The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline 57 3100 - rear swap or not?

Truck is 6 lug, drum brakes all around

Intending to use it as a daily driver / cruiser

One opinion is to swap the rear end (with what, TBD) for something that’s 3.73, disc brakes and 5 lug; then make the conversion on the front to 5 lug with discs using a kit.

Another opinion is to keep all as is except converting the front to disc brakes.

Any strong opinions one way or the other from the group?

Your question needs more background info on your truck and it's existing power plant/transmission combo before folks can give good feedback on a suggested rear end path. I looked but couldn't find any details in your previous post to know those details.

and what is your daily commute. Since your tag is Danbury, CT its not exactly bumper to bumper in high heat conditions but it will help with the answers.
If its just driving around town let us know.
If you plan on hopping on I-84 and heading out of town for miles and want 65+ let us know that too.

Lot's of variables here. It could depend on what engine and transmission combination
you currently have.
A 3.73 rear end would have to come from a later vehicle which would require some
spring pad relocation and driveshaft mods. It wouldn't change much from the 3.90
standard gearset in the truck.
There is a 3.38 gear set available for the corporate Eaton that came with the truck.
There are factory overdrives and later units available using the stock rear end.
I believe in disc brake upgrades, there are 6 lug conversions available.
5 lug conversions will require all new wheels and possibly tires.

It’s a 350/th350. I don’t really commute but would drive it around town, running errands, etc. Going on a trip could be three hours each way, but that wouldn’t be often (let’s say twice a month). I wouldn’t often take it on a major highway, but let’s say it’s one of those two trips a month.

I do need to get new wheels/tires, regardless.

Appreciate any suggestions!

For that kind of a use case, you really don't need to change out the axle/brakes.

That said, if you want to make an upgrade just because, there are a few options available.

I personally put a 3.73 rear end out of a grand cherokee in the back and a disc conversion from Speedway on the front.

The 4WD S10 rear end is another popular choice for the rear. There are a few different choices, really. Though there are some other changes that you might consider at the same time.

If you want to go down that rabbit hole, I would recommend starting a thread over in HiPo to explore it.

My 1957 has 3:38 gears, with a Chevy 348 engine. Runs great in all conditions. For a while I had a 283 (one 4BBL), that also worked fine. Sounds like you have plenty of power to work with. I got my gears from Patrick's (it is a NAPCO truck.) I also installed a dual master cylinder with disc brakes up front because of the problems with the NAPCO brake parts (they are Studebaker). I'm very happy with that choice also.
don