Transmission/T-case Swap

I used a Novak adaptor and rebuild kit for the 435 they have excellent customer service. The boy has used two transmission kits and one 18 kit all qualify stuff.

 

The SM465 and SM420 are huge big pigs of a transmission. I still am very happy I did it and absolutely love the low 1st gear for rock crawling. Pics of my Trans cover. I also tried to get it as high as possible up into the body to keep it from being an anchor.

 

Well that escalated quickly. T18 here

 

Thats looks real nice - but what did you do about raising the engine or rotating the rear pinion? If I push up the transmission my rear pinion angle would suffer unless I raise the engine or shim the rear. I would think raising the engine would be better but I just don't know these old Jeeps.

 

Big jigsaw puzzle. Throw in the steering, radiator to fan clearance, brake booster, exhaust, shifters and driveline angles there is a lot to think about. Part of what makes doing a swap such a great adventure.

 

it's been said a hundred times . No It Won't Just Bolt In

the amc bell is worth a hundred around here sometimes

 

Yup, kinda funny how once you get an itch, you end up with a "new" transmission!

 

Yeah it sure is funny! Step 2 is my advance adapters to dana 18...

 

Thats Ford. Going to drill and tap it for my Buick bell.

 

I think it has already been mentioned, but Novak has a lot of good information on their site that may help you get your head around doing the conversion. Their kits may seem spendy, but unless you are good at scrounging parts, aren't out of line.

 

Yeah Novak is where I realized I needed a Ford Transmission. They do a nice job outlining the modifications needed to a Ford T18 to work with the GM bellhousing.

 

Novak has a ton of info on their site to help with most swaps.

 

Which stock adapter do you mean? I have a Ford T18 and thought I needed the Novak or AA adapter kit to mate to the Dana 18

 

Great thread: I'm prepping a tranny swap now. The Willys has a complete CJ5 drive train in it now, 225-t86-d18. Over the winter we found a low mileage t18 put of a 78 cj5 with the d20 still attached. We are dumping the d20 and now have the factory adapte plate for the d18. Working with Novak is great we're using their BOP kit to adapt to the bell housing. Looks like the new combination will end up being about an inch longer than what we have now.

 

Jeep used an adapter between the transmission and transfer case, a cast iron version of what AA and Novak are selling now. I believe the AA and Novak plates use existing bolt holes. You have to drill and tap some holes into the back of the transmission to use the Jeep plate on your Ford T18.

 

That's a sweet floor mod.

 

The Jeep T-18 stick-out is longer than the Ford, and the Jeep T-14/T-15/T-18 bell is also deeper than the Ford bell. The Ford T-18 and Ford or GM bell will be the shortest combination overall.

The '77-79 wide ratio CJ T-18 may be the exception to this rule, but it's already set up for the AMC engines, so not really the same discussion as the one we're having here.

You can also combine a Jeep T-18 and Ford T-18 to make a short-package T-18 that will bolt to a D18 or D20.

 

Thanks for the information. I currently have the stock V6 bell housing. Is this what you are calling a GM bell or a Jeep bell? If its not the shortest - how much longer is my bell and what vehicle could I get the shorter GM bell from? I have the Ford T18 so as long as the Ford input isn't too long for a shorter bell housing I could go for even shorter.