Technical Rear Gear Ratio??

Ok, so I just scored a stock Chevy 350, stock TH350 trans and rear end out of a 1985 Chevy El Camino. This all going in a 1953 Chevy Bel Air, this is not a race car or anything.

Question, what gear ratio should I use for the rear end so Im not going 55mph at 4000rpm, just a nice cruiser.

Thanks

 

See what it has in it, should be something useable. Somewhere around 2.73 to 3.08 is a good cruising ratio.

 

Here is a calculator you can use to figure out your desired r.p.m.
http://www.coastdriveline.com/htmlfolder/calculator2.html

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Thanks guys

 

I've got a 2.73 in the rear of this old delivery with 350/350. Not great at the stoplight but gets great mpg on freeway and cruises at 65-75 all day long without beating the engine up.

 

Yep, if you scored the whole package out of a donor car the gear ratio that was in it should be almost ideal for what you want. No reason to go changing it unless there is some damage to it or if you find later on that you want more dig.

Don

 

You'll need to see what you really have because I'm thinking the 85 elks from chevy had 305s and a (200 or 700) OD trans .

 

Assuming the rear is factory 1985
They were trying to get mileage any way they could , frt wheel drive was new , overdrive automatics were new.
If a rear drive came with non OD trans you can bet it will have 3.08 or higher.
Had an early 80s monte carlo with 2.56 once, the pinion was almost half the size of the ring.