downshifting to keep up with traffic. Your stock Chevy motor is fine on the surface level streets (around 90 hp).

My old flathead motor in my 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery had about 80 hp and always had problems accelerating up steep slopes along the coastal drives. We were limited to normal flat surface streets and it ran fine. We never took it up to the top of the local mountains for vacations or snow escapades. Not enough power without getting in first gear uphill… not a nice thing to have to do in our sedan delivery.

4 ladies out for a spin… in front of our Westside of Long Beach old house.

Our cousin’s had a 50 chevy 4 door and it ran fine. They never went to the mountains but stayed on the coastal road trips as a family of 4. The stock power was fine, even with 4 folks inside and luggage + camping equipment packed into the trunk. A little low, but manageable on the streets, as long as it did not have steep slopes, or, downshifting was necessary.


Jnaki

So, for a “new to hot rod fun,” keep it stock if possible and know you will be doing a lot of shifting uphill. If you are thinking of changing one thing, it would be not be just the rear gears, but an SBC motor would solve all of your power needs and allow you to stay with traffic. There are simple kits to allow mounting and hooking it up to your driveline. (like the millions of us old timers who did similar installs...)

As a grandfather, I would be happy if our granddaughter was able to continue our old hot rod activities. But, it is not her thing and even our son liked old cars, but for normal daily driving needs, something that starts up and takes him/her anywhere is the mode of the day. I would not worry about ripping it up with your modifications. Our limits as teens/20 somethings was a lack of money. We saved money and had enough, in order to build our first SBC motor install in our 40 Willys Coupe. We had the inclination to do something, but adapted to working with simple tasks... YRMV

Note: Your grandfather would be proud that you are working on his old car with improvements for you and your family/friends. Go for it...

 

I put alot of miles on my 52 with the 216 3speed. I'm not talking 2 lane country roads either. Back & Forth from Dallas to Austin several times. Up to Oklahoma & Kansas as well. Yeah the RPMs are through the roof anything over 45. So I decided I'd just run it until I killed it then swap in a T5. Turns out those Stovebolts are pretty damn hard to kill.

To long didn't read: Get out and run the car as is & see what it's capable of. You might be surprised.