Yea... '56 Cheby 3600 pick up .... I wanna' change the rear to something more MODERN with a BETTER GEAR for highway driving .... 8 lug .... any suggestions ??? and -- how about one that is 5 lug in case I wanna go that way??? ........... thanks boys, Skip
8-lug will all tend to be lower gears as they are 3/4 ton and 1 ton typically. Your truck is fairly narrow, so you need something that is narrow enough to fit, which means using older stuff. Which also means more likely 4.10 or lower gearing. You might look for a GM 14 bolt out of a narrower dually. Single wheel rearend are wider than dually. I think most of them are 3.73, 4.10 or 4.56 ratios. Maybe you can find one with higher gear? You can use single wheel on the dually axle. Late model diesels have some taller gears sometimes, but they will be too wide most likely.
The same rear was used into the late 60's, there are some trucks that were made with numerically lower gears- usually automatics. These are not common but were made. I have also seen on another forum that a mid 90 chevy 3/4 ton pumpkin fits these but have not tried it. For a 5 lug swap measure your rear wheel mounting surface to wheel mounting surface and check any listing of rear end widths. I am guessing that a 2nd generation camaro, Ford explorer, or similar width rear would work.
Thanks boys ..... But ... He wants to go 5 lug 4 3/4" pattern now ... anybody ever DO one of these ??? Any IDEAS ??
The Jalopy Journal
