Wheels-Caps

[bigblockv6]

Locking hubs were an option back then and not all trucks were equipped from the factory with locking hubs. Being the truck in the brochure is a 3/4 the hub caps were deeper allowing the actual wheel hub to be covered. On half tons it was different because the hub caps were shallow so even without locking hubs those hubcaps would still need to be cut out. My fathers 62 did not have locking hubs upon delivery so the dealer installed them.

[AZKen]

What I'm trying to understand is: If a person ordered a 1962 GMC 4x4 and it came without locking hubs, was it ,what we call, full time? Was it not yet capable to be 4x4? Why would it be delivered without hubs? Were you supposed to shift the xfer case and then be in 4WD? Why would it be ordered without the locking hub option?

[bigblockv6]

Fulltime 4wd first came out in 1973 as in the Jeep Quadratrac and the fulltime Np203 used by GM and Dodge. Older trucks with out locking hubs were still part time systems. I don't think you realize the whole idea of a 4wd system preceded the idea of locking hubs. During WWII all the Jeeps running around had no hubs but were a part time system and it wasn't t until the mid 40's that Arthur Warn came out with a hub system that allowed the front end components not to spin will in 2wd mode, yet that was a crude system because it required swapping the front outer drive flanges with ones that weren't splined that way the front axles shaft would not spin and neither would the ring & pinion and driveshaft. By the 50's Warn finally invented the first locking and unlocking selectable hub. Ironically today many 4wd's offer on demand part time systems for shift on the fly 4wd so the use of selectable hubs has diminished, the disadvantage of that is all the front end components are turning along with the front driveshaft, some have an axle disconnect system that disconnects one side and that just turns the spider gear eliminating the extra drag.

[bigblockv6]

A 62 GMC or any 60-66 GMC without locking hubs would still be in 2wd until you pulled the transfer case shift lever to the 4wd position, there was no difference in the operation to 4wd between a one with locking hub and one without. Like I mentioned before Hubs were optional equipment. Over the years those trucks that didn't have locking hubs most likely were converted by their owners. Factory approved hubs were by Warn industries and later by Spicer as well. My 68 came from the factory with Spicer Hubs and Warn were also offered at extra cost as a premium hub.

[bigblockv6]

Originally Posted by bigblockv6

A 62 GMC or any 60-66 GMC without locking hubs would still be in 2wd until you pulled the transfer case shift lever to the 4wd position, there was no difference in the operation to 4wd between a one with locking hub and one without. Like I mentioned before Hubs were optional equipment. Over the years those trucks that didn't have locking hubs most likely were converted by their owners. Factory approved hubs were by Warn industries and later by Spicer as well. My 68 came from the factory with Spicer Hubs and Warn were also offered at extra cost as a premium hub.

I will make it clear one more time When you do not have locking hubs all the front end components are engaged therefore spinning the front end components including the driveshaft but the transfercase is in 2wd mode so it has no affect on the transfercase

[AZKen]

OK thanks

[bigblockv6]

Very simple! If you had a 62 without locking hubs and needed to use 4wd you simply engaged the shifter into the 4wd position and that's it!

[bigblockv6]

What you don't understand is when a there are no locking hubs in a 62 4wd the front end is permanently engaged just like having hubs locked in and that it!

[AZKen]

OK thanks. I think we have gotten off topic as far as possible.

[Dave Boboltz]

The option called "locking hubs" was probably mis-named. The standard four wheel drive truck had front hubs that were always locked and engaged. All of the parts - axle shafts, differential gears, and the front prop shaft were always being driven, even if you had the transfer case in the "2WD" position, where no engine torque was driven thru the front system. When you purchased "locking front hubs", you now had the ability to unlock or lock the front hubs, either manually or automatically. By unlocking the front hubs, your could perhaps save some wear and tear on front drive components and some fuel economy if you were driving on hard surface roads and operating in 2WD.

Dave Boboltz
Waterford, MI
1964 K1000 305E 4 spd long bed