Inliners International Forums General Discussion Drive Train 51 truck torque tube rear end

The later ('55 - '59) 1/2 ton truck center sections will bolt in - I did this on my GMC some years ago. Axles, brakes etc are no problem, but the spring perches have to be welded up because the torque tube design allows some flex for pinion torque, and without that solid tube holding everything in place, the entire rear section will rotate and soon tear up U-joints. It's easier to just replace everything from wheel to wheel. True, the 3.90 is hardly worth changing for, but gaining the open driveline allows use of an OD trans, and you have to change to an open drive trans anyway once the rear is swapped.