mchotrods, I also have a '36 Chevy pickup that I bought in 1965. I ran it as a rat rod for about 50,000 miles when I first got it with a 283 Chevy, B & M Hydrostick and '60 Chevy pickup rear end with 3.90 gears.
Then in the early 70s I restored it and drove it from Southern California to the 1976 VCCA national meet in Colorado Springs. While there, I also drove it to the top of Pike's Peak, 14,110 feet above sea level. That's the only show I ever took it to because, to me, shows are excruciatingly boring. The trip was great, stopping along the way to camp and fish in the Rocky Mountains and also camping on the deserts of Utah and Nevada.
From that round trip to Colorado and the 35 years of subsequent putting around I learned that a '36 Chevy is a completely reliable vehicle. The stock rear axle ratio is 4.11:1 and even at 50 MPH the engine is pretty revved up and there is a lot of cab noise. I dealt with that problem by putting 3.55 gears from a powerglide equipped '51 Chevy car into a '37 Chevy car rear end. Getting the '37 rear end to fit the '36 pickup required shortening the driveshaft and torque tube about 6 1/2 inches and moving the spring perches inboard 1 7/8 inches, both easily done at home if you have a chop saw and stick/mig/tig welding equipment. The '36 brakes and U-joint fit the '37 rear end so it was a pretty simple conversion. Although a major deviation from "Correct" the conversion would only be noticed by a fanatical purist who has crawled under the truck and noticed the unequal length axle tubes.
If you prefer synchromesh shifting, those trucks also came with a 3-speed transmission.
Ray
