Dave, this is a super thread, and I'm looking forward to seeing a writeup with more photos.
As I understand it, okie bushings didn't come along til the sixties. These trucks had already been on the road for twenty years. Unless you are installing an okie, then you could stack four or five of those bushings back in there before you hit the rear bushing/seal. Just a thought.
But a little history trivia for the 4th:
The OKie Bushing assembly (reportedly so named since they were invented and produced in Oklahoma by National Machine Works, Inc, and frequently seen misspelled as
Oakie Bushing) was patented by the National inventor, Theodore C. Gerner, in 1946. Here's a link to the original
Okie Bushing Patent, #2,403,520. He was an active mechanic and designer of similar parts, with
21 Patents ranging from idler arm bushings and brackets to hydraulic valve lifters. He authored a patent somewhat related to the Okie bushing, for "Propeller Shaft Housing Repair," also in 1946, with which he combined and expanded his original [Okie] Bushing patent, filing a new
Patent 2,627,732 in 1953. There were a few additional patents from 1947-1951 that extended the concept to drivelines other than Chevy and GMC.
During that time frame, as the torque tube designs changed, at least three sizes were produced. I believe there are forum posts by jorb that call out the sizes, specifically. Also, Chevs of the 40's lists the
sizes that are currently available for two of the three parts they carry. It's interesting to note their
Instructions appear to be copied from early National Machine Works information, and show the patent number, and two part numbers covering years through '50.
Continuing the National Machine Works patent story just a bit, it appears they got into a court battle with Jack L. Harris of H-C Products in 1951, relating to a "contract" between Gerner and Harris that started in 1944 for production royalties on Gerner's design. There is some interesting
Court Case Text that describes the inventor and his work just a bit.
Happy 4th!
