The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline swap a 457 pumpkin for a 410 will it work?

If I swap a 4.10 pumpkin out of a 66-73 chevy 3/4 ton to my 49 chevy 3/4 ton what would be my top highway speed with the original 216, 3 on the tree ?? Is this the way to go to get a comfortable 55-60 mph highway speed without harming my rebuilt 216? Or, I've also been told a rear axle swap from a 87-93 Ford E-250 Which is best?? I would like to stay as original looking as possible, but I want a daily driver. Thank You!

Depends on a couple things, your tire height and what you consider a comfortable cruising rpm. Google "rpm calculator" and find one you like then plug your numbers into it. 55 to 60 mph should come easily with the 4.10's. You should be able to do 55 now if you're running 17" tires.

I have been running 55-60 the last 24,000 miles or 7 years with 15" tires, but the engine started making loud noises and I took it in for a rebuid or whatever it needed to a dependable shop I know of. They did just the top part of the engine as the lower part looked recently rebuilt. (Now I'm not engine smart so exuse my wording), they had the head machined etc. They told me to take it easy not over 50mph, so I thought I was taking it easy, but it got real loud and knocking so I took it back and the valves guides??( I think they said) were all out of whack if that makes sense. They said I need to do something with the rear end gear, so thats where I'm at. Does this make sense? Thanks!

Bunch of questions here, but I'll start with the best one. When the 216 was rebuilt, was it modified to allow full pressure oiling?

Jeff

It was only modified to use unleaded gas. Thanks Dean

That limits how many rpms that engine can take. A 216 with a 4.57 shouldnt really be run over 50 mph for any length of time due to the lower oiling pressure. I never drove my truck over 50 before switching over to the 3.55 rear.

You could really tell from the feel of driving her and the engine noise that it was really unhappy at that speed with the stock 4.11. Even with a 3.55 I don't really drive over 60 if I can help it.

Driving at your speeds with a 4.57 was probably detrimental to the engine. Yes, a 4.10 would help. Some of the other guys can probably help better to determine what may have happened prior to tearing into it. The biggest problem with the 216's and the higher RPMS is that they used iron pistons and those things really abuse the babbit bearings. Switching over to aluminum pistons during a rebuild will help.

I don't know why in the hell the shop folks would tell you that valve guide issues would have been caused by the rear end. That seems ridiculous to me. Are you sure it was the valve guides? Even so, nothing in the valve train is gonna be screwed up by your rear end. Maybe it's something simple like it just needs a proper valve adjustment.

Did the noise come on all of a sudden pretty much as soon as you left the shop? Did it get louder and increase with engine speed?

Jeff

Yes it got loud about 4 miles down the road and seemed to really get loud all of a sudden. They had to adjust the valves again. Dean

The 216 uses solid lifters. I wonder if they didn't adjust the valves properly the first time. Is everything working better now?

Jeff

I'm not driving it again till we find a 410 pumpkin, its just sitting in the mechanics garage up town. He said he had all the valves adjusted again. I've had 2 pumpkins offered but can't get ahold of these guys to talk about it. Do you see a way to get a phone number off these posts? You are the only one that responds. Thank You, Dean

The only way to get a phone number is if someone offers it. Some people just don't respond to emails or PMs. Good luck.

Jeff

I'm not sure going from a 457 (I think you mean 456) to a 410 is going to buy you that much. What speeds will you normally be driving? If you want to crusie at say 65MPH, then you might consider a 355 or so. OR a different transmission with overdrive.

I have a 1950 3600 with 456 gears, but I mainly stay around town.

Be interesting follow up to see what you come up with..

"I don't know why in the hell the shop folks would tell you that valve guide issues would have been caused by the rear end." .... because the engine is being over-revved running 55-60

and swapping the 4.56 for a 4.10 won't solve that problem, only cuts your RPM by 10% at most, lots of work and expense for no gain - as David says, you need to get much better gears than that, and you'll probably only get it with an OD, not sure you'd find 3.55 gears for that rear

Bill

Not that it matters much, but he means 4.57:1. If yours is a stock 1950 it's a 4.57:1 also.

It would be worth it to me, Bill. If he only wants to run 55-60 the 4.10 swap should get him there. With 30" tire height 55 mph is about 2500 rpm. vs. 2800 plus rpm at 55 with the stock 4.57. Once you find the elusive 4.10 chunk, it's an afternoon of work to swap it.

I've made this swap in my 53 3/4 ton and what I love most about this set up is how much better it is to drive in ALL gears around town. My truck has a 235 but I'd still do this swap with the 216 as well.

Quick answer: If you swap to a 4.10 and put 31" diameter tires (235/85 16) you will do 55 at less than 2500 rpm. I did it.

The easiest thing to do is run taller tires. Providing your truck is original it should have an Eaton H072 rear axle. 4.11 ring and pinion sets for that axle are rare and they are not currently reproduced but they do exist. Personally I would go with a corporate 14 bolt or Dana 60 rear. It's a fairly straightforward swap, but expect to need to move the spring perches. It can be done by any reputable welding shop.

Just my $0.02