'46 Chevy Shorty

[GreyEagle-SKO]

Maybe a custom ordered rear end/ ring & pinion to match you custom ordered Allison Trans will work....
You did say it was a 38-7 ? Right.. can't hurt to ask.... only your wallet....

http://www.richmondgear.com/EXCelCatalog.pdf


[PDF]
Ring and Pinion Sets - Richmond Gear
http://www.richmondgear.com/EXCelCatalog.pdfFile Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View
The new EXCel ring and pinion gears from RICHMOND are manufactured to meet the exacting specifications required by ... GM 7.5 & 7.625 . ... What rear end ratio do I have? .... Paint the ring gear teeth with a marking compound on both the .... 36-7. 5.29. F9529. 37-7. 5.43. F9543. 38-7. 5.67. F9567. 34-6. 5.83. F9583. 35-6 ...

 

[bansil]

have you posted in the classifieds on Steel Soldiers?
Might be worth a shot since the government used the 1.5 chevy's

 

[opus-SKO]

I will gladly reward the finder with a generous $20 dollar gift certificate to Taco Bell very handy when on the road...or...a lifetime subscription to Skoolie.Com essential to any bus converters sense of well being. Heck, I might just throw in both.


Ring gear: 38 teeth
Pinion Gear: 7 teeth

Wow, I am motivated now!!!

 

[bansil]

Well Krud! --- drove an hour southwest to look at a '46 ton-and-a-half that was being used as a rose arbor in hopes of finding a good 5.43 rear end. No such luck. Pulled the inspection cover (the gears looked great) but right there, stamped into the ring gear was 36-7 and a GM part number...another 6.14 set. Beginning to wonder if all my Chevy truck books have the specs backwards and its' the 6.14 was really "standard".

Wasn't a total waste, as I met a great guy (high school auto mechanics teacher) who builds and races several varieties of cars, some from scratch. Really knows his stuff and has a shop twice the size of his house. May be able to help find and configure the wiring harness I need for the Allison.

Meanwhile...at least his wife's rose arbor still has good gears.

Onward!

36-7 works out to 5.14 not 6.14

 

[Tango-SKO]

Sorry 'bout that...it should have read 37 & 6 for the 6.14 but I am Lysdexic. --- The 5.14 is indeed 38 & 7...or, more precisely...5.4285714 : 1.

Thanks to all for the responses. Rest assured I will follow up on any leads provided and will welcome any more that come my way. I have spoken with a couple of "gear makers" with the takeaway that it can be done...as long as I'm willing to buy a couple of thousand sets...or...buy one set at the price of 2000. Setting up to cut helical gears turns out to be somewhat involved and no one in the biz seems to think there is a big enough market to justify doing it on their own...yet. Now if I can only find 1999 other wackos to join me...

The hunt continues.
Onward!

 

[bansil]

i was going to suggest old chevy trucks....and see your post at top or stuff wanted

 

[bansil]

gmtruckclub.com

the admin Steve kept coming up on hits from ebay on 41-46 trucks for sale?

Trying to help

 

[Tango-SKO]

Thanks Bansil --- I hit Ebay almost daily for a variety of parts including the gears. There are indeed some pretty good deals there if you work at finding them. Heck...that's where I found my bus! ...and my engine...and my fuel tank...and my black tank...and...my vintage turn signals...and...

Hmmm...the way it's stacking up, I may have to start calling her the "Ebus". Then again...maybe not.

 

[ol trunt]

Hey Tango. My bus came on a Ford chassis but I wanted a Chevy. I bought a complete Chevy of the right year, stripped the necessary sheet metal and tags and sold the remaining parts for what the Chevy had cost me. Maybe you could try that? Jack

 

[Tango-SKO]

Hey Jack --- I know that in many ways dropping this body onto a newer chassis might have been easier but I'm too far into it now to switch horses. Really, the rear end is my only "big" remaining concern right now and worse case scenario has me doing a Frankenstein ("It's Frahnken-steen!") splice job to put a whole newer center section on my axle.

 

[GreyEagle-SKO]

Hey Tango.........
How about a Dana, Eaton or Spicer rear end...???? Or possible a 2 speed ???

here is a big info page for larger truck eaton, spicer,and roadranger trans , and rear ends.
http://www.roadranger.com/Roadranger...=1162919212501
look at the catalog at the very bottom of the page
http://www.roadranger.com/ecm/idcplg...ILE&dID=270906

hope this helps....
I guess since you shelled out the big bucks for the ALLISON Trans you'll get a chance to shell out some more $$$ for your rear end.....

http://www.truckpartsinc.com/custompage.asp?pg=rearends
__________________

 

[ol trunt]

Hey Tango, I wasn't suggesting a frame swap--just another way to come up with the rear axle you need. Buy a truck with the proper ratio, swap axles and re-sell the donor truck. Jack

 

[opus-SKO]

Called my truck parts guy today. There has got to be 100 of them parked on ranches all over the state. He'll put some feelers out.

 

[Tango-SKO]

Gracias Guys --- the trick with swapping rear ends is what to do about rims & wheels. I want to try and keep the original 20" wheels and the only other rear ends that I can mount them on seem to be harder to find than the 5.43 gears. '56 to '59 1.5 ton Chevy truck rear ends are the only ones that they can be mounted on without adapters that put a lot of stress on duallies.
So for now, the hunt is still centered on finding the 5.43 R & P. Here's hoping one of Bansil's neighbors turns out to have a set...or two.

Thanks again.

 

[bansil]

Biggest problem has been,when a certain "person" decide cash for clunkers was a good idea and this whole "clean" the country has had a huge impact on the old yard/field art...did notice a neighbor has a very old bus of some sort half buried in the hillside as a basement gotta check that out.
Curious was that rearend used in other vehicles of the time?ford or dodge?
I know the ratio what is the rearend model name number
Also if you can pm me some pics from the front and rear so I can take them next weekend to an old jy I'm going to,they have piles of old stuff

 

[Tango-SKO]

Hey Bansil --- I know what you mean...a ride in the country just isn't the same these days. I miss all the yard & field art/clunkers. To me. growing up when I did, they were an integral and endearing part of the American landscape. Not to mention a precious natural resource.

As for this rear end, it was only on '41 to early '47 1.5 ton Chevy trucks. No others. And as I said before, the 5.14 was the "standard" and the 6.14 was an "option" but for whatever reasons, the 6.14 seems to be what everyone wanted back then and is much more common. I do have a couple of pix that I will shoot you, but for the most part, they tend to look pretty much the same from the outside and any stamped numbers are all but impossible to find on them without sandblasting them clean. Even then, many have no markings at all except directly on the inner surface of the ring gear itself which is very clearly marked with "38 - 7"...which is the number of gear teeth for the 5.43....or... "37 - 6" which is the 6.14.

More often than not,"field trucks" that have been sitting for a long time will have the wheel/brakes rust welded in place and you cannot rotate the wheels to get a count so pulling the inspection plate and checking the stamp is the only way to tell what it is.

The best full axle replacement option appears to be a 1.5 T Chevy duallie from '56 to 59.

And I will up my reward from $20 @ Taco Bell to $50 @ the steakhouse of your choice for anyone who secures a usable 5.43 set!
The lifetime Skoolie membership offer still stands.

Many thanks to all.

 

[GreyEagle-SKO]

Not a 5-43 but close???

If you find a ring and pinion do you have all the other parts? seals, bearings etc....


http://www.ebay.com/itm/DANA-44-5-38-RI ... es&vxp=mtr

 

[GreyEagle-SKO]

Alliance Member


FOR SALE LINK http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/show ... p?t=598594

Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Texas
Posts: 160
1946 chevy 1.5 ton
Location: east bernard Texas Price: $600
46 1 1/2 ton, 216 engine and 4 speed transmission. Tires hold air and it will roll.
The stake bed on the back is a DeKalb bed. I am not sure if it is for this truck or not. I may be for a 3/4 ton truck.
Grill is straight other then peeling chrome and a small crack on one of the mounts sides.

Cab is rusty, Doors are rusty in the usual place. 713 254 9276
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Last edited by fossilfish; 06-13-2011 at 09:39 PM.

 

[Tango-SKO]

Hey GreyEagle --- Many thanks bud. But as it turns out, that is the same fellow I visited with last Sunday and his was another 6.14. The search continues. Beginning to think the 5.43 rear end is like Big Foot...or the Yeti...or the Chupacabra...more rumor and legend than anything else so far.

As far as bearings and seals, they are still available. Not necessarily easy to come by, but at least not made out of Unobtanium.

 

[opus-SKO]

Give this place a call: The Gear House 406-449-7490

They do custom stuff as well. Wont hurt to see what they say.