If the filings are bright and shinny speckles in the oil i'll bet the cam and lifters are going away. My current rat motor in my Chevelle has a solid lifter cam , a little bit a lash and lifter clatter makes the lobes last longer IMHO , sounds cool too .
Gene

I have a strong magnet and the metal in the oil follows it around so it is metal.That was the first thing I did when I saw all the little sparklers in the oil.I wanted to go with a roller cam and rockers anyway I will just have to drive my 68 for a while longer than I had planned.I miss my truck

Yeah , a roller cam will eliminate the flat cam thing but they can create other problems, bronze distributor gear , cam buttons , roller lifters turning sideways on the cam , BUT street roller cams have come a long ways since race rollers with rev kits in the old days.
Gene

got a question. i am looking for some measurements from the late 60's early 70's chevy trucks with the trailing arm - coil spring rear suspension.
i was wondering how wide and tall the crossmember is that the arms bolt to. how far forward from the axle to the cross member mount area.
i just do know anybody local with one and thought maybe you guys had one close. the reason i am asking - has anybody ever put this suspension in a 55.5 - 59 truck? i am considering it, if the measurements would come close to fitting my 57 short bed. thanks for the help.

I have a 68 and a 70 but they are long beds.I will go measure my frinds 67 Short bed for you tomorrow afternoon

Sorry it took me a couple days to get around to this.I took some pictures of my trailer with a tape measure so you could tell what I am talking about.The frame at the crossmember is the same as your 57.Same hight and width.The frame is so different starting about a foot back that the best way would be to graft the back section of frame from the back of the cab back.I would think you could just cut off the frame of both trucks and put them together the same way you would streach a frame.Butt weld the frames together and use a 2 foot piece of a larger frame cut at a 45 degree angle from top to bottom at both ends over the outside and a smaller size frame section cut the same way on the inside then drill and bolt it together.These pictures are of my 70 chevy trailer.The front of the bed is centered on the crossmember so you know were it is located.

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double d
thanks a bunch for taking your time to get photos and measurements. this just may work. i may try to use the setup on my frame but use either a coilover setup from CPP or airbag setup which would help negate the rear frame differences. dunno - gonna ponder this before i start cutting. i just put a transam subframe on so i gotta rest from that ordeal! always looking to the next step though.

hotrodsbyray If you plan to lower the ride hight of your truck the rear end will have very limited travel if you use a stock frame unless you modify the frame over the axles.The 67 to 72 frame gets smaller as it goes over the rearend.The 67 to 72 rearend is also too narrow for the 55 beds wheel wells.The 73 to 87 rearend will work with your 55 and you will just have to weld on some leaf pads.If you do use the back half of a 67 to 72 truck you will not be able to use the rear end out of that truck without using wheel spacers.The drive shaft goes through the cross member and the carrier bearing bolts to the cross member so you may have to use a 2 piece drive shaft.Keep us posted on the progress of your project.I never thought about changing to this type rear suspension before.Those trucks have been made into trailers all over the place so it should be easy to get one. Here are a few more pictures to help you decide.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3IsAE3pHKE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycotCsf1k-c I dont know if this will work or not but these should be the links to videos of me doing burnouts at the Fatherday car show in Wendover Nevada in June.Unfortunately I wiped out the transmission and hurt the engine(glitter in the oil)on the drag strip in Wendover the very next day.Here is what was left of those tires.On the drag strip this nova blew my doors of with a low 14 second run to my 15.21 second pass.I wasted my trans and motor on the next run and took a ride on a flat bed home

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Hey guys - lots of good stuff here. Sorry if the answer is embedded in these 60 pages of discussion but I am looking to find a junkyard rearend for my 56 3100. I want disc brakes already on it. Any hints as to what fits/what to look for would be appreciated.
This is my first project. I avoided the start small and work up to your abilities theory. I bought my 56 a year ago, torn it down to the frame, sandblasted and painted it. Have the cab almost done this summer - replaced all cab corners and both rockers. I'm sick of body work - ready for wrench turning !!!!!! I have a 350 ready to go in but want to get the suspension done first which will include a MII IFS kit and lowered rear leafs.
I will read all 60 pages as I'm always looking for hints and ideas but for now, it's 80 degrees out and I'd rather be in the garage !
Any help is appreciated !
Jim

Welcome to the site Jim.
This site has widths for a number of rear ends and the cars they are in.
http://carnut.com/specs/frear.html
Good luck with your truck and post pics. We love pics.
Kim

Jim
There is alot if ways to go in a rearend swap , I think the 1st thing you have to have is your rear tires and wheels , are they going to fit between the stock fenders and bed or are you going to tub the bed for the pro street look ? Place the tires and wheels under the truck where you want them to be without a rearend in it and measure the distance between them , from the back side of one wheel where it bolts against the brake drum to the same place on the other wheel , this will tell you the overall width of the rearend you need , then go from there.
The tires and wheels on my 57 clear the inside near the bed and the edge of my fenders by a 1/2 inch on both sides. I'm using a rearend out of a 64 to 67 Chevelle.
Gene

How do you guys put pictures in your posts ???????
Gene

Thanks for the info. The chart helps with widths - now I can search for which cars came with rear disc brakes.
Good point on the tire set up. I hadn't planned on tubbing out the bed but I do want some fairly wide tires and re-assembling the bed at this time is probably worth the time. Measure twice - buy once !! Pics to follow.
Thanks again for the timely response !
Jim

bignuk1 i kept my stock 6 lug set up so I used a 87 gm 10 bolt from another truck.Any late 70's or early 80's chevy passenger car should be the right width.I think it is 62 1/2 if you use a stock offset early chevy wheel.If you get some 2 inch leaf pads and weld then on with a 3 degree up angle on the rear end as that is what the down angle on the trans should be if your engine intake manifold carb mount surface is level.You can get a cheap angle gauge from summit for about $10.I use mine all the time.

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