I am helping a friend on his 1962 Chevy II 400 w/ a straight 6. We just got finished changing from a 3 spd manual to a TH350. Now he wants to change the rear end so as to keep the rpm's down while driving on the interstate.

What rears would be a direct bolt in and what would the gearing be in this car.

Thanks in advance

Need to find a number that is smaller numerically than what he has. Since I do not know what was installed in his rear I can offer a suggestion.

If you put the car on a lift you can count the number of times the tires rotate when you spin the drive shaft around once. That will be your gear ratio. If he is unhappy with that number you go smaller.


Big Dave

the stock gear is a 3.08. if the engine is stock, i would leave it alone. it would end up burning more fuel than saving. one way to look at gearing is leverage. low gears give leverage, high none. its like grabbing your rachet at the end vs right at the head. you use more power when have your hand next to the head right? your engine is the same. the gear that is in there now is the optimal gear for that set-up. if it didnt work chevrolet wouldnt have used it.

Nate,
If your buddy's 62 is still all original, I would recommend getting parts from a donor (64-67).
-spindles, steering arms and lower control arms
-rear-end.

This will give the car a 5-bolt pattern which will give a much larger wheel selection, and converting to discs up front will be fairly easy with most parts available at your local parts place.

63AKDN You gave me the answer I was lookin for. THANK YOU. It is still all origional except fot the th350 we just put in. We have a 63 parts car that the automatic steering column and other parts are being used for the 62.