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So what year did the big bolts come out with self
adjusting brakes, hydraulic valve lifters, and beds
longer then 13' 8", and can cruise 55 MPH?

My son is looking to eventually get a second 2 ton
Chevrolet for his business. He has a 1946 2 ton
now. He cruises about 40 to 44 MPH. The truck bed
is 13' 8" long. Everyone wishes that his truck was
a little bit faster and the bed was longer.

My son drives his truck to the catering events. Most
trips are under 10 miles. Though a few events can be
80 miles one way. So he would like a truck that will
do 55 MPH on the interstate.

I think being his truck will get used a lot I think
self adjusting brakes would be good as well as
hydraulic valve lifters.

My son recently saw a 1959 2 ton Chevy with an
18' bed that has a 283 and a 5 speed transmission.

So the side question how does the 283 compare to the
261 and the 292?

Also what is the deal between the 5 speed and the
4 speed with the low 1st gear?

Thanks Jeffrey

I have a 58 2-ton with a 327 in it. 9r22/5 tires, The engine spins 3600 @ 60mph and 4200 @ 70mph. Umless you find one with a 5 speed Overdrive, or change out the rear end for something with more freeway gears, you will be spinning the same RPM. A lot of the 5-speeds were not overdrive trannys, I believe most were direct drive on 5th.

It will also still have manual adjusting brakes.

The 6400 is the shorter truck with 13' bed, the 6500 was longer, I am not sure when they started making the longer ones though. I have seen a 1956 6500.

Thanks for the reply Mike. I know that with the
1946 you can not change gears. Are different gears
available for the later trucks. Jeffrey

I don't think gears are available to change the ratio, that is why I said to change out the rear, meaning swapping the whole rear axle out.

I prefer to keep things original but depending on the
situation and if it is a direct bolt in it could be
possible to change. Though past experience has shown
me that it is so much easier to remain stock. Jeffrey

As Mike said, the Task Force trucks will run in the low/mid 60's as long as you aren't afraid to mash the pedal.

My '56 8400 tow truck has a 350 w/4+2 and my '57 10500 fire truck has a 322 w/5+2...They both run about 65 mph on the interstate.

There aren't any better gear sets available for the GM rears. If you find a truck with an Eaton rear you might find better gears if your lucky.

No self adjusters in the TF trucks...Not sure if or when they were available.

Mike B

The 4 speed vs. the 5 speed, the 4 speed is a 3 speed with a granny gear, the 5 speed is a 4 speed with a granny gear, closer ratios, get up to 55, then drop it into 5th gear.

Not all 5 speeds are direct in 5th. The problem with 5 speed OD trans.' , is to make it they make the 4thposition the OD, so there is a big gap between 3rd and direct, so with a load, frequently cannot shift up until hill is topped. Many came with 2 speed rear axles, this was more workable.

Ed

Most older diff. ratios result in slow and slower results. As stated above, get a whole rear axle. Matching up bolt patterns becomes difficult. It is not productive to have to carry 2 spares, so, to match bolt patterns, if you have 5/10 on 7.25", Dana 70's and 80's come with that bolt pattern in 3500 HD trucks and others. 6 on 8.75"(I believe) come in some Dana 80's in airport busses and others. Some have disc brakes, so, need to work out park brake issues.

Ed

Being that the truck can do 55 having a OD may not
be that important. My son's 46 2 ton hauls about
a 4,000 lb. load. He has never needed to shift the
rear into low.

How can you identify if the transmission is a 5 speed over drive or not?

I remember school buses in the late 60's early 70's
having 5 speeds. Jeffrey

I know there was a post where the whole gear carrier
from a later truck would fit into rear housing
of an earlier truck making the process easier.
Though I don't remember the thread at the moment.
However to do all those things you pointed out
I'd rather stay with the stock gears.

My son does not need or want to do 70 - 75 MPH
and he is not looking to raise MPG.

If you can find a 50's or 60's truck with a New Process 541 with a "working 5th", they will cruise at 75 at 4200 RPM. I drove one for almost 5 years with a GMC 370V8. 4th and 5th is close ratio and with the correct 2 speed, you have less than 400 RPM split on your top 4 gears. I ran circles around 671 Detroits with it. Here is the shift pattern.

https://get.google.com/albumarchive...hKey=CL-Oxam8_7HplgE#6409303494956954690

To find out if it is an OD 5 speed, direct would be right and fwd., if marked, OD would be right and aft. If not marked, look for tag. on side of trans., any O in the designation indicates OD, i. e., 2800, etc. otherwise, count revolutions.

Ed

I did this with my fire engine that has an Eaton rear. I found a newer 2-speed pumpkin that bolted in and swapped out the single speed, it gave me 6.14/8.36:1 ratio which was better than the stock 7.17:1.

I don't think there is any help like that for the GM rears...

Mike B