I am working on a 46 chevy pickup restoration that includes replacing the 216 engine with a 235. I'd like to speed up the 4.11 rear end to the commonly upgraded 3.55(or faster)ring and pinion but I really don't want to spend up to $700 for parts to do it. I have acccess to one or more rear-ends of the 49, 50, 51 generation but I haven't been able to learn much about them other than that they still seem to use the torque tube driveshaft configuration in the half-ton model we're dealing with.

Does that 48-53 group have a higher rear end ratio then the 4.11? If so, are the ring and pinion items of the same parts number as the 46 so they would be interchangeable? If so, that would be super as I think I can get whole drivetrains for a small amount. And, maybe I could bolt up the whole drivetrain including a three speed tranny from such a (newer) truck?

Does the Chilton series have comprehensive specifications in them? I found a 48-53 chevrolet truck specifications book in the library just like the one I have for the 41-46 series but it does not have the nice rear end gear ratio tables that the 41-46 publication has.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Lee Boland (715-962-4010)