The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 58 Nomad drivetrain to 51 1/2 ton?

What's up fellow Bolters? I have a coworker that's willing to sell me the entire drivetrain off an unrestorable 58 Chevy Nomad.
It has a 283 w/2 speed Powerglide/Turboglide. I was tinkering with the idea of swapping my torque tube with the open driveline of the Nomad into my 51 chevy 1/2 ton.. Has anyone ever attempted this?
I did some research and found out some 235s were matted with Powerglides/Turboglides. The 2 piece driveshaft would have to be swapped for a single of course. I have a full pressure 235 in the 51 now and not planning to use the 283. Any input is appreciated fellas.

I'd stay with the 235.

Me too. If you've got the room, store the 283/pg for a later project.

Thanx Cletis & Waldo53. I'm leaning more towards keeping the 235 since I got two of them and keep the 283 for a different project.
Any ideas if the rear differential would be a good candidate for the torque tube swap? As far as width,highway gears etc? I'm goin to have to dig the car out of the ground if I need to get some measurements.

Well, darn, I hate to be a wet blanket here but if I were looking for a rear end upgrade I think the '58 car would be way down on the list. They used a coil spring/control arm set-up that would require major modification to work in your truck. Not saying it can't be done but it would be a lot of work. There are other popular swaps for rear gears. One is to change the ring/pinion in your stock housing to a 3:55. Other options would include a mid/late 60's 1/2 ton rear which gives you the 6-bolt lug pattern that matches the front (I have a '69 with 3:08's in my '53) Camaro, Firebird, Nova's are practically a bolt in but change you to 5-lugs.

Do some searches here and you'll see lots of different approaches to the gearing issue.

Cool. Thanx for your input waldo53. I guess I'm goin to have to do more research on this. I like the idea of using a mid/late 60s rear. I'll keep looking.