1954 Chevy 3100 pickup question

When did Chevrolet get rid of the closed driveline on the cars and pickups. I have a 1954 Chevy pickup with an open driveline.

 

53 I believe

 

55 for trucks. 54 was still a closed driveline. 55.1 looked identical to 54 but with different emblems and an open driveline.

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Thanks. My 54 has an open drive with a 12 bolt rear end. I'm trying to iden***y my rear end currently. FN 3899838 is the cast number but I don't know what to order parts for.

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TheKirkwood: Jim Carter truck parts may be able to help you to identify your rear. '55 1st. Series trucks ( look like '54's ) were the first open drivelines that I know of. Check / compare to 55/64 car rears, may be able to swap center sections for a different ratio. I'm selling one of these rears for a friend and it's a 3:90 ratio, 6 lug from his '55 1st series, 3100. Again, Carters may be able to help, I don't want to p*** on bad info. without doing more research. Good Luck !

 

4950fmc again: confirm the year of your truck, it may be a 55 not a 54. the vin. should confirm. The first letter in the vin. indicates the year. G=49, H=50, skip I, J=51 and so on. This system changes somewhere up the line but I forget when. Hope this helps you. The engine ID number ( by distrib.) use the same letter prefix to indicate the year of manufacture.