Just picked up my grandfathers 1955 2nd series 3600 and am interested in the trans / rear end swap. Its the OG 235 4 on the floor with the granny gear, the super heavy duty suspension and a longbed. I have the option to get a donor 56 3100 shortbed to use to fix up the body work. the 56 has 6 lugs all around and its stance is much nicer, plus the wheels are new and the rims are already red. after countless hours on here and other places searching around, it seems the stock rear end for the 56 is a 390? it that good enough for decent highway traveling with the s10 T5 manual 5 speed trans? it is one of the reasons i would like to purchase this donor truck. i dont need the super duty suspension and wouldnt mind front and rear end swap from frame to frame to save some extra bucks on wheels tires and another rear end. This way i'll only have to get the tranny. If it is a 390, is it good enough or should i be going for something more like a 308 from a belair or the ever so popular camaro swap i keep reading about. Dont wanna spend the cash on the 56 donor if i cant use the front and rear suspension. my body can be fixed, but the 56 cab is in much nicer shape and a bunch of the parts can be used to help my old truck. thanks for your help
With a 235 and a T-5 you sure as hell don't want a 3.08 rear. Not enough power to pull 4th let alone 5th. The 3.90 would be perfect. swap the axle and springs out of the 3100 and get the T-5 and you will be happy.
If it's cheap enough, I would pick up the 56 and use whatever you can, then sell the remnants. You never know what part you'll need, and you might even come out ahead. I kept the stock Saginaw 3-speed stick in mine, but swapped out the original rear axle (4:11 I think) for an S10 2.73. Power is from a very mild SBC. So far so good. Revs just fine through all the gears and highway speeds. It's no neck snapper though!
i know what comes in the 3600 is something crazy like a 457 rear end or something. my grandfather used to use it on the farm in south dakota. they would put it in 1st "Granny gear" and get out and walk next to it throwing hay bails into the bed. we drove this truck from minnesota all the way to Ft. Lauderdale, FL and it topped out at about 55-60 and it sounded like it was gonna blow up going that fast. While i'm doing the body work, i might make a few improvements to the motor. a friend has a set of headers from a nova 6er with the 2 into 1 and a xover. i figured that plus a nicer intake with a weber or a 500 2 barrel, and a beefier cam should give me a little extra juice without taking out another mortgage ya know. thanks for the adivice. just want to make sure whatever little motor work i do, i have the right trans / rear end in there to safely travel on the highway and maybe pull a little pop-up camper for the vintage lambretta / vespa rallies.
If you're going the intake and header route, call Tom Langdon at http://www.stoveboltengineco.com/ and buy the dual Webber intake and Fenton exhaust set-up. He's got everything you need at a fare price. Remember 230-250-292 stuff will not work for your motor, so your friends intake is out. I run a 215 tire on my coupe with a 3.36 rear and a .72 overdrive. I use every gear, and I couldn't be happier. You'll likely go with a bigger tire, and with a more stock motor along with your plan to haul bikes the 3.90 suggestion sounds good.
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