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I am looking at swapping a s10 type rear axle setup. I am going to leave it a stock luve engine and tranny for now. I will be doing a engine swap later.

What gear ratio would work for the Luv engine and tranny, 79 Luv. Would someting in the 3:73 range work? Lower Higher? I don't have a rear end yet, but this may give me some idea on what to look for.

I was thinking this might be a good first thing to do. Then I can look to change gears or get another rear end. I don't think I think need a 9" Ford.

Thanks
Richard

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75 Luv, 350 V8, TH350, Camaro rearend. New 1975 Luv Step side. Stock for now.
Grandmaster of the "Shade Tree" way.. I can't see the yard for all the cars. Come on down and we will sit on the porch and watch the grass grow.

Well judging by how much power the stock motor puts out, and how the stock ratio is 4.11, I think the closer to that, the safer you are, being able to get up to speed that is. I think 3.73 is the ultimate lowest with a stock drivetrain, this is opinion only, I have no facts to back it up, that is just what I am thinking. Hopefully someone else has done this and will be able to set you up . . .

Austin

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1975 Chevy LUV Rockabilly Stepside:
Satin Black, V-8 Traditionally Named "Dean"

A 3:73 will work, and you will be able to run down the freeway at a lower r.p.m.

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I want to be different like everybody else.

Think of it this way,the difference between a 4.11 and a3.73 is about the same gear as shifting from 3rd to 4th or roughly a over drive but you will be taking off in a gear between 1st and 2nd.Hope this didn't you

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1978 pro street step/side 455Buick, 4sp,4.11s, 31/18.5s

ok i'm following this post cus i'm thinkin about the same thing but i don't know what the #'s meen. is the 4.11 higher or lower gears than the 3.73?

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1980 luv 1.8 finally running!!!...... and then like a moron i sold it
got another one!!! 1980 mikado. v8 swap here we come... nope divorce and cross country move happened.
got another one!!! 1980 4x4 mikado sport. rusty beater for now...

The higher the number (4.10) the more rpm at 60 mph than with3.73s I hope this works for you If not we will keep trying

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1978 pro street step/side 455Buick, 4sp,4.11s, 31/18.5s

Stock 4 speed Luv uses a 4:56 or something like that. The automatic uses a 4:10. What do the 5sp diesels Luvs, Pups or Troopers use?

2500 RPMS at 60 mph or 70 mph seems like it should be ok. Anyone have a chart with the Gear ratios, stock engine hp-torque graph and gears in both the 4sp and 5 sp transmissions

GM used to make a 3:90 gear set, but I am not sure if they still do.

Plan, Plan, and plan before you take the plazma cutter to anything on it,

Richard

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75 Luv, 350 V8, TH350, Camaro rearend. New 1975 Luv Step side. Stock for now.
Grandmaster of the "Shade Tree" way.. I can't see the yard for all the cars. Come on down and we will sit on the porch and watch the grass grow.

Higher gears = numerically lower

Lower gears = numerically higher

ok so a stock 2wd luv would have the 3.73. and the 4x4 would have the 4.10 right?

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1980 luv 1.8 finally running!!!...... and then like a moron i sold it
got another one!!! 1980 mikado. v8 swap here we come... nope divorce and cross country move happened.
got another one!!! 1980 4x4 mikado sport. rusty beater for now...

It all depends on the year for what gears came in the LUV.

72-75 ALL: 4.56
76-78 ALL: 4.10
79-80 4sp and Auto: 3.73
81-82 4pd: 3.42
81-82 Auto: 4.10
79-82 4x4: 4.10

These numbers come from the factory shop manuals, which are about as accurate as you could get. On the other hand, even the factory shop manuals can be wrong. Oh, and thank Roadshow Bob for compiling all this stuff, not me. You can blame lazy old me that you don't already have it.

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95 Isuzu Trooper Daily Driver
86 Isuzu Trooper reliable backup
77 LUV 2wd stock beltway blaster (resting)
79 4x4 LUV project: 2.6L, 5spd, 31s (eventually)

MEPR: Man, my 4x4 makes all other LUVs look good

any info on the deisels. i heard they have taller gears in the rear end

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1980 luv 1.8 finally running!!!...... and then like a moron i sold it
got another one!!! 1980 mikado. v8 swap here we come... nope divorce and cross country move happened.
got another one!!! 1980 4x4 mikado sport. rusty beater for now...

81-82 diesel 5spd: 3.73
81-82 diesel auto: 4.10
81-82 diesel 4x4: 4.10
81-82 diesel 4spd: 3.42

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-Old ride-82 Luv diesel 5spd with some upgrades
-Past rides-82 Sierra, 78 Coupe De'Ville, 91 2dr Blazer, 86 RX7, 86 Porsche 944T (rear-ended and totaled)
-Curr. rides- 1970 Ford LTD 4dr, 390 4Bbl, 2nd owner! With a few Extras 00' Civic beater...

It would seem that most are 4:56 or 4:11.

BUT
A 3:73 and a 3:42.

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75 Luv, 350 V8, TH350, Camaro rearend. New 1975 Luv Step side. Stock for now.
Grandmaster of the "Shade Tree" way.. I can't see the yard for all the cars. Come on down and we will sit on the porch and watch the grass grow.

The biggest complant I hear is the 4:56 is way too low for high way use.
A lot of people look for the 4:10 but is would seem that if you stuck with stock size tires that you could go with a 3:73 and not kill your power.

I do not remember how my 79 4x4 ran dow the freeway anymore. It was around 1990 or so when I had it

If I remember it had more or less stock size wagon wheels and tires, 3" body lift and a deer killer bumper and grill guard. Black. in color

Richard

I wanted to do a engine swap then but there was not anything out. I did see one just like mine with a v8 going down the freeway. I just didn't have any Idea about a tranny and transfer case at the time.

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75 Luv, 350 V8, TH350, Camaro rearend. New 1975 Luv Step side. Stock for now.
Grandmaster of the "Shade Tree" way.. I can't see the yard for all the cars. Come on down and we will sit on the porch and watch the grass grow.

Use one of the ratio calculators in the information section. You can tailor a gear ratio with tire sizes to do exactly what you want.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

I spoke with someone and he said in 4th gear in a 80 gear is like 1to 1 what does that mean as he said good cruising speed with everything stock is like 60-65 on the highway.
I remeber going alot faster then that in my 80

That's kinda irrelevant. All manual transmissions (excluding overdrive), are 1 to 1. Meaning that in top gear, the driveshaft r.p.m. is the same as engine r.p.m.
Use the ratio calculator and enter 3 of the 4 factors to see what your truck is doing now. Then you can play with the gear ratios, tire size to see what you want the truck to do.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

It seems to me that your problem may already be solved if the information that Roadshow Bob compiled is correct. It says that the 79 Luv came with a 3:73. It's not a 3:42, but it's much better than a 4:56. Where in the Republic of Texas are you located?

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I want to be different like everybody else.

So I am confused, This guy said truck should not be pushed much past 60-65mph cruising highway speed. If this is true, how do I get it to a faster cruising speed. I just dont want to kill the thing, but dont want to be holding up traffic, to get the head turns

Republic of Texas means Texas but, the Republic of Texas that became the State of Texas is the only state that can legally susceede from the US of A. Not well known fact. So it's a little toung in cheak joke.

I live near Brenham,Tx

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75 Luv, 350 V8, TH350, Camaro rearend. New 1975 Luv Step side. Stock for now.
Grandmaster of the "Shade Tree" way.. I can't see the yard for all the cars. Come on down and we will sit on the porch and watch the grass grow.