The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 6 lugs/better gears on a 1965 3/4 ton truck?

I have a 3/4 ton 65 Chevrolet truck. I'd like to put better gears in for a higher highway speed, and I'd like to use 6 lug wheels. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a Dana, because there are gears available for those differentials.

Basically, I'm thinking about turning it into a 1/2 ton.

Have any of you ever done this? If I put in a 12 bolt, is the driveshaft the same?

Is there any way to put just 1/2 ton spindles on 3/4 ton A-arms?

Any thoughts in general on making the 3/4 more driveable?

I can certainly understand were your coming from. I have a 63 3/4 with an Eaton and 4.11 rear axle ratio. I pulled the sm420 and replaced it with a A833, 4th is an overdrive. The drive shaft had to be shortened a little over 9 inches. Problem solved now instead of 3300 at 65 I'm doing 2300.

Now do you also want to soften the ride by going to 1/2 ton suspension? If so I would say find a donor truck and swap everything over.

ttt

Larry

There are plenty of 8 lug wheels that will work and look sporty on your truck. If you want a 1/2 ton instead of a 3/4 ton, TRADE! It will be less work.

Without changing the gears, you can do much better by installing an overdrive, or an overdrive transmission. An A833 as mentioned is a great choice as well as an NV4500 5 speed. Both of those transmissions have a 0.73:1 final drive, which will cut your rpm by 27%. Both are stout transmissions. The NV4500 has the advantage of having a granny gear for getting those heavier loads rolling.

I looked into the whole rear end swap out a while back for a for a project and it ended up being cost prohibitive. It is possible to change both front & rear components with a 1/2 ton. I have seen them done but it would be helpfull to have a donor truck and you are still getting 40+ year old parts. I'm partial to OD's, and have installed them in numerous vehicles. A whole lot less engineering and work than changing all the other components. Like the other guys mentioned there are a lot of choices out there. I had a 66 C-20 with a 292 and 3 sp OD that I drove for 17 years, daily driver, work truck, hauled a camper, and able go anywhere at freeway speeds.
Fred

I'd like to follow up on the A833 issue. My truck has a T5 with a 4:1 first gear, and it's like a granny gear. The gears in an 833 seem very attractive to me. In studying the threads re: 833 I gather that the Mopar trans have a different bell-housing pattern than GM's. This seems logical, but can one of you confirm ? Thanks in advance

Your correct the 833 for the Mopars does have a different bell mount. What I used was from a 82-87 Chev truck that was installed under the RPO MY6, that why it is also called a MY6. The biggest problem was finding a shifter for it, since I didn't get the oem Hurst that came with it. In my 63 the shifter came up left center, 4-6 in front of the seat. To confuse things GM made a bell housing with the Mopar bolt pattern on it, they are very rare. I've seen two of the dual bolt pattern bells on that auction site in the last 4-5 years.

Forgot to mention you need a bell from a 68-72 truck or machine your bell out to 5 1/6(?) for input bearing retainer. The 833 input bearing retainer is the same size as the sm465.

Larry

Thanks, LG. I should be OK w/ my bell since the engine is from a 71 truck, but I'll measure before lifting the trans into place, and wondering why it won't fit