The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Best way to increase highway speed in my 54 chev p/u?

Now that I have been driving my new old 1954 chevrolet pickup for a while I can see that eventually I am goin to have to change something to be able to cruise in the 60 mph range. The 235 with 3 speed on the column just purrs while going down the road, but it sure would be nice to get up to highway speeds without it feeling like the rpm's were so high. The 45 to 55 range is fine for the back roads but when I've got to get on a highway I feel like a fox with its tail tucked between it's legs trying to stay ahead of a pack of hounds. And all the hounds around this city are on stairoids. If anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears.! Thanks from a new Stovebolter..
I think the stock rearend for my truck is a 390.

Hey, welcome! I'm in your area and drive my '49 GMC almost daily around here. I know exactly how you feel. I was on the 5 highway going north when a friend and his wife pulled up along side and waved. She kept asking him why I was going so slow, and didn't I know the speed limit was 60? Gotten the finger from some people too.

You will get lots of answers here. hope to see you around!

Gents,
You'll find tons of topics regarding this specific subject. Just do a search. But in a summary If you have a torque tube enclosed driveline and want to keep it, you could invest in the infamous Patrick's 3:55 gears which will raise your speed by 15%. Otherwise you change your tranny and driveline to an open driveline which will give you many different choices of combo's to pick from. Do a search on drivelines, Rear end Gears, etc.

I have a '50 and want to keep as stock as possible so I will later this year go with the Patricks 3:55 gearing package.



T Mott, As another bolter said not too long ago keep in mind that whenever someone gives you the finger, they're just telling you that YOU are #1 and salute you for that. Be Proud.

Puttinalong,

If you have the original 1954 1/2-ton enclosed driveshaft (torque tube) rear end, it has a 3.90:1 ratio ('47.5-'53 half tons had 4.11:1 ratio).

If you go with the Patrick's 3.55 you will see (feel?) about a 10% improvement.

Jim Carter's website has a Technical Article on higher-speed (lower ratio) drive lines.

http://www.oldchevytrucks.com/cgi-bin/htmlos.cgi/001269.1.928549743537045705

The Stovebolt Page also has a technical Article on this subject:

http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/torque_tube_swap.htm

This is probably the most often asked question by owners of 1/2 ton Advance Design trucks (along with questions about carburetors, electrical systems, king pins, tires/wheels, braking systems, paint codes, parts sources, ID codes, etc, etc). Welcome to the forum.

Good luck,
Tim

I also have a 54 and am thinking of doing the Patrick's gear change combined with changing to a slightly taller rear tire. I think because of the ample torque my truck will remain very drivable at slow speeds as well.

The only thing that bothers me is that every time I think of the cost of the gear change my head start shaking.

If you are wanting to drive today's highway speeds with your 1/2 ton, you will also need to upgrade your brakes. There have also been discussions here about getting the shoes lined with newer materials that are far better for stopping than the originals.

If you can find the gears for a '53-54 Chevy sedan with powerglide & torque tube, the ratio was 3.55. The '53-54 stick cars had 3.73s. Thats how I did my 3.55 conversion, and it only cost me $150 for the parts car. I assume (dangerous) that the truck and sedan gears will interchange.

good luck

chip

Fred, I always answer that by saying that the brakes on my truck work excellent and are more than sufficient for an additional 10 mph. I don't know if the brakes on my 54 work different from the older AD's but they don't require much pressure and work great.

I also suggest anybody that drives any truck does so taking handling characteristics and braking in mind.

Tony M,
So how many little fishies would you need to sell in order to support a rearend change?

Thanks everyone for the replys, I do have a totally original truck with torque tube and 390 rear gears. Just for the heck of it I called Randys ring and pinion service today to see if they had and suggestions also and the guy (was really nice ) but said they stopped at 1955, he wasn't sure why but I surmized it must be because thats when they went to an open drive line I think. The torque tube must really limit the possibilities. Maybe next spring when I start the frame up I will go ahead and take out the original trany and rearend and save them in the back of the shop, and go ahead and go with something more modern as I want this to be my daily driver from now on. My brakes are fine for now but eventually I think I will put power front discs on it just for safety's sake cause nobody round here knows what a 45, or 55 mph speed limit sigh even means anymore. But since Im not a tailgater and never have been I don't have any problems now with the original brakes. Thanks again for the replys...

If I get the full kit I would have to sell at least 100 of these. Labor would probably make it 200.

[img]http://www.angelswest.com/_borders/colinkoi01.JPG[/img]

Last I heard from Patrick his 3:55 Ring & pinion works only on '47-'53 torque tubes. Better check on compatibility with Patrick on a '54 3:90 rear end [ 520-836-1117 ]. My buddy has his truck in Patricks shop for the next 30 days. We will be hot- rodding his 235, we will keep ya posted.

That would be bad news and save me a lot of money.

The Patrick's website says:

Guys,
I put 31X10.50R15 tires on the rear of my 1950 3100 pickup. The fronts are still the 235-75X15s which came with the truck.

Using the 31-inch (Actually 30.6" rolling dia.) tires instead of the original 28-inch (27.6") is the same as going from a 4.11 to a 3.90 gearset. RPM at 60 dropped from 3000 to 2700. If you have a '54 it is equivalent to a 3.51 rear.

I checked for possible interference before and after installation and didn't see anything. The front might be a problem. The truck looks better than stock to me.

Bill