Hot Rods 1951 chevy truck rear end swap ?'s

I'm going to be swapping in a rear end (most likely from a 68 nova) using my stock 51 springs and new perches. what should I set the pinion angle at? or (I've heard) will the perches on the 10 bolt line up with only drilling a new centering pin hole? Thanks

 

...better check that rearend width with the wheels/tires you're gonna use, that rear measures 60" wheel mount to w/mt,..I've always used 61-2" rears running 15x8 rear wheels (rallys). You an use the Nova rear but may have to put in a mini tub on your bed.
The Nova perches wont line up with your springs, easier to make new ones incorporated into a lowering block.
Set your pinion with the weight of the truck on the rear tires in relation to your tailshaft on trans (same angle).

 

Thanks. The truck doesn't have motor and trans in yet. Going with a250 straight 6 and turbo 350 for what it's worth.

 

What rear ends do you suggest. I also have access to a el camino rear. Mid to late 70's

 

I used a 91 Camaro, after cutting all of the brackets off of it.

 

I always consider bolt pattern when looking for rears. I hate running different ones even if I'm running different size tires. What is your front set up?

 

(Since you guys are on this subject) I know these old trucks have the center spring pin forward of what the later model center hole perches would be so do you just drill a hole in the front of the later perch and U bolt it down or???
(or do you need to buy longer special drilled perches or?)

 

...I've been using late 60's thru 70's full size GM cars , 74 up Malibu's, etc,...10 bolt rears,..they are 61-2"
wide and are usually cheap, but you gotta trim all the coil spring/trailing arm brackets off of em....that camino rear should work....just bolt the rear in snug, set pinion angle after motor/trans is in, then weld.
lowbudget,...if you make your own lowering blocks just center the wheel in the fender opening, mark the spring pin location and drill.

 

When I bought my '53 back in 1974, the PO swapped in a driveline from a '60 car. TWO things I learned the HARD WAY - wheel adaptors **** for long term use ( studs work loose over time ), AND the '60 rear was too narrow - with a good load in the bed, clearance gets tight enough for the bed to contact the tire sidewall... guess what happens next!

Shouldn't be hard to find a truck rear the same width as a stocker - what I went back to in the mid-80's. Just has to fab some new spring pads, centered the wheel in the fender. NO idea what year it came out of, or the exact ratio - maybe a 3.08.

I wouldn't rum a p***. rear UNLESS you have a pair of '53-54 P***. hubs for the front axle. Two different bolt patterns are a PITA! PM me if you need above hubs!

I can't remember WHAT pinion angle my buddy and I used in the swap, but me thinks it would be BEST to set it after the engine/trans are in the truck, then check your driveshaft angles on both ends. Good Luck, Tim

 

I ran a 68 firebird rear in my 50. You can change out the front end spring perches to the rear for added drop if your changing out front suspension.

 

I have the disc brake swap up front 5x 4& 3/4" and I'm gonna run 15x7" wheels

 

Set the truck up at ride height and then adjust pinion to match engine / transmission. I wouldn't commit to welding anything until mock up is right, last thing you want later is strange drive train harmonics due to incorrect set up.

 

Anyone ever use a 4x4 S10 rear end on a 1947 Chevy 3600? I have read that a 2003 or 2004 would fit and has disc brakes.

 

I did one years back using a 6 lug Suburban rear. The width was very close tobthe old rear. Perches were machined out of rectangular tubing.

 

Quick and efficient. Just make sure the rectangular tubing walls are thick enough and attaching holes aren't mis-drilled. Craftsmanship matters. It's why we do this stuff and admire when folks bring it off.

 

I did a first series 55 chev pickup using a 4wd s-10 worked out well I moved the housing back 1/2 inch to center in fender opening

 

S-10 4x4 rears are the same width as mid 70's Nova rear ends at 60 inches. I've got a Nova rear under my 48 and the wheels have 3-1/2 inch back spacing with 255 tires and that is the limit on back spacing. I used to carry a stock Chevy steel wheel for a spare and had to take one of my 14x7 front wheels off and put it on the rear and put the stock 5 lug spare on the front for tire to bed side clearance. Beds are 50 and a few RCH wide and a 60 inch width rear with 3-1/2 back spacing gives 1-1/2 inches of space from rim to bed but tire buldge eats a lot of that up real fast, if you crawl under my truck today you can't get your fingers between the tire and the bed side unless you have real skinny fingers.

The good is that S 10 4x4 rears aren't expensive, have a few gear ratios plus posi to pick from and if you pick your wheels wisely work pretty well on AD trucks.

You need to flip the stock axle over and measure from the center of the mount that sits on the spring to the center of the axle and I am pretty well positive that it is the same 1-3/4 inches that I measured in 1973 when I hung a 61 Chev sedan rear end with 20 lbs of brackets torched off under my 48.

I'm going to go down as saying that with stock rear springs the 37.95 you can pay for a pair of designed to fit axle seats from Cl***ic parts Cl***ic Parts of America - Chevy and GMC Truck, Car Parts on about the third page of ch***is parts for 47-55.1 is probably one of the best 40 dollar headache saving moves you will make. They used to sell those with the U bolts and other hardware over in a side bar but I don't see that any more. That axle seat not only centers the axle front and back it sets it back at the right ride height something that a pair of Moroso mounts won't do.
Don't listen to the ******** artists on pinion angle, the center line of the output shaft of the transmission and the pinion angle have to bee PARALLEL WITH EACH OTHER and anything else is spit and whittle club nonsense. What works for 4x4 trucks doesn't apply to us. What the old timer 60's drag racers who blew a rear U joint on the starting line because they claimed that the pinion had to angle down so it could straighten out under torque off the line is nonsense. I remember those clowns telling me and friends that we had to set them up that way in the 70's Luckily I had a friend who knew better. No need to worry about the number of degrees of angle on a hot rod unless you are one of those fools who mounts his engine way high in the ch***is so the engine shows over the fenders of an AD truck because they do not show from the side if you mount them with the crank center line where the stock 216 crank center line mounted with adjustment to level the intake for the carb on a V 8, Straight six it doesn't mater as the carb should be level and the crank should be level.

Set your engine up in the ch***is so the carb sits level on the intake you have. Back around 1968 they decided that they could angle the crank/main shaft center line on a V8 engine down about 3 degrees at the back and have a lower floor board hump because the seat was lower. That quickly require the intake manifold to have the same 3 degree angle milled into it so the carb was level when the car sat static to keep the fuel level square in the carb. That is why you also had to angle the pinion up to match the angle of the crank and output shaft.