Rear axle options suggestions please

[tramp]

Ok folks, i want to put an open drive rear axle in my 38 3/4 ton chevy pick up.total width to the outside face of the hubs is 60 inch.would like to keep the 6 stud rims so need something suitable to redrill. Are any of the 6 stud pick ups the same pcd? Ranger brava etc? Also how to measure 6 stud pcd, is it the same as for 5 stud?Hoping you can help cheers steve

[stueeee]

You measure the PCD across any two opposite studs with a six stud setup. Yours will be 5.5" if it's the same as the 1/2 ton of the same era. Been looking for a 6 stud rear for my brother's '36 truck, lots of the Jap ones are the same 6 on 5.5" PCD but have final drive ratios (around the 4.2 mark) that are a bit low for us.

Favoured yank rear end is the Dana 44 from a sixties chevy/GM truck, these are 6 stud, 62" wide, and come with a 3.7:1 (from the six) or 3.54 (from the V8), won't be easy to find one here though.

Stuart

[tramp]

cheers stuee, have now found that trooper wheels are the right pcd, so i think all shogun, ranger, warrrior etc will fit.just need to find out which one has the right width with drum brakes. i think the warriors the best bet.if anyone has a 4x4 or truck and you fancy checking the width id be most grateful!! :)cheers steve

[Adam]

second series 55 + trucks are open drive and the track is 60". They also come in 6 stud axles. Failing that a tri chevy axle is 60 1/4" but a 5 stud.

[stueeee]

As Adam says, 55 on Chevy Trucks have a 60" wide 6 stud rear axle, They have a good reputation for strength; AFAIK these come with 4.1 or 3.9 ratios though, Chevy Duty do a 3.38 CWP upgrade for these but it's quite expensive. You don't say what motor/gearbox/tyre setup you want to use with the new rear end; the 3.9 would probably be a major upgrade as against the ratio in your torque tube axle in your truck already, especially if your still using a Stovebolt six up front.

While looking for a rear axle for my brother's 1936 truck, I came across this -
http://www.fourwheeler.com/techarticles/129_0012_toyota_rear_axle_upgrade/index.html

According to the article in the URL above, the Toyota Tacoma axle is 58" wide, so might work for you, depending on how wide you're going/what offset you're using with the rear wheels. These axles have a good selection of ratios available too.

Stuart.

[MisteR Tee]

I just happen to know someone who has a set of 6 stud wheels that came off his tri-Chevy truck when he changed it all to 5 stud. I'm sure he would be open to offers, from memory they are ARE Outlaws (the ones with the holes around the outside of the centres) but no idea what sizes.