50 Torque Tube rear replacement

[Jemezcrusher]

New to the forum. Just finished up my 55 210 sedan and found a 50 1/2 ton to play with. Engine and tranny rebuilt along with brakes bearings and other stuff. Needs paint and some body work but the mechanicals are done for the most part.

I am thinking about going to a 60-70 Chevy rear with open drive shaft. One for ease of service, and to get the gearing a little more highway friendly. Is there a tail shaft I can put on the tranny to accept a drive shaft yoke, or do I have to swap tranny too?

[YukonXL04]

I'm interested in this as well.

[Old Crow]

I believe a trans from a '55.2 or later would have the parts you need. I think, in addition to the tail shaft housing, you'd have to change the output shaft in the trans.
I'm converting my wife's '54 panel to open driveline, using an early 60's truck rear axle and the ClassicParts conversion kit. I'm swapping the tranny out for a T-5 though. This will solve the difference in the driveline problem and also address the gearing problem at the same time by adding an overdrive gear to the mix.

[YukonXL04]

Anyone else have any input on this?

[OrrieG]

I believe the stock drum to drum width is 58.5". The attached chart gives most common axle widths. In looking for it a lot of guys were using axles in the 60-62" range to get inside fender clearance for wider tires. If you use the box above and "1950 rearend width" a bunch of threads come up that discuss different axle/wheel/tire combinations.

They early 60's chevys have an interchangable pumpkin for easy gear changes and are 60" wide. Easily upgraded to disc too. A lot of guys run S-10 4wd rear axles too.

http://www.carnut.com/specs/rear.html

[Jemezcrusher]

I put an 8.8 out of an F**D explorer in my 55 210 Post. Worked out really well. Considering a T5 and that rear combo on the truck but thought if I could stick with my standard tranny that has already been rebuilt would save me some bucks. I got a little carried away on the sedan and trying to avoid that on this 3100 driver. "Might as well" cost me an extra 8-10 grand on the car.

Came out very nice, but was a little spendy.

[chevyguyase]

Like OldCrow I'm using a straight 6, T5 and a Camaro/ firebird 10 bolt 3.46 rear axle. The Junk yards are full of T5s and 10 bolts. I bought the trans for 25.00 on Craigslist. You can almost buy 10 bolts by the pound. Rear axle ratios are endless. Information on these swaps are easy to find. I machined the old floor shifter to fit the T5 and if you looked in my truck you would think it was stock.

[Jemezcrusher]

Does the T5 utilize the original bell housing? Clutch, etc?

We have a pull and pay in my area and looks like you can snag one for 100. Will keep an eye out for one from an individual

[Old Crow]

Originally Posted by Jemezcrusher

Does the T5 utilize the original bell housing? Clutch, etc?

We have a pull and pay in my area and looks like you can snag one for 100. Will keep an eye out for one from an individual

Both these options use the original bell housing.
You can use the stock '50's clutch if you change out the input shaft on the T5 to a Jeep input shaft, or:
You can use the stock pressure plate and linkage with an 11" clutch disc from an Astro Van if you machine about 1/4" off the splines on the disc.
With either method, you have to shorten the trans input shaft about 1/2"-3/4" at the nose and the front bearing support about 3/4", and drill the mount holes in the tranny out to 1/2".
Use the search box, check the 67-72 bullet and type in "easy-peasy". Look for a thread by Newfisher. It's about the 6th thread down in the results using that key word. It has all this info and pics.

[Jemezcrusher]

Thanks Old Crow Finally did use the tech tips page and am learning lot. Now to gather some parts. Plan to drive the 3100 for a couple of years as my build plan develops. I changed directions a couple of times on my 210 post and want to try to avoid that on this project. Biggest decision is whether to go with MII or dropped straight axle. Having a hard time justifying the cost of the MII