The best rear end for my application: AD

[ryans69chevy]

What would be the best or right rear end for a '49 3100? Plans are to put a 235 with a 4 speed in from a '62 chevy pickup, trying to decide between original front end or going to a Mustang II front end. Kinda swaying more for the MII since it seems to be more for what we want. We want to cruise on interstate going 70 without too many issues.

The reason we want a different rear end is because we have a 1/2 ton truck, but the rear end was swapped for a 3/4 ton rear end a long time ago. So now we are wanting to swap it out for a 1/2 ton rear end.

I've done some searching as far as rear ends from the '47-'54 era and found that if I choose one and go with a torque tube, I can only do a couple of gear ratio's i.e. 3.43, 3.73 I believe. I've also heard that going with a rear end from a 63-69 chevy 1/2 ton would be a good decision as well.

If you guys could help me out and steer me in the right direction with the pros and cons of having a rear end from a certain era that would be great. Is one better than the other? I guess if I went with a 63-69 I could have a wider selection of gears to choose from. Or if I just left the torque tube off the rear end from '47-'54 I could also get a wider selection right? Whatever rear end we choose we are going to have the whole thing gone through. We want one that won't give us troubles. Idk about the rear ends from '55-'62 if they are worth getting or not. Hopefully you guys will know the right one to get from experience. I'm also kinda worried about changing from leaf springs to coil springs if the rear end is coil like the ones from '63-'69. Is this going to present problems?

Thanks!