55 Studebaker truck

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I did change some plans during the build. The '91 Caprice still has it's 305 and 700 trans. I used a 4.3 V6 and TH400 trans in the Studebaker. The Dakota rear has 3.90 gears and I'm anxious to see how the eng/trans/rear combo does. I hope to take some road trips in it.

3.90? Is that a typo? With a TH400 and a 3.90 gear you'll be spinning way too fast at highway speeds for any long trips. You'll want an overdrive or taller gears. I don't know how tall your tires are, but I have a 31" tall rear tire (which lowers cruising RPM), 3.42 rear gears, and a TH400 and I run about 2700 RPM at roughly 65MPH. You'll be ringing that poor 4.3's neck.
 
MY mistake. The rear is a 2.90 NOT 3.90.
Either these buttons are too close together or my fingers are too far apart.
 
I made some progress today. Park had quit holding in the 400TH trans and it was a simple easy fix after removing the pan.
The 4.3 engine originally had an oil cooler, which I will not need so I removed the factory adapter and eliminated the cooler connections.
After a few more days like today I will be driving soon.
 
I have no tach, yet, but I'm liking the 2.90 gears behind the 4.3 and TH400. I can cruise at 75 MPH easily and still spin a wheel when I take off. I don't think I need to change anything.
 
Still driving it! The '57 Chevy radiator failed so I swapped in one out of a '63 Chevy full size car and it's working good. We've had the truck on several road trips of 3 an 5 hour drives and will be going on another 3 hour trip in a couple of weeks. Only thing needed now is a new lower radiator hose before the trip.
Happy motorin' to you n your'n.
 
I've posted pics before but I will update with some recent ones. Nothing much has changed, except it might have a bit more patina. The door skins have "patinad" loose at the lower edge.
 

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