Jim,I think you are asking about the possibility of using a set of 3.55 gears out of a 1951 car Powerglide in a 1954 1/2 ton truck.
You are absolutely correct.
Just the 3.55 Ring & Pinion gear set installed on to the 1954 1/2 ton truck carrier.
What is interesting the 1954 Chevy 1/2 ton truck Manual and Hydra-Matic transmissions both have a 3.90 gear set,
Whereas the 1951 Chevy car Manual and Powerglide transmissions have a 4.11 gear set for the Manual trans and a 3.55 gear set for the Powerglide trans.
I thought I could pull the axle shafts and just swap out the entire torque tube and carrier but according to the
1929 - 1957 Chevy Master Catalog under shafts rear propeller O.L. Over all length for the 41-54 passenger car is 63". The 54 1/2 ton w/H.T. is 57 5/8" Both have 17 splines and are a Type C propeller shaft. Master Cat. does not specify if both ends have 17 splines just says 17 splines. The 41-54 passenger car Powerglide torque tube ,carrier and propeller shaft are to long to do a direct swap in a 1954 chevy 1/2 ton with a Hydra-Matic transmission, but the type and splines are the same in both the car and the truck.
According to the
1954 Chevrolet Truck spec 3100 1/2 ton PDF pages 99 and 100 both ends of the propeller shaft have 17 splines. So that means the car and truck pinion gear splines are the same.
So the only way it would work is if a set of 3.55 gears out of a 1951 car Powerglide fit into the 1954 1/2 ton truck's carrier.
