The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks late 60's donor axle

My truck is 1960 3/4 ton 2WD. With that good ol' 4.57 axle.
Might have found donor axle - late 60's chevy 6 bolt.
If I recall, I have HO52 - how can I tell if this other axle compatible ?
Does donor need to be 8 lug ? It does have better ratio.

If I remember correctly, the 1/2T (C10) trucks used a different rear end than the 3/4T (C20) Trucks.

Chevy made two version of the 1/2T differentials, the 55T and 55P. The "T" was for the trucks and the "P" was for passenger vehicles (cars).
This was not used in the 3/4T trucks.

Here's a link to the Diff Wizard on the www.ringpinion.com website.

You should be able to plug in your information and see what fits, and what's available. I know they sell 3.38:1 gears for the '62 1/2T trucks. I don't know what they may have available for the 3/4T trucks.
I have done business with Randy at Ring and Pinion since he was a single mechanic working out of his garage in Sacramento, CA back in the late 70's. He's done well for himself and treats his customers fairly. I recommend him.

The 6 lug axle will not fit the Eaton HO52 rear end. Axles aren't too hard to find for the HO52, but higher gear ratios are. The best you'll be able to do with the Eaton is 4.10, and those are getting very hard to find.

Matt

dbwr,
Better not to use the word axle if you mean differential. The axles are inside the differential. The term axle, to many folks, means rear end/differential. But for this discussion it will be confusing because you can get custom axles to do some things. I am not 100% sure if you are asking about swapping the actual axle shafts or the differential.
I see you have another post about the same issue 7 mo's ago. In that post you said swap "whole axle".

Maybe move away from a HO/drop out style. Look for 3/4T Dana 44 or 14 bolt with the ratio you want. (70's and 80's, 4X4's included) Just measure to get a close fit on the width. The next issue is the suspension you have. You have control arms with coils and a panhard bar. You will need to adapt the donor to this suspension, including E-brake. This does take some effort and skill, a welder, an angle grinder and a magnetic level. That fact drives people to just change R&P. Changing R&P means all new bearings and seals and you can't do it yourself without a lot of tools, study, help/experience and money. Parts hard to find for old drop outs. I would use the chance to get more modern. It is a rock and a hard spot. The donor rear will be way cheaper and more DIY. Good donor $250. I've done it both ways, myself.
The 60's trucks can be a pain in the "rear end". The 4x4's are easy. all leaf springs. You DO need a 8 lug donor or you will have two spare tires to carry.

Also possibly 10 bolt-12 Bolt corporate? Dana 60 (64-77 3/4 T Chevy) ? Could be a ratio problem with some of these.

Biggest complaint about Stovebolts is the lack of speed. If you roll slow, everybody can see how cool your truck is.

You're right about verbage - I meant R&P taking a page from Stovebolt
donor axle article .... but it looks like I'll end up doing axle non-HO
and newer. This will not be daily driver, but maybe weekly, and living in
Denver, some times one needs to go clear across town. I could do 127
stoplights crawling across Colfax, or do I-70 at a comfortable 60 mph,
which I can not do now - 4:57 keeps it under 50 mph.
On a '74 C10 truck I swapped axle with something else Chevy but yoke way
different. Turns out NAPA had all kinds of funky yokes, so I got one to match.
.
I have plenty of patience to go slow, but sometimes we have to get things done.

You might consider an overdrive transmission like a t 5 to get the higher speeds. By just gearing up the rear end the trans gears get further apart making it tough to get up to speed , especially climbing a grade no matter how slight..You end up with high revs in a lower gear and end up lugging in the next gear.

Good luck

I agree that a T5 would be a great addition. However, an original type overdrive (Muncie SM319 w/BW OD) would be a drop in for your 60 without any modifications. Electrical components are required as part of the system. They are still available and reasonably priced.
Now that everyone knows about the 4:10 option for the "corporate" rear end they are becoming more scarce and of course more expensive. And remember these are used parts and may require rebuild. It would be wise to consider all options.
Fred

Interesting!, this borg warner over drive you mention , is this the newer version of the brown lippe box that bolted between the bell housing and the trans? I think they were a 20% o/d
I researched these and I believe their in the $1,500 range. It would ad a cool factor with the 2 stick theme. A great option.

No, it's a factory overdrive unit that was available from 55-65 in both cars and light duty trucks. It is exactly your transmission with the overdrive unit replacing the standard tail housing. A newer version was available from 66-70 which was a full syncro Saganaw unit. Almost all manufacturers offered overdrive transmissions in that era. They were available in Studebaker's in the mid 40's and Ford's from 49 up. Packard, Rambler, Hudson, Kaiser, Nash, Plymouth and others all had their versions of BW overdrive transmissions. GM was late to the party having introduced them with the redesign of cars & trucks from closed drivelines to open in 1955. They are 30% OD.
Fred

Thanks Fred , I was not aware of these units. Is the o/d the 4th gear.?

John

It works like a 4th gear the same as late vehicles with an automatic overdrive transmission. There is no manual gear selection as in a T5. The overdrive selection is made by engagement of an electric solenoid in conjunction with a speed governor. It can be temporarily disengaged for passing by engaging a kickdown switch in the same manner as driving a vehicle with an automatic transmission.
The electrical components include a solenoid, governor, kickdown switch, relay, and wire loom. The solenoid and governor are components of the BW overdrive unit mounted on the rear housing.
Fred
This type of overdrive also uses a cable which is primarily used to disengage or engage the OD. For most driving the cable is pushed in to engage the system.

The original transmissions where Muncie 318's, when they where equipped with a borg warner overdrive rear tail housing assembly they are a Muncie 319. I have two of them in the hoard.

any 3/4 ton pumpkin from a 1950 up into the late 60,s will bolt into your housing. gear ratios from 370 to 538 are used. The 60 thru 62 trucks had a wider boxed frame than the 63 and newer trucks. and had a torsion bar front suspension. You best option would be to find a 63 thru 66 frame to install your body on. A GMC frame would work and has rear leaf springs instead. of trailing arms and coil springs..