The Stovebolt Site Forums Welcome! Welcome Centre Getting down the road

Hello everyone! I am as green as a gourd so I appreciate your patience. A couple of years ago I acquired a "53" GMC pickup. The truck appeared to be in very good condition, running & driving. The EXTREMELY low gearing limited driving to backroads and the occasional trip to town.
She's a hoot to drive and I enjoy her completely. I even get a kick out of the 6 volt system
My desire is to make the truck a bit more user friendly. I have read a good bit and done some poking around on the internet and it seems there are abundant options.
BUT.... I am a bit of a traditionalist and am not interested in having a "rat-rod" or "resto-mod". (They are cool, but not in any immediate plans). My goal would be to get maybe 15 or 20 more MPH without sounding like she wants to blow up. Any help is welcome.

Welcome to the Stovebolt. Consider yourself at home for many years to come. This is THE place for old Chevy/GMC guys and there are folks here to help.....and all of us were "green" at one time.
Be sure to ask questions in the Garage Forums for the best results, not here in the welcome centre.

There are no stupid questions and the guys and gals here are great.
Yes, there is a thing or two you can do to your truck to get it up to speed and still maintain its integrity. Visit the Driveline Forum or the Hi Po Forum and the guys there will help you out.

We have quite a few bolters here from Ohio so watch for them.........and you may want to plan now for a trip to K.C. Missouri around the first weekend in September for the Stovebolt Reunion. Trucks trucks trucks there. ALL KINDS.
See you around the garage.

Welcome to the Stovebolt madness. There is no cure!

Welcome to the 'bolt. I'm a betting man, and I'll bet there are more than a few in here that have or had the exact same "problem" that you do..

welcome to the site! As Rusty said, you are not alone on wanting a bit more speed, BUT BUT BUT, along with more speed comes the need for more stop! Do some poking around and asking questions on the proper forum and you'll find a lot of good information!

I'm reaching for the higher cruising speed too, looks like we're both in the right place. Welcome to the Stovebolt forum!

Two ways to go faster; more rpm or higher final drive ratio. Most of us do not drive our trucks like they were driven back in the day. I think we're used to driving in near silence, no road noise, no engine noise, no gear noise. Our trucks had and have all these normal sounds in spades. Fact is if they're in good shape (as they should be to hit the highway) as in brakes, suspension, tires and steering they'll run 60 no problem. Will sound like they're going a lot faster and something is about to come thought the hood. Not the cases though (assuming alls in decent shape).

So, need to slow down the engine and still go fast. That's easy. T5 transmission from a Chevrolet S10. Lot of final drive and 1 gear ratios to choose from. I like my setup of 4.10s in the rear and .73 5th gear. You just have to be careful and not go too high or you'll only be able to use 5th when driving with a tailwind. Many get to the sweet spot of balancing HP and final drive with a simple rear gear change or complete late model rearend swap. This gives the added benefit of modern rear brakes.

Hit the search button and search T5 transmission and rear end swaps. Lots of reading material for sure.

Good Luck,
RonR

Welcome to the BOLT, there are a lot of us trying to do just what your after. It's a balance, keeping the old and making it work for your needs. Lot's of help here, no question is not worth asking.

The T5 transmission would probably be a logical alternative and I'm certain this would eliminate a LOT of noise from the driveline. The issue I see this route would be the appearance of the shifter. Is the T5 a top loader? I've also read that changing the gears in the stock rear differential housing was fairly common and relatively painless. Thoughts?

Remember guys, this is the Welcome Center, questions and discussions should move over to the Garage Forums. The current discussion belongs in the Driveline Forum. Thanks

Moving on over....