I’m sure this has been covered before but I do have a question , I have a 1950 style line with the original 216 and would like to go with an open drive . I do have a 3 speed transmission and bell housing out of a 55 chevy bel air that has overdrive also the rear end with 3:36 gears. So my question is will this combination work . Thank you in advance!
A 55-7 chev rear end is almost a bolt in on those. the only thing you need to do is offset drill the spring pad for the center bolt on the spring. I think it is off by 1.5" but I am not sure on that measurement. if you ever see one of those cars where the rear wheels are way too far forward in the wheel opening they did not re drill.... otherwise the rear end is the perfect width even the perches are in the right place. I think though that 3.36 gears are way too tall for a trans with overdrive. The 55's with OD came with 4.11's. if you are going to use an OD trans you better have at least 3.70's. Why not just change to a powerglide 3rd member and keep the torque tube? I did that on a 52 chev I had in the eighties and it made a world of difference. the PG rears have 3.55 gears, works great and way easier....
converting a torque tube to a normal driveshaft? i would think you need a rear axle as well as a transmission, maybe one out of a 1955-1957 chevy? it needs to be close to the same width to that of the original rear axle. i know fords have a conversion available, but i have not seen one for a chevy that doesn't involve changing the entire rear axle. Moriarty beat me to it
Are you keeping the stock 216? There's a reason that those 92 horsepower engines came with 4.11 gears!
Does anyone even read the original post and understand what he is saying? In the 3rd sentence he says " I do have a 3 speed transmission and bell housing out of a 55 chevy bel air that has overdrive also the rear end with 3:36 gears"
Rear axles. tri 5 Chevy 2nd gen camaro nova etc are all bolt in 3rd members as @Moriarity pointed out , only thing necessary is to redrill the center bolt hole to Center the axle in the wheel wells s10 4x4 Grenada and other ford diffs are the correct width but require the spring perches moved . you can bolt your trans to the back of the 216 using all stock parts . Look out for a high pressure oiler 235 or 261 it’s pretty much a bolt in looks pretty much stock and you get a bit more Oomph when you hit the go pedal . Nothing wrong at all with the 216 tho . Post some pics !!! you’ll need to get a drive shaft made or shortened eitherway not a huge cost . as moriarity pointed out a torque tube out of a PG car is easy peasy and gives you great hwy gearing , not sure how easy they are to find locally to you and shipping one would cost a ton , but potentially another option .
Thank you to all that took the time to chime in . I also have been considering a PG rear end but the reason for my post was to eliminate the close drive completely. being that I already have the parts that came off of the same 1955 bel air , I wanted to put everything that I have purchased to use. And yes, I did buy the entire drivetrain off of the 55 . 235, 3speed with OD and it did come with the 3:55 rear end as well. I hope I was able to clarify what my intentions are on the swap.
The big issue is going to be the motor mounts on the bellhousing, you may have to get creative there. It may be simpler to use a 48/53 Chevy truck bellhousing rather than the 55 bellhousing as it works with the 139 tooth ring gear on the 50 Car flywheel and lets you keep your stock starter. Or use the 55 flywheel with the early engine. Your 55 bellhousing does have a front side similar to this one? This bolts to the back of a 216/235 or 261 This is the backside of that same 51 Truck bellhousing (47/53) in the other photo. From some quick reading on another Hamb thread you have to do some trimming on it to work in a car. URL=https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/w71/mr48chev/IMG_7880_(3).JPG?width=960&height=720&fit=bounds][/URL] According to the GM Heritage site a 55 3 speed standard has 3.7 Gears an over drive has 4.11 and the powerglide has a 3.55. That was standard issue when they left the factory. From the GM heritage archives 55 chevy car pfd pages (gm.com)
In our 50 Chevy, I put a 55 Chevy rear end and new springs from Posie's that were 3" lower than stock plus had the offset compensated to align the wheels centered in the wheel well.
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