Has anyone replaced the rear end in the 1941-46 3/4 ton truck? While I love my truck, I'd like to go to a better gear ratio (OE is 4.55), and upgrade to modern shocks. I'm running a 1962 235, with dual carbs, Offy intake, and Fenton headers. Behind the 235 is a 1984 T5. Since I don't do much heavy hauling, and I'm in the South Jersey flatlands, I don't really need a 4.55 gear ratio back there. In doing this, I want to keep my OE 15", 6 lug wheels for an original look, so that limits the options a bit. I'm thinking that something around a 4.10 or 3.90 would give me a little better performance, and reduce cruising RPMs a bit.
I'm sitting on the fence between rebuilding my OE 42 rear, and swapping it out for something newer. Any experiences with the early 40s 3/4 ton, that you care to share, or recommendations for 6 lug axles to consider, would be greatly appreciated. BTW, thus far, everything I've done to modify this truck has been bolt on, and I have the OE components on the shelf, if I ever want to return the truck to a stock configuration. Thanks in advance for any help/advice.
