The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop GMC rearend swap

Hello! I'm in need of some serious advice regarding my 52 GMC suburban. It is stone stock with a 248 and only 80000 origional miles. I also have a 68 chevy van 109 wb heavy duty with finned brake drums , 6 lug wheels, 12 bolt rear and factory 4 speed col shifted borg warner t 10. Thinking of swapping rear and tranny converting obviously to open drive. Does any one know if the t10 is a bolt in? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I also am wondering if I could swap the front brakes to the finned ones from the van. Thanks, Smitty

Hey Joe, Thanks for the input. I've owned this van since 1980 when it was a one owner. I restored it then and slowly inproved it over the years. I stopped driving it about 200000 miles later. It has body rust in lower parts, but floors and hinge areas are excellent. I've watched auctions on ebay for old vans and they don't usually bring too much. Wanna buy it? I just figured that if the stuff would fit my 52, I would strip her out, remove the doors, and have her carcass hauled off. Sincerely, Smitty

You should not need an adapter for that transmission. I'm wondering if you could adapt the 4-speed column shift to your Suburban?

I parted-out a 70-something Chevy van a year ago. It was way too wide to use the rear axle under something like your Suburban. You might want to do some measuring before going to the trouble to take it apart.

Hey Old Sob, Thanks for the info! As I am not too smart at times and have been away from serious car stuff for 10 yrs or so would I be correct in assuming that the splines on the T10 will slide right into the clutch and pilot bushing? I plan on doing lots of measuring on the rear before taking anything apart! I will look into possibly adopting the whole collum and possibly steering box as well.

I would not be surprised if the splines and pilot bushing are correct, but if you have it this far apart why not replace that clutch disk now...

Chevy van steering columns are popular for this swap because column key switches did not show up in vans until much later than everything else. That doesn't matter in your case.

Your van steering box is probably not the one to use for this swap. It was designed to sit at the wrong angle for your truck. There is a kit that puts a pickup steering box on these trucks. I'd check into that if you want to keep the stock suspension and gain power steering.

It may be possible to swap the front brakes, but I'd suggest going disks instead.

Old Sub and 3105, Thanks for the additional info. Looks like I've got alot of thinking to do before getting any deeper into this swap. Thankyou both for the input, it is very helpful!! Sincerely ,Smitty