1954 m38a1 ford 302 swap

Hey everyone
i bought a jeep a couple of months ago, and have been stuck with what to do. It has a ford 302 swapped in, as well as a ford 4speed toploader mated to a dana 20. the problem im having is the transmission shifter is right in front of the gas pedal. If i modify it to go about 6 inches over it wont look very good, and im worried it might not shift right. I know someone out there has done this swap, but i cant find anything about this problem occuring. If anyone can shed any light, that would be awesome. Another problem im having is ID'ing my rear axle. The front is a dana 44, i found the casting number no problem. The rear however... i cant find a casting number anywhere. Ive searched all over every square inch. Im thinking it was ground off or a ton of paint is covering it, so is there any other way to tell what it is? Any info would be awesome!!! thanks guys

 

Is it a Hurst shifter? Something like this may be what you need.
http://www.advanceadapters.com/prod...ndle-for-hurst-competition-plus-shifter-body/

 

Hey guys, thanks for the responses. I will try to get pictures up today, but it is my sisters birthday and the seahawks game. colojeepguy that looks like almost exactly what i need, however it looks to be offset by only 3ish inches, ill need atleast 6 inches. Not sure why the guy who built this jeep chose the ford 4 speed toploader of all transmissions, and spent a bunch of money on an adapter for the dana 20. Must really like it i guess!

 

If it is a Hurst shifter with the 2 bolt stick, you can just buy an offset stick. Or just make one. No problem with them shifting with an offset. The one I made for my 3B has about 4" offset. Will try to find some pics.

 

Here are a couple of not so good pics of the one in my 3B-made out of 3/8's x 1" 6061 bar stock and bolts to original Hurst shifter stub with an adapter I made.

 

sounds like running gear out of bob tail bronco 60-70ish . if so rear would be 9" . does it have a hog head
do axles stick out on sides of fender wells
:uwop:

 

Can't you put the top shifter from a T-176 on a Ford Top Loader transmission? I thought that was the hot ticket for rat rods and such. Nick mentioned that in a post here years ago - maybe he has more info.

The T-10 and Super T-10 transmissions were popular conversions for CJs back in the '70s, mostly for dune runners. The close-ratio gears work well in the sand. A Top Loader is just Ford's version of a close-ratio all-synchro passenger car transmission.

 

The T-176 shift tower will work.

Some grinding on the case to allow room for the shift forks is required.

If the trany is the T&C top loader. You will no longer have the side shifter and that would be a plus!

toolman_ar

 

I have a sbc and Muncie M21 car 4spd in my jeep and use the hurst comp plus offset handle posted above with no problem. 2nd gear, the shifter is right next to the seat.