1949 chevy 3100 transmission

[ryans69chevy]

My dad and I are trying to decide what we should do with the driveline of our pickup...we keep going back and forth on a couple different ideas, but we just can't make any of them stick. We are open to some more opinions. I was kinda hoping for a brand new tremec 5 speed. But I'm not sure if that would bolt right into our engine...Which we are not even sure what to do with. It's got a 216 (that doesn't run), and we are trying to decide if we should go through it or by a 235 because we heard it's easier to maintain, or go with something bigger maybe a 350?? We still need a rear end also! We just can't decide what's the best route. We would love opinions and ideas! What's easiest to do? Has anyone tried anything like this??

Thanks for any advice

[Hottrucks]

well first off whats your goal for the truck???

if you plan to drive it alot than keep it simple and find a donor truck/car and run it ...putting a small block in anyting now adays is pretty much bolt in....

or the 235 and 292?? use the same bolt pattern as most SBC and finding a trans to bolt to it will be easy

or you could do what I did and put in the 500 caddy...ok that might be a bit over board...wait did i just say that.......??????

[OrrieG]

If its going to be a daily driver or used for a lot of highway driving go with a 350 and change out the rearend, there are plenty that will bolt in. Then you can use any transmission you want just by fabbing the mounts, driveline and clutch set up if a manual.

The first 15 years my truck had a 235 with 4:11 rearend and I spent a lot of time driving 55 with the engine just below the lifter float rpm. When I converted to 4wd I also swapped in a 283/th350 and 3:73 rear and was able to cruise at 75. This time I'm using a 350.

If you are just going to be cruising around town than a 235 will do fine, and they can be built up with speed parts. Even better is a 292 or 302 gmc if you can find them. In the 60's I saw them built to run with SBC's in some of the gas dragster classes. Get a truck v8 bellhousing and most newer transmissions will fit with modifications to the cab for the shift linkage and the drive line. You will still need to swap the rear to get an open driveline.

[ryans69chevy]

i think right now we wanna drive it to alot of shows so that would mean alot of highway. so mabye the 350 would be a better choice? so it is possible to put a tremec 5 speed in this pickup?

[raycow]

Contrary to what the foregoing posts suggest, a smallblock is most certainly NOT an easy install in an AD truck. You will have will have to deal with major exhaust/steering clearance issues. Most builders chop the steering column and go with a Camaro clip or M-II. I have seen only one install that kept the stock steering setup. It used 55-56 log manifolds and the left one was hard up against the steering box. The engine also might have been offset to the passenger side, but I couldn't be sure just by looking.

If you want to make the truck drivable on today's roads, the main issue is gearing, not power. A 235 will easily pull you at freeway speeds if you get rid of the stock torque tube rear. If you want more oomph than you can get from a 235 or 261, a 292 will go in very easily without needing to cut anything. Leave the V-8s to the race and show trucks.

Almost any open drive manual transmission you want will bolt to your stock bellhousing, but a T-5 is an especially good choice at this power level. If you prefer an automatic, consider installing a 230, 250 or 292 at the same time. You can bolt a modern automatic to a 235, but you will need a $300 adapter.

Ray

[ryans69chevy]

ok thanks for all the advice! now the trick is finding one of these engines in good shape...

[fabguy]

Another option if you want to keep it original and still drive the highways is to gear the rear end to a 3.73 and find a" tiptoe matic" or AKA trucks tell overdrive that goes with a closed driveline, they were extremely rare in suburbans and trucks, but a little more common in the cars, most people are removing them and going with open drivelines cause it is easier. Although the expense is in my opinion about the same. Just a thought for you.
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[raycow]

Thank you for mentioning the Truckstell overdrive. These things are so scarce that I have seen only one of them in my life, and I am old. However, it is such an interesting piece of hardware that it definitely deserves more publicity than it gets.

http://rides.webshots.com/album/567790988tZywUM

Ray

[fabguy]

Originally Posted by raycow

Thank you for mentioning the Truckstell overdrive. These things are so scarce that I have seen only one of them in my life, and I am old. However, it is such an interesting piece of hardware that it definitely deserves more publicity than it gets.

http://rides.webshots.com/album/567790988tZywUM

Ray

VERY true, I just picked up a 50 suburban that has one, need to get it on the highway to see if it still fully functional.
Sorry, not trying to thread jack the O.P.