Stovebolt.com Forums The Parking Lot Welcome Centre New to Stovebolt from Northeast Indidna

New guy.

I bought a 1951 Chevy 3600 in 2017. Vin. #1JRG5753. It is a 3/4 ton heavy duty (5800#), 4 on the floor. It had 69,030 original miles and I am the third owner. I had fun putting about 400 miles on it before I started a total frame off restoration which began in March of 2018. I am trying to keep it as original looking as possible but will be changing it to 12 volt. When finished it will be my daily driver. The original 216 online 6, 4 on the floor transmission and drive shaft have been totally rebuilt and waiting to be put back in the truck. The frame was totally disassembled sandblasted and painted, waiting on the completion of the body. The cab has a new floor and fire wall along with some other body work which is about 90% done.

You all know about the original drive train with a 5:14 rear end only gets about 45 mph. I am planning to change the rear gears out for 4:11 or 3:90 gears if I am lucky.

One thing I can't fine any where is tie rod ends. The original ones were both badly messed up by the last owner and can't be repaired.

51Roughrider

Roughrider, welcome to the Stovebolt. This is a great site as I have been here longer than I want to admit.
Sounds like you have found yourself a really good ride with lots of work already done.

About the tie rod ends.....this would be a great question to ask in the Driveline Forum. Everyone doesn't visit here each time they log in......since this is the welcome center we don't recommend asking questions here.
We are here to help and m any have been down the same paths and we are glad to help.
See you around the garage forums.

.....and watch for bolters from your areas. There are quite around.........well, many of them may be at the Stovebolt Homecoming in Va. this weekend!!!

Welcome RoughRider!

Check the Tech Tips for the 4.10 swap for your 3/4 ton. I did this to my 1 ton and love it. It really is as easy as an afternoon. The hardest part is finding a 4.10!

Welcome to the 'bolt. Please peruse the various forums and ask applicable questions in those forums, as that is where you will get the best answers.

Welcome to the Stovebolt madness. There is no cure!

Welcome Roughrider!

Sounds like a great project! Did you stop by the site before or during your resto?? Even if you're only finding us now, we glad you got here as quick as you could!

I truly hope you didn't put too much $$ into your 216 ... Because, if you upgrade the rear axle to the 4.10, you are not going to be happy with it after a while. At least that's what I found driving my 3804 -- it could hold 60-65 okay on level terrain, but it got winded pretty quick on hills and in heavy traffic/traffic lights/stop and go. And forget about passing anyone. And you will still need 1st gear just to start off. IF you find the 3.90, I think you will find the gearing too tall for the 216 -- especially if you are running 17-inch wheels (I am).

On my '49 1-ton (3804), I'm running the 4.10 gearing behind the SM-420 and a '54 casting 261 engine on 17-inch wheels. It can cruise 70 mph all day long and is still good in traffic. I generally keep it to 60-65 and it is very happy there.
The SM-420 isn't optimal at this point but it does fine AND like all the other components in my driveline, is completely bolt in with no mods required. I even used to kit from Jim Carter (other vendors sell them too) to disguise my 261 so it looks like a 216... well, except for the Detroit Diesel "Alpine Green" color ... The only thing about the disguise is that the 235/261 valve cover was a vast improvement over the 216 VC ... which LEAKS...

But you are on the right path to do something about your steering before you go faster. Hopefully, you did your brakes, too.

Again, welcome. We hope you find a home here among your brother nut jobs ... Um, I mean antique truck enthusiasts

Regards,
John

welcome to the site!

Welcome 51RoughRider I reside east of Wabash In. N. of Lagro matter of fact! 59 Apache being restored in the Corncrib welcome!

I am not planning on driving my 3600 on the freeway, that might be a little scary for an old guy. Would like to make 55 mph without the engine at full revs. Plan to drive it most days around town or pulling my old 14' aluminum fishing boat to the near by lakes in northeastern Indiana. Brakes are definitely on the list of restoration. The one thing I am really trying to do is keep it looking as original as possible. It was fun driving it around town, lots of thumbs up. The 216 now has modern style bearings. I have been told that changing it to 12 volt will help the over all performance? When its back on the road I plan on going to every cruse-in I can find in the Tri-state (IN, MI, OH) area, just for fun.

Hi neighbor, we may cross paths someday. Maybe at the Roanoke cruse-in. Got any forgotten "old" junk yards in your area?