I took a chance and drove 3 hours to look at this car from an on line ad. The pictures were poor and the seller kept saying no rust! no rust! runs and drives! We've all heard this before, but he was not lying! the car has no rust and I could have driven it home, I loaded it up on the trailer and hit the road home. This car is an all original survivor, and I have only lowered it with blocks, the only other thing I'd like to "upgrade" is the rear end gearing for highway cruising (70 mph would be max desired) right now 65 mph feels like 205 mph. I don't want a floor shift T5, or an automatic right now, I MAY do that later when the 216 splasher is done, but right now I want to keep it as original as possible, as I've hacked up plenty of cars. (I do want split exhaust as well) Questions: (I know they're are threads on this but not always complete) (1)Is the powerglide 3.55 rearend worth the effort? Will it run 70mph somewhat comfortably? (2)Can I use a 49-54 tube and rear without much modifying? -Since they are more plentiful it seems. I know I'd have to change bolt pattern. (3)I know Patricks makes a gear to swap, but they are more $ than I can get a rear for and you practically have to remove the rear end anyway?
I had that rear in my 48. If you're expecting overdrive rpms here, you may be barking up the wrong tree. I think you can reasonably reach 70 and above but, cruising (comfortably for the engine) is more around 60mph. The rear was in the car already when I got it so I'm no help there. You have to split the pipes, no questions. 1 3/4"pipe if it were mine. I have a set of dropped uprights for a good price on the cl***ifieds, if you're looking to drop the front.
Nice ride, but iam not into black & white pix. You will be p***ed alot on the hi-way but i would keep it like it is & cruise. MY $.02 "AND THE BOWTIE ROLLS ON"
Your thoughts to try and turn a 216 cid into something that will run down the road at 70 mph has very little hope of being successful.. A power-glide rear end will help the engine run better in the 55/60 range and thats it. Rather than waste the money and time trying to make a silk purse out of the pigs ear 216 and early rear end.. convert the engine to a '54/62 235 full pressure, insert bearing engine.. You could then use the '54/62 three speed with an overdrive and a early Camaro rear end.(54-1/4" backing plate to backing plate). Of course you would have to change the rear springs to Posie's or something similar. Another option is to use the 230 CID 6, then you can use a 350 hydro trans or a 200R4... The 350 hydro actually works best with the Camaro rear end because they are in the 323- gear range. The average person can't tell a 235/230 from a 216 if the engine is painted the correct color for '48. If you use a Camaro rear end you will have to get 5 lug wheels from a '49-52.. These wheels will have the spring clips for the '48 and earlier style of hub caps. I have a '49 Olds 88 2dr fast back (sport coupe) that I am upgrading using a '79 Olds 350/350 with the stock '49 Olds rear end.. The '49 Olds came with an open drive line an 324.1 ratio.
I like the idea of the 235 and the '54-62 3spd with overdrive (push ****on right?) I wonder how hard it will be to find one (3 spd w/od). I had a '57 Nomad with one but the o.d. would not work(not original) (are they reliable?the 3 spd o. d.s) I'm fighting the urge to pull everything out and go V8, 700r etc. etc. I want to here those pipes cackle in between shifts!
Follow blucar's advice; the only way a 216 will fly down the highway at 70 mph is in the bed of a pickup.
That car is ***s!!! A 235 with a 3 speed OD would be a great way to go. The 54-62 OD trans in not that hard to find and they are easy to setup and bullet proof with a 235 pushing them Please post more pictures of the car
There are a lot of people going the 235 6 cyln route in the early Chevy's, the engine compartment still looks stock and with the addition of dual carbs and twice pipes it makes for a nice looking and running setup. There is a nice article in the Nov 2011 issue of Street Rodder about a 52 Chevy 2dr fast back that a friend of mine in Idaho has. He has a tricked out 235 in it, I almost bought the engine from him a couple of years ago for a '48 2dr Fleetline I have. If you go the open driveline route in a pre '55 car, it is a must that you change the rear springs.. The original rear springs are built for a torque tube driveline, they will cause axle wrap and poor handling of the car when the torque tube is eliminated.
Sometimes you just have to kick back and take life in the slow lane and that car would be a lot happier in the slow lane or on the secondary roads. Leave an hour earlier on the way to an event and enjoy the ride and not worry about how fast you can get there.
i put radials on my 54 car rides good with everything else stock. a good tune up will do wonders and a gl*** pak ( i have one on the 54) 60mph is cake (ok it's a 235) 70 is ok but pushing it. although at those speeds the brakes ****.
I want to go 70 and look and sound original without blowing up the 6 damn it! ha ha ha Somebody help before I go 350/350 700r 200r 327 305 sbc aluminum radiator lokar idi*** column BS BS shifter mustang II etc. etc.! ha ha ha
nope, needs altering too!! 235 and later box, i used all 1955 stuff right through my '49 chevy, oh and agree with changing the rear springs too. easy and not to expensive
Alternatives: A 270 or 302 Jimmy will pull whatever gears you want to put in your rear end, 70+ mph no problem. Or, the later generation 250/ 292 will bolt to any trans a sbc will, and with 3.42 gears cruise at 70 all week long. A mildly built 292 will drive like a healthy small block. Edit: If you're intent on staying with the 216/ 235 gen motor, a 261 will give a little more grunt, should bolt in.
All good suggestions above but I have a little different take on this. First, that's one beautiful Fleetline. It sounds like you just want to be able to cruise in the fast lane with it without ****tering 216 parts all over the Interstate. If the 216 is a decent runner, I'd keep it for now. The '50 - '54 'glide rears have 3.55 gears and I don't know about a '46, but they are a direct bolt in for a '49 (I did this on my '49 Fleetline back in the '50's) Do a little research on torque tube length and width. Just doing this alone will give you the effect of a .86 OD so if your speedo is reading 55 mph, your actually travelling about 63 mph. I have a friend that built a 261 to go in his '39 coupe but decided to beat the 216 to death first. Well, 2 years later (and he drove 70 all the time) the 216 was as strong as ever so he just yanked it out, sold it, and put the 261 in. If you change the oil regularly and watch the temp guage, they'll last a long time. Then, someday when your wallet is fat and your ready to upgrade it a little, get you a 235 or a 261, rebuild it, and slap it in there, put a later Camaro or Nova rear end in and use the 3 speed/OD ******. You'll love it. Whatever you decide to do - good luck with your great find.
Also keep in mind that a rearend change, be it Camaro or 49-54 Powerglide style, means a conversion to 5 lug and then you won't be able to use the original wheels. Maybe you can just change out the center section of the rearend with a later Powerglide style one for the gearing and leave the rest alone. 70 seems pushing it but it should be a lot nicer than stock.
250 6, t5 trans or 700r4, open drive rear end cruise at 70 mph view my website, ps i sell the 250 motor mounts and rear leaf spring pads for the open drive rear end
How about using a T5 and converting to a 10-bolt rear like in the second-gen Camaro - it should work the same way as 49-54, drill a new hole to locate it right - and then see if you can put axles in it from a mid-80s Chevy 1/2 ton 4x4, which will get you the same six-lug pattern as original? The axles exist, but the rearend in the truck is wider, but maybe they can be narrowed without spending a fortune. The other advantage of the 10-bolt is you could go higher than a 3.55 if you wanted, they go all the way to like 2.41 gears in those, 2.73 is common, the one I have for my '50 is like a 3.41. Or go to the 3.73 that's also pretty common in trucks anyways.
Leave as it is. Those cars aren't built for speed anyways. There were no 70 mile a hour freeways in 1946. Take your time getting there. Enjoy the ride.
If we all left our junk alone this site would not exist! ha ha I am going to try to leave it alone for a while, I'll rev the 216 with fresh oil at 60ish mph on the way to the Don Garlitz show next month, about a 2 hour drive. We'll see how it does. The 235 3spd OD open rear is my favorite idea so far, since I would like the column shift/original looking 6 to stay. It keeps the car looking and sounding original (other than low)which is what I want. I've got 4 inch blocks in the rear, so I am going to have to mildly notch the rear, it bottoms out badly with a p***enger and a tool box in the trunk. I've been the V8 AOD, front clip, air bag, 4-link, big notch, frame- off route several times, just want something different, but I have to tear into it a little. Anyone in FLA/S. GA have a 235/3spd OD for sale??
I just found a 235/3spd OD ($500)out of a friends '61 impala, it was running and driving when he yanked it for a 409 swap. I've got a camaro rear end and driveshaft. Question: I'd really like to keep the original column and clutch pedal(1946)? I hear that i can with some modifications to the linkages? Has anyone made this setup work? What kind of linkage modifications are needed etc? thanks
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