69 c50

[Pvmt-Pndr]

I figured I'll see if I can get the gauges working before I buy new. If I can't save them for a decent price then I'll make a custom dash. I'm going to run a set of headers to a set of 40 series flowmasters with the tips as far back as I can run. I'll wrap the headers and pipes to the mufflers to help with heat.

There's only one 72. The color we painted it really changes depending on the light hitting it. Right now it's a crap 366. We've beat the ever loving snot out of it and it just keeps going! We're trying to grenade it so we have a good reason to upgrade to a different engine. It's backed up to a th400, SCS transfer case, 2.5 ton Rockwells sitting on 14.9/24s (50" or so) tires. Nothing crazy. My wife has some plans for it and my back screwed up our plans for the next year or so.

[Airdirect]

The 366 was the best of the big block Chevrolet engines in terms of durability. Hard to kill it!

[Nobighurry]

Originally Posted by Airdirect

The 366 was the best of the big block Chevrolet engines in terms of durability. Hard to kill it!

I'm happy with mine. I have a friend with a chipper truck and his 366 has over 200k and still runs strong. Never had more than a tune up.

[Pvmt-Pndr]

It's no power monster that's for sure. It'll get a 454 or a 496 one day. The truck really needs about 6/700 hp but it's on the back burner since it runs and we can have reliable fun with it the way it is.

I've already been offered $600 more for my C60 then I paid for it! It's not going anywhere.

Onto the next thing. The rear end... I haven't really looked into this I'll admit. Its a 24k gvw if that helps. How can I tell what rear end I have and what gears are in it? I want to look at potential gear swaps and see what that will run vs an OD trans. The current trans shifts like a dream and I'm not completely convinced that the nv4500 will live a long happy life in it.

If you guys haven't noticed I'm trying to take in as much as I can about the truck before I make a solid decision on the direction I'm going to take for sure. I've found without a solid plan going into something is usually why people loose interest.

[Nobighurry]

Why not keep your trans and rear end and add a gear vendor overdrive?

[Pvmt-Pndr]

Gear vendors looks like a promising unit. I haven't looked very hard at it. It looks like a final ratio should be about the same ratio as a final drive in an nv4500. I need to pull some numbers off of my trans and figure out which one I have for sure. From the quick look I did do I didn't see any for an Eaton transmission. I will be digging into it further because it seems like for the price it would be a lot easier to add then to do a full trans swap.

[C10 - C90 Bill]

Would be nice if there was a way to replace the final gear in the Trans you have to an OD. Whether it was a factory replacement or an aftermarket replacement. I've heard that you can actually create your own OD in a 10-Speed Road Ranger, but never heard of one in a 5-Speed. Would be worth checking into though by a truck trans specialist.

[Pvmt-Pndr]

I found a gear calculator and was messing around with it. According to it and assuming I have a 6:40:1 rear high gear puts me at a top speed of 59 mph at 3200 rpm... seems about right.

A lot of gear vendor options/nv4500 or a era correct Eaton OD transmission are right around a .80 final drive. According to the gear calculator that would make my new top speed 72 mph at 3200 rpm. They all seem like good options to get me what I want. The OD factory Eaton from negative been reading is like a unicorn so that's not much of an option.

[Airdirect]

On the inside of your glove box door is an option list. It will show the type of rear end your truck had from the factory. On mine you can see it had a E17201 2 S (Eaton 17201 two speed). Lower down on the list it should list the rear end ratio in hi (5.29). If you have a Eaton 17201, I still have my 5:29 ring and pinion. I upgraded to a 4:56 as my engine only turns 2,500 rpm. This gives me a top speed of 71 MPH.

[Pvmt-Pndr]

I'll be taking a close look at that tomorrow, I hope it's there. What was a rough cost to regear it? I'd be more then happy with 71 mph as a top speed. Roughly what rpm are you at cruising 60-65? That's where I plan to have the truck live it's life at mostly. How much did that effect pulling and driving empty?

[Airdirect]

My truck has a Detroit Diesel 4-53T which is governed at 2,500 rpm. The original 5.29 rear topped out at 59 mph. I was targeting gearing it so I could run 70 mph. At 65 mph I am guessing 2,300 (do not have a tach). I purchased the ring gear and pinion from LKQ heavy truck parts. I think it cost me around $500.00 plus shipping. I did the swap myself, not a hard job. I have not hauled much of a load on it yet, the heaviest load was a 1999 3/4 ton diesel Suburban. When it had the 5.29 rears we never had to shift. Drove it through the mountains of Colorado with no problem. It was just a cab and chassis. The 4-53T detroit diesel is only 170 hp, but appears to be very adequate for my plans. I will be hauling an antique tractor (8,200 lbs).

[Pvmt-Pndr]

Good looking truck and tractor! Now I want to run outside and look so I can see what options I have
That's not a bad price for a gear! As someone said there's 50 years worth of upgrading these trucks and I just have to figure out what has been figured out that suits my needs. So far everyone has been great here at helping me along my way and I hope to be a help one day too, thank you guys

[Airdirect]

Very interested in what rear axle you have, it might be the Eaton variety given it is a 23,000 lb rear. Here is a link to my build thread, the title says A/C conversion however it ended up being my build thread.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=721374

[Pvmt-Pndr]

Maybe some of you guys can help me decipher what a couple of those things are. What is the whl limiting valve?

[Airdirect]

The wheel limiting valve is a toggle air valve located on the dash to limit front brakes when you have a trailer. Bobtail (empty) you want the front brakes but with a fifth wheel trailer it will increase the tendency to jackknife so you limit or turn off the front wheel brakes.

Looks like you have an Eaton 17221 (17 series), 6.50 high, 8.87 low ratios, basically same as mine except it is setup for air brakes.

You might want to run the numbers and see what a 5.29 high ratio will do for you, my ring and pinion set is like new with only 46,000 miles on it.

Here is a link where you can download the maintenance/overhaul manual for your rear.

http://www.eaton.com/ecm/idcplg?IdcS...ILE&dID=270938

[Airdirect]

The truck was definitely a factory 5th wheel truck. Need to find a good single axle lowboy trailer with 15" wheels and dovetail.

[Airdirect]

Floor mat for your truck:

Classic Truck Parts:

39-033 Floormat-Small Hump 67-72

[Pvmt-Pndr]

Thank you for the info! Man I'd love to have a trailer like that! Imagine how awesome that would look driving down the road with the wife's truck in tow! I really need a trailer bigger then that but when we're only hauling her truck that would be absolutly perfect.

A rubber floor mat is definatly on the list too once I do a little sound proofing on it.

I'm going to pick up a set of headers for it right now. They're used but I figured since I have to pull the manifolds off to replace the gaskets I may as well upgrade while I'm at it

[Airdirect]

Check out this link:

https://www.truckntrailer.com/for-sa...lowboy-trailer

[Pvmt-Pndr]

That's a great trailer and I'd love to get it. I found one for $2k believe it or not. I'm not jumping on getting another trailer just yet though. I need to get the truck in shape before I do that. I'm giving myself until spring of next year to get it wrapped up. I'll be going back to work next Monday so the cash flow will be coming back in so I can gather parts. Once the weather breaks here I'll be out there a lot.

[Pvmt-Pndr]

Alright guys I've been gone but doing lots of research. I've decided I'm going to get a different rear end and swap the gears. I've found a few with 4:88 high gears. At 3200 rpm that will give me a top speed of 78 mph. 95% of my cruising speed will be at 65 mph and 2675 rpm. That should keep me in the torque just enough, if not no big deal that's why there is lower gears. I still have to find what the matched low gears will be with the high 4:88s. There wasn't any info on the rear ends I found all they stated was the high gear.

The Dr put me off for another 4 weeks but once I'm back that will be the first big thing I buy for it followed by tires and the rest will be nickle and dime things.

[Nobighurry]

Originally Posted by Pvmt-Pndr

The Dr put me off for another 4 weeks but once I'm back that will be the first big thing I buy for it followed by tires and the rest will be nickle and dime things.

Haha. Nickle and dime things!!! That's a good one.

[Pvmt-Pndr]

There's a hidden junk yard right down the road from me. People who have lived in my area for 20 years have never known about it. They have a few 67-72 chevys in there. I bought a running econoline with a running (with some work) 460. I went there to look for parts for my wife's truck a couple years ago. I think if I'm up for it tomorrow I'll have a gander and see if he has anything I could use for my truck. I couldn't use anything from them for the wife's truck but her truck and mine are at completely different ends of the spectrum.

$5k total including the cost of the truck is still my personal number that I don't mind having into the truck to make it a truck I can jump in, hook anything to and drive anywhere I want to go. After $5k are just things that I want to do to it to personalize it for me... I'm a guy who had a completely "bulletproof" billet transmission in my Cummins for piece of mind... then I broke it!!

[Pvmt-Pndr]

I haven't done a lot but what I've done has been a success. I checked all of the wiring for the lights and the wiring is all good for now. I will need to buy brake light housings so I'll just go LEDs once I find a set I like. 95% of the lights on the truck now work. The factory speedometer works like a champ! I even got the tach working too!! Once I get the fuel gauge and oil pressure gauge working all the factory gauges will be in working order. Still no hazards or turn signals yet. It's not much but it's progress!

[Nobighurry]

Originally Posted by Pvmt-Pndr

I haven't done a lot but what I've done has been a success. I checked all of the wiring for the lights and the wiring is all good for now. I will need to buy brake light housings so I'll just go LEDs once I find a set I like. 95% of the lights on the truck now work. The factory speedometer works like a champ! I even got the tach working too!! Once I get the fuel gauge and oil pressure gauge working all the factory gauges will be in working order. Still no hazards or turn signals yet. It's not much but it's progress!

Brothers trucks.com sells a repair kit for the hazards and turn signals. Pretty easy replacement under steering wheel. Itll cost you a dime though. Haha