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Question,

I have searched this but not come up with a lot on it, What did a stock 1952 3600 come with as far as rear gears, I have the 4 spd transmission on the floor.

Birge

51 and 53 resto packs say 4.57:1 rear ends in the 3600 with the
5.14:1 as a RPO (regular production option).

I would imagine the 52 would be the same.

http://chevy.tocmp.com/chevyresto/51126.htm

http://chevy.tocmp.com/chevyresto/53132.htm

Thanks Randy, How would I decifer the RPO, or in other words how would I see which I have 4.57:1 or 5.14:1 RPO. I suppose this could be done by spinning the rear wheels while watching the drive shaft and counting, I will also look for the tag on the diff.

Thanks
Birge

Keep one wheel on the ground. Lift the other (with a jack). If you can't sping the tire, either your differential is broken or you have a no slip (locker) in the rear. If you spin it 4.57/2 (or approximately 2.25) times, for a single revolution of the drive shaft then you have a 4.57 rear.

You most likely have the 4.57. It's common.

I don't know of any place that has the casting numbers linked to the gear sets.

Thanks jhaa,

Once I get it back togehter I will do just that.

Thanks Again
Birge

Birge,
There are a couple other ways to tell the ratio, (which is the ratio of ring gear teeth to pinion gear teeth).

1) You can count the number of teeth on each gear (i.e. 41 Ring gear teeth & 10 Pinion gear teeth =41/10 or 4.10 ratio) or
2) The number of teeth should be stamped on the end of the pinion gear shaft, which is visible from the inside of the differential-you may need to reach in and clean off the end. You'll see a bunch of numbers but some will read something like "GM-7-32" which would mean 32 ring gear teeth/7 pinion gear teeth =4.57 ratio. This method is easier.