What's up folks. I recently dragged home my dad's old 1942 gmc pickup. He bought it with a cracked block 30 years ago and drove it until it wouldn't go no mo'. since then it sat under a hackberry tree for 10 years and three or four years ago i garaged it. anyway, it's home now. i've got the thing stripped down to the chassis. i've got the back half of the frame painted and i'm ready to put a rear into it and work my way forward. i decided to lose the torque tube since i have a GMC 270 and Sm420 which is open driveline. i have a 10 bolt chevy rear with 3:90's, but it looks like it's gonna cost a bit much to rebuild for an OK ratio. so i'm kinda reconsidering what to do for a rear end. suggestions? i measured 60" from mounting surface to mounting surface, so that's the first requirement. other than that, i'm a little unsure of my overall goals with the truck. i would like to run it 45-60 miles pretty regularly and a comfortable 70 mph. any suggestions to help me keep those RPMs down? an rpm calculator is nice if you know everything you're gonna use, but this is just the beginning, and i'm sure things will change as i go along. anybody on here running an art deco truck? i'll put some photo's up when tech support gets here! i've always had a funky truck('68 ford, '78 datsun, '66 ford, '66 chevy) and i've always managed to keep them rolling, but this is my first serious undertaking. trying to do it slow and right. Nathan
Welcome from New Zealand. Love those Jimmy sixes, and you've come to the right place for ideas and assistance. Make sure you post pics of your project for us all to drool at.
Nathen, Welcome aboard....you ought to be able to make a good cruiser out of that ol truck, but those 3.90's are gonna hurt you unless you put something in there with an overdrive. That should be an easy one to find another rear end to swap into(especially, since you don't need a whiz bang strong one) Hope to see you at some of the local events coming up.
The Jalopy Journal
