61 rear ends

[BadCo]

I have recently purchased a 61 Apache shortbox fleetside.I have been reading about the rear end swaps.I have a rusted all to hell 71 c-10.Yes both trucks have the original rear end.I measured the rear end in it and theres no way it will bolt in.I have some hollander books and 61-62 have a different rear end than the rest.I read about the chevy duty rear end kit.Do they have a webpage?Is there a rear end that fits or will I be better off to get a ford 9" and have it made to fit?Has anyone changed there rear end in a 61?

[xextr3m3]

I would also like to know, especially since the eaton is not a popular rear

[Chevyboy1962]

Hi BadCo, Xextr3m3, and welcome from Calirfornia

americanclassic.com has a link were you type in you vin, and it gives you a list of what options were from the factory like trannies, engines, rear ends, etc.
ChevyDuty has a website, it's chevyduty.com.

The 1960-62 trucks had torsion suspension, and was change in '63 to coils up front, and the frame rails are spaced differently from the 60-62's.
David

[Iron-Butt]

Welcome from Texas.

[phil61swb]

I have a 61 short fleet. I have changed the rear end out on mine. However I also changed to a 63 style frame. I cut off the trailing arms and removed the entire rear end assy. I then used the entire leaf spring & rear end assy from an 82 chevy. I am not sure about the difference in widths between the 61 and 63 style frames. At the same time I swapped the whole front cross member from the same 82. In the end I had to slightly modify the leaf spring hangar brackets on the front only and the front cross member matched up 5 out of 7 holes on each side with the other 2 only 1/2 hole off. Results: 5 lug wheels, front disc brakes and power steering. Dont know if this helps, but there are a lot of options.

Phil