Bolt pattern change advice 6 to 5 - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

greg_h · 06-27-2016, 10:16 PM

For the back story, my dad bought a 54 Chevrolet 3100 back in the mid 60s. I have owned it since the late 70s. I finally got to the point in life that I tore it down for some major refurbishment. He also at that time put a set of vintage E-T torquethrust wheels on it using 6 bolt to 5 bolt adapter plates. I know they are not correct to the truck but they are all I have ever known it to have so they are correct to me.

I always hated the adapter plates. They resulted in bad suspension geometry and I always thought they were unsafe as they had screw in studs that tended to work their way out over time.

Part of the upgrade was to do 5 bolt "the right way". The fronts were easy. Car front drums from the same year. The rears not as easy. Moser Engineering said they could weld and re-drill the flanges for the new bolt pattern. That is until I sent the axles to them. As it turns out, time is no friend as when they weld up the flanges, they are too hard to re-drill. They cannot make new axles as the bearing surface is too large for their equipment. They say someone with an end mill may be able to do it. I am no machinist so I don't fully understand the obstacles.

What their suggestion is is to cut the rear end housing ends off and weld on later ends to get a different size bearing and the bolt in style axles vs. the C clip retained design. At that point, they could make me a set of axles to fit. Essentially, the $90 drill job just turned into a $700+ ordeal. I foresee problems with backing plates, brake design change, e-brake cable issues, and more,

Has anyone gone through this or have advice/suggestions? I want to retain the torque tube design as it is a hydra-matic truck so a later rear end as a whole is out of the question I think. Is there a set of axles that would be the correct length and spline to work with the old rear end components with the new axle ends and the 5 bolt wheel pattern? That could save the custom axle part of the project. Looking for advice or past experience.

Thanks,
G.H.

06-27-2016, 10:16 PM	#1
greg_h Registered User Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Enid OK Posts: 85	Bolt pattern change advice 6 to 5 For the back story, my dad bought a 54 Chevrolet 3100 back in the mid 60s. I have owned it since the late 70s. I finally got to the point in life that I tore it down for some major refurbishment. He also at that time put a set of vintage E-T torquethrust wheels on it using 6 bolt to 5 bolt adapter plates. I know they are not correct to the truck but they are all I have ever known it to have so they are correct to me. I always hated the adapter plates. They resulted in bad suspension geometry and I always thought they were unsafe as they had screw in studs that tended to work their way out over time. Part of the upgrade was to do 5 bolt "the right way". The fronts were easy. Car front drums from the same year. The rears not as easy. Moser Engineering said they could weld and re-drill the flanges for the new bolt pattern. That is until I sent the axles to them. As it turns out, time is no friend as when they weld up the flanges, they are too hard to re-drill. They cannot make new axles as the bearing surface is too large for their equipment. They say someone with an end mill may be able to do it. I am no machinist so I don't fully understand the obstacles. What their suggestion is is to cut the rear end housing ends off and weld on later ends to get a different size bearing and the bolt in style axles vs. the C clip retained design. At that point, they could make me a set of axles to fit. Essentially, the $90 drill job just turned into a $700+ ordeal. I foresee problems with backing plates, brake design change, e-brake cable issues, and more, Has anyone gone through this or have advice/suggestions? I want to retain the torque tube design as it is a hydra-matic truck so a later rear end as a whole is out of the question I think. Is there a set of axles that would be the correct length and spline to work with the old rear end components with the new axle ends and the 5 bolt wheel pattern? That could save the custom axle part of the project. Looking for advice or past experience. Thanks, G.H.



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