1975 Brutally Simple Daily Driver

I think I have a solution figured from Novak. Probably won’t be until Monday before I hear back from them.

In the mean time I’m tackling other issues. The transfer case shifter wasn’t going to work so why not twin stick it?




The shifters need to be longer but I was using scraps and tractor parts from the hardware store. I decided to get the transmission hung under the Jeep too so I can rework the floor and get hard measurements on the driveshafts while I figure out the pilot bushing. Yes… it’ll have to come back out which is kind of a pain but I think I’ll do a better job on the floor if I can get to both sides. The crossmember got thrown in too. Guess what?… it needs to be reworked also!

 

Got a good jump on rebuilding the floor today. I made a large removable cover so I can get to all of the transmission top cover and upper bell housing bolts. Started off with a real mess…



I made slits in the floor and just started bending back sheet metal to get the transmission in place. This got cleaned up, new metal was added, and I reused most of the original top cover.








Then there’s the crossmember… if I had access to a tube bender, I think I’d make something fancy. I’ll be reusing the old one after I box it all back in.




Probably more tomorrow.

 

Then there’s the crossmember… if I had access to a tube bender, I think I’d make something fancy. I’ll be reusing the old one after I box it all back in


If you were closer I would lend you mine.

 

Nice work on the floors.

 

Another great day in the shop! The more I looked at and continued to cut up the original crossmember, the more I wanted to just start over.



I figured that the factory did a fine job of making the brackets line up, so why not reuse what I could? The new section is a piece of 3/16x1.5x1.5” tube.




Success! Now I could measure for driveshafts.




Old ride height measurements are in parentheses. Not near as bad as I figured. After that, everything got torn apart to get a for sure number on the pilot bushing.



Novak’s AMC to Ford bushing should work out perfect. Next will be getting the floor wrapped up.



… note to self, that dash wiring is still a functional mess.

 

I like what you did with your crossmember, good work!

 

Driveshafts are done.



I dropped them off at my usual shop at 1:30 today. By 3:45 I was told they were ready! Then I got home from work and ordered up my pilot bushing from Novak too. All in, unless something major comes up, I’ll be skating in right around my goal budget of $1200 for the transmission swap.

 

Back at it. The new pilot bushing gives me plenty of engagement on the input shaft.



After that, everything fell back into place. Hopefully this is the last time the transmission goes in for this project.

 

@neohic Excellent work. Transmission swaps always seem to bring out the unforeseen issues. I did the sm420 swap in my 69 and it took me a solid week to get everything sorted out and functional. Also your transmission cover is looking great, I actually enjoyed that part the most in my swap lol.

 

Thanks! I was following along with your swap all the while wondering what I’d run into with mine. For the most part, everything I could find for information was correct right up until I measured the input shafts. If thats the only issue I’ve run into, then I’ll be doing cartwheels when it’s done!

As for the transmission cover, it’s bigger than it needs to be but the ‘75s don’t have the same removable sections that earlier models do. My panels are physically there, but they’re welded in. I wanted to be able to get my hands all the way around everything and to be able to remove the top cover. Only thing I’m not crazy about is the angles facing the seats, but I’m planning out a storage box/console also that’ll hide some of it.

 

Learn something new every day, I never realized the intermediate tubs didn't have the removable floor section. I always assumed they were basically the same as an early tub minus a few differences such as the cowl, dash and floor opening for the steering column. Anyway awesome work, I'm definitely following your build.

 

You've done A great job , something to be proud of .

 

That photo made me dizzy!

 

IT MOVES!!!



I need to bend around the shifters a bit, maybe figure some skid plates, modify the exhaust, and make some shifter boots.





I’m going to keep an eye on the transfer case output also. Might need to clearance just a bit if it ever gets to full droop.



Overall, I’m very happy with it right now.

 

Are you happy with the gearing?

 

I actually didn’t even get it out of the shop yet! The doors got cracked, the Jeep got fired up with an open exhaust, and I puttered back and forth a few times just to say that I “drove” it today.

 

Works for me. It counts!

 

I am as far as I can get right now on the NP435 swap. The maiden voyage was just around the block. Things went well so I took the short trip as a win.



It definitely shifts like a heavy truck now. I was assuming that it’d be a little more noisy, and it is. There will be a “getting to know you” period. As for this morning leading up to getting it out of the shop, some of the exhaust got lengthened, other spots got raised up, but all of it was in several pieces.



This is really par for the course as far as exhausts go for me. Mine are generally pieced together from scraps. Once the exhaust was sorted, the factory skid plate got cut up. The front half flexes some but it has since it left the factory. The rear half got some additional bracing around the transfer case.





Then I had to take the top cover off of the transmission and I found that I needed some added clearance. The transfer case shifter mount got reworked some and I bent around the shifters more.




Next in line is to sit down at the sewing machine. I’ve got some scraps yet from the brown canvas bikini top that I’ll be using to break up all the black.

Fingers crossed I didn’t just ruin my Jeep!

 

Looks like a good job you did. I bet it all works fine. just have to drive it some to get familiar with it.

 

Just about when the paint was dry on the new shifters was when I realized that didn’t like the reach it was to get to them. Another thing I noticed was they were encroaching on the passenger side leg room. This might be the fourth time I changed them?





Feels much better. This also means that I took more out of the floor than I needed to, but that won’t make any difference when I make the boots. The next thing that was supposed to be on the list was a center console but then I started cleaning the shop and had to move the fuel tank I had earmarked for under the seat.




I’ve got a project list that’s titled “CJ to Moab” that every once in a while I cross off an item. Additional fuel storage is on that list and it should probably happen before I make any decisions on a console. This tank is too big to fit under the seat as is. I’m mulling this over. I briefly grabbed a tape measure to start figuring things but quickly lost interest for the day.

Something I’ve been putting off was getting the CJ back out into the world. Today was the first time I actually drove it off the property. First impressions were pretty good getting it up to speed… didn’t get over 40 though. Feels very “trucky” in how it shifts both while moving and also starting from a stop. There are for sure plenty of things to get used to in terms of new sounds and driving characteristics. I honestly was thinking the entire time, “Did it feel this slow before the swap?” as I haven’t driven it in a couple months. Anyhow… it was good to get it out.