Rear End choices?

Hey Guys!

What is the best route for a rear end for a 57 Chevy 3100? It's got a 350 small blick without too much guts (but one the new heads and cam are in, it should lit 'em up). Trans is also 350 (from third gen camaro).

I want to have the best of all worlds, of course - smoke the tires, get amazing ags mileage, save the engine, etc., but I am also somewhat realistic and know you can't have it all, so the preference would be to lose the gas mileage first, then lose the ability to smoke the tires.

I hope to be able to also put a trailer hitch on it- but for the most part, this'll be a grocery getter.

I sure appreciate any help - this is my first hot rod. I kow Ill screw it up - but want to have something cool in the end. :3dSMILE:

Thanks!

Well the whole "smoking the tires" thing can be done with a moped motor. All you have to do for that is have a poorly built suspension that wont hook up. Find a Ford 9" with 3.50 gear or less and that is good for around town and also highway... 3.28 is nice for highway and still fine for light to light. Everything you do though needs to work together such as cam, tranny, rear end gears, tire size, etc. Someone here will pitch in and give you the info on where to start first and choose what you are trying to achieve.
Good luck.

Believe it or not, with those trucks, you can have the "best of both worlds" you are asking for, (depending on your def of amazing gas mileage) fairly easy. Here's an example, my Cameo, has a stock chevy 12 bolt rear out of a '66 Impala with 2.73's, an aluminum power-glide, a bone stock 350 Target Master Hecho en Mexico Long Block, Cyclone Headers, a single plane Holley Street Dominator aluminum intake, pure stock GM HEI, and an Edelbrock 600 CFM electric choke carb. When I built the truck I used the parts that I had available for it. As you can see it is absolutely not set up for racing. I get about 18 mpg out of this setup on the highway.

Please note, that I'm not recommending this set-up to anyone. It doesn't throw you back into the seat when you stomp on it and is actually kind of a dog IMO, a gear and intake manifold change are in it's future, but, I can do brake stands all day long in it if I want to. The thing is, that the rear end of the truck is so light that it really isn't hard to "smoke the tires". If your truck is a step side, it will be even lighter than mine and would make it even easier to light 'em up.

Good luck on your build.

Dutch

i have used a 10 bolt camaro in a 55 step side and have setup some ford 9s in some trucks and hot street car for the street i would say a3.70or 3.50 rear gear but what size tire are you going to run??

Smoking the tires can be done even with a bone stock 6 cyl. We had a 77 f100 in school with a 300 six. We rigged a small line from the windshield wiper washer pump to the back wheel pointing at the tire. We filled the washer tank with bleach and when we wanted to do a burnout we just hit the windshield washer pump. then hit the gas. I dout you'll find that kind of rig up on an adults car though LOL.

Hey, spend the big bucks!!!!! Hang a Gear Vendors overdrive on the back of that 350 Hydro, and a set of 4.11 gears.... Who sez you can't have it both ways????

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by hotrodr

Hey Guys!

What is the best route for a rear end for a 57 Chevy 3100? It's got a 350 small blick without too much guts (but one the new heads and cam are in, it should lit 'em up). Trans is also 350 (from third gen camaro).

I want to have the best of all worlds, of course - smoke the tires, get amazing ags mileage, save the engine, etc., but I am also somewhat realistic and know you can't have it all, so the preference would be to lose the gas mileage first, then lose the ability to smoke the tires.

I hope to be able to also put a trailer hitch on it- but for the most part, this'll be a grocery getter.

I sure appreciate any help - this is my first hot rod. I kow Ill screw it up - but want to have something cool in the end. :3dSMILE:

Thanks!

---

Hey I have a 88 chevy truck 1/2 ton at the time being. its got 4.10 gearing in the rear with a locker, and moser axles. It didnt really make much difference with the RPM range going up. Thats mostly in your tranny, the gearing of that. My gas mileage hasn't changed at all. its a 8.5 corporate rear. Other then that, a nice 12 bolt rear would be good. 12 bolts are strong.