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Hey All-

Looking for a brownie for my 58 GMC 370. Want a Spicer 5831 A, C or E, as these are the ones with the .73 overdrive. Anybody got one? Anybody know what trucks these came in so I know what to look for in the wrecking yards?

Thanks

Gary

I looked for one for quite a while before I got the regular 2 speed one for my 1 ton. Probably over a year without seeing anything. I saw a bigger overdrive at a truck place near austin that I thought about.

A knowledgeable old trucker said look for where they have oil field trucks as they had to do a lot of highway miles and often had overdrives.

Hi Gary, welcome to the Stovebolt!

I was in Edmonds twice yesterday. I came through on the ferry heading to look at a truck that is for sale.

Last summer there was a truck for sale in Spokane that had a Brownie. I was tempted to buy the truck in part for that box, but didn't do it. I rarely see them for sale, but would like to have one too.

Gary,
Most guys don't know what they are. I called a wrecker asking if he had a brownie, said he wasn't sure so I drove out and he showed me a 2 speed rear end. I bought some other parts and there on the ground in his transmission was a 5831A. He had no idea what it was. My point is you need to go and look. Find some truck wreckers and look under the bigger trucks and in the transmission piles. I bought the brownie and would now like to find the shifting tower. Good luck.

Try calling this salvage yard in Kansas. It is one giant yard with a lot of older stuff. If anyone would know what a brownie was and have one it is these guys. "Truck Wholesale" Wellsville kansas 785-883-4117. Good luck.

Info:

http://www.6066gmcguy.org./spicer-5831-b.htm

So is the brownie basically a transfer case that instead of low/direct, has a low/direct/and overdrive?

Yup, it's just a second transmission mounted behind the main transmission.

There were many different gear configurations available ie: Under/Direct, Double-Under/Under/Direct and Under/Direct/Over etc.

Mike B

I've been looking for one of these for a while, too. A yard about an hour south of here wanted $350 for a 5831B (same as the one Jolly has 2.35/1.00/0.85). It was from a 60's GMC IIRC.

There is a place in Toledo, Ohio, that can sell you a new or used one. I've never called to find out how much they want, though. I think it's called Goody's truck parts.

What I am curious about is, how much torque can these things handle? I want to use one in my GMC, and I hope it could at least tolerate a mild SBC rebuild, without breaking and causing me to track down expensive and hard to find pieces.

Howdy Guys, I just updated the Spicer 5831 Auxiliary Transmission page of my site with some info I got in the mail a while back, I figured now would be a good time to do it.

Torque & Horsepower rating for the 5831 comes from the brochure I got, Torque 275 lbs. ft., Horsepower 150. I plan on using it behind a GMC 401M V6, which is rated for 372 lbs. ft. torque & 237 HP. I'm sure it will hold up. it came from a GMC W5500 Dump Truck with a 351 V6.

I plan on using it in my 1965 GMC 1 ton behind the stock SM-420 4-speed.

On a side note, I posted the Photo Gary sent me of his 1958 GMC F-370 <~~~Right there, hope you don't mine eh.

I have a Suzuki Samurai and one of the mods I've done is swap in lower transfer case gears. I have to think it's possible to take a NP205 and swap in higher transfer case gears (if anyone makes them). After swapping in the higher T-Case gears, you would have the same as a brownie box, except you'd only have low and high, no direct. A NP205 is rated for more than 275lbs/ft and 150hp as well. With a 1.98 low ratio, combined with a granny low, combined with a 4.56 or lower rear end, you oughta be able to pull just about anything. Couple that 4.56 rear end with a .7 OD, and you can cruise down the road all day long.

4.56 rear, with .7 od, and 33" diameter tires=2113 RPM @ 65 MPH...not too bad at all

If you didn't feel like you needed the low range, maybe the better option would be a gearset consisting of a 1:1 low and .7:1 high...

The next obstacle is either finding someone who manufactures this gear set or finding someone willing to manufacture it cheaply..

5831s around here seem to go for about $500 with u-joints and shaft stubs, they have several at the big truck yard. I would have one already but I can't seem to find a shifter assembly for one, not that there is any more room for another lever in the cab with 4 speed, two speed rear and emergency brake already.

Chris

Chris,
where are you located?

northwest florida