The angle of the pinion needs to be parallel with the transmission output shaft. They can be colinear, which is ideal, but probably not really practical in most cases.
So if the angle of the engine transmission is 3 degrees (trans lower than the engine), the pinion needs to be 3 degrees up to make it parallel.
The reason is to minimize vibration. If the transmission and pinion aren't parallel, the driveshaft will tend to vibrate because of the action of the u-joints.


Kevin
1951 Chevy 3100 work truck
Follow this saga in Project Journal
Photos
1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car)
Busting rust since the mid-60's
If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.