The Stovebolt Site Forums Welcome! Welcome Centre Returning to My Roots

After 40 years of building, riding and racing motorcycles, two accidents last spring have me returning to four wheels. Last August I bought a relatively rust free 1941 half ton out of Fargo ND and currently the drivetrain, suspension, and steering parts have been removed. It came with a rebuilt 235 out of a 54 car, so keeping it is a no brainer. This fall I bought a T5 out of WI, a 3.42 Blazer 4x4 rear end from a local salvage yard and sent a deposit check to Sid. It is starting to get cold here so things will slow down for the winter, but next spring all of this needs to go together.

If not for this forum I might have gone another direction, but I'm glad I didn't. I'm not sure the world needs another SBC in an S10 frame. This forum has been extremely helpful in getting me to this point and I know I will need more help in the future.

Thanks, Tom Fisher

That's why I kept the 235 in my '48. There's plenty of SBC motors in old trucks. The six is different. And, I think, purty. Here's mine.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fu35py8t51vl6zs/DSC00580.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8p4ld021t9esh73/DSC00584.JPG?dl=0

welcome to the site! 3.42 is a nice ratio for truck. That is what I had in my 59 Suburban, with the SM420 (then later, an SM465). You will be able to cruise down the freeway at whatever speed you wish with no issues!

Sweet. Mine is a long way from that, but maybe someday.

With the T-5 you're likely to have one too many gears unless the land you're traveling is flat as a pool table. Downshifting for even a small hill gets old in a hurry.

When I set up my van for long distance highway travel, I installed one inch bigger wheels (14 to 15) and chose a tire that gave me an overall tire height about 2" taller than the original 14" tire/wheel setup. The ideal cruise speed for the best gas mileage is around 70 MPH now, as long as the terrain is relatively flat- - - - -great for most interstates. I've got a Ford AOD transmission behind a 3.0 L V6 in an Aerostar van. It has four available cruise ratios- - - - -3rd. gear (direct drive) with the torque converter clutch engaged or disengaged, and the same options in 4th. (overdrive) gear. Locking/unlocking the torque converter is a matter of stepping on the gas just a little to raise the TV pressure and disengage the converter clutch, which changes engine RPM by about 10% . On 55 MPH 2 lane roads, the ideal gear is direct drive with the TCC engaged, done by a manual shift out of OD. High gear, with the TCC in or out, is too high.

The trick is to get the engine on the "sweet spot", RPM and torque-wise, regardless of which gear you happen to use. A T-5 and a 3.42 gear might be a bit too high for good performance and gas mileage, depending on your choice of tires.
Jerry

Tom, sounds like your a man with a plan and on a journey. Congrats on your pickup and you'll find the help you need right here on the forum.. Keep technical questions in the garage forums and let the guys there help you along the way. Thanks for sharing.

Welcome Tom, yes many but not all of us prefer the six. I have a 261 car engine in mine, 3.55 gears and a SM420.
Getting colder here too. Be sure to ask if and when you need it. Good luck.
Leo

SM420 4-speed and 3.55 rear in my Suburban (torque-tube). Very nice ride/power at all speeds (261 now, but was satisfactory with the 235).

I also have a 235 and Hydra-Matic 4-speed (1:1 in high gear) that now has a 3.55 rear (torque-tube). It drove fine at 55-60 mph on Interstates.

Radial truck tires on original 6.50x16" wheels/rims.

That 3.42 rear end might be great behind a 1:1 ratio transmission, but like Hotrod Lincoln says, it would render the fifth gear of your T5 useless. I've got a 3.90 rear end, .72 overdrive T5, 29" tires, and a stock 216 and I've run my truck at 70-80 mph on 4 and 5 hour trips many times.
If you don't mind me offering my opinion, I would suggest keeping either the T5 with a rear end ratio closer to 3.90, or the 3.42 rear end with a trans final drive ratio closer to 1:1.

I agree that a 3.42 rear is too tall for most applications with an OD trans. I had a 1998 Ranger (great truck) 4 cyl., 5 speed. with a 3.42 rear and a .79 5th. Even with 14 inch wheels, any long incline required a down shift. With a load or towing or in the mountains I just left it in 4th, which I believe was 1:1. This worked well. The differential is apart, now would be a good time to put in a lower gear.

In my first post I was disrespectful of a sbc in a s10 frame. This is not a good position to take as there is a reason they are so popular. Although I prefer a road less traveled, I shouldn't judge how others want to do it.

Thanks for the welcome, questions are coming. Tom

Looking forward to tracking your progress.
Keep us posted.

John