oletrucks
[Top] [All Lists]

[oletrucks] Overdrive wonderings

To: Old Trucks List <oletrucks@autox.team.net>
Subject: [oletrucks] Overdrive wonderings
From: J Forbes <jforbes@primenet.com>
Date: Thu, 25 May 2000 09:28:03 -0700
Dustin--

An overdrive, granny gears, and 400hp...you don't ask for much, eh?   :)

Many years ago, a friend of mine had a 61 Chevy 40 series truck (1.5
ton), and he had a 396 in it, with a TH400, and it had a really steep
rearend gear...it would top out about 50 mph on the highway.  He wound
up putting a 2 speed rearend out of a BIG truck in it (22" wheels, I
think)...but it still had the same gear ratio problem, because the extra
speed was a steeper gear.  So, he put a Brownie auxiliary tranny in it,
but since the Brownie is a reductin box, he put it in BACKWARDS...so he
got about a 2:1 overdrive!  That made it just fine for cruising on the
freeway.

I'd suggest looking around at late model trucks, to see what they have
in the way of a granny gear 5 speed overdrive tranny.  Beware hydraulic
clutches, though.

Jim F
59s in AZ
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>