new '73 cj5 (also from Iowa)

I wish my CJ looked as good as that other guy from Iowa. Hopefully it will some day. This is my 2nd jeep but it is my first project. My first jeep was a '75 cj5. It was great fun.

This one came with some extra parts.
Currently installed is a 304 but it also came with a 360 not installed.

It currently has a t150 transmission installed. Seller said it pops out of reverse so he gave me a replacement t150.

He also gave me a t18 with d20 tc that came out of an IH Scout. I think it would be good to install a t18 if possible. The local salvage yard has a t18 out of an '87 ford F150 2wd available for $125. (don't know if this would be useful or not.)

It would be nice to get some advice if you don't mind.

My first question is, given these available parts, what would you do with the transmission and transfer case?

edit: I see I typed '72 in the subject. Oops, it's really a '73.

 

Re: new '72 cj5 (also from Iowa)

Wow! Looks like it's in pretty good shape for a starter project! I'd recommend you just clean it up, fix the little things and just drive it for awhile. Figure out how it really is and what it really needs. I wish I would have done that with my fittysix instead of tearing it apart to restore it right away.

Welcome from Colorado. Fill out your profile so we know where you are & etc.

 

Re: new '72 cj5 (also from Iowa)

Welcome from central Va

 

Re: new '72 cj5 (also from Iowa)

Welcome from Norwalk!

Nice JEEP! I agree with rondog. Run it for a little while, evaluate what you have, then decide.

 

Re: new '72 cj5 (also from Iowa)

Welcome from Ohio!

Nice project. I agree you should run it awhile and see what you got.

 

Re: new '72 cj5 (also from Iowa)

Welcome from Boston!

I'd agree; drive it for a while before you start your buildup.

Re advice (well, some information, not advice), you can combine the mainshaft and TC adapter from the the IH T18 with a Ford T18 and it will bolt up to both your T150 bell and the Jeep D20 TC. If you do a search, this has been covered many times before.

$125 for a T18 sounds about par - Ford made(makes) a lot of trucks, and many of them had T18s.

There's no advantage of the IH D20 over the Jeep D20.

The T150 is ok; it's a Ford passenger car 3-speed built under contract to Jeep by Tremac in Mexico. Not as strong as the '73's original Borg-Warner T15, but Jeep used it in CJs from 1976 to 1979.

Re the 304 v. the 360, well, I think the 304 is plenty of power in that chassis. You may find that you want to upgrade the 304 later, and the 360 would be one alternative. Used 360s are pretty common and not very expensive.

hth

 

Welcome from So. Iowa. Whereabouts are you located at??? I have an intermediate (72-75) as well. Good looking Jeep. Looks like you have a few choices of power and trans there. Must be nice. I'm stuck with my 258 till it goes bad.

Good luck and keep the posts coming. A lot of good info here, I can attest to that.

High5

 

I would short shaft the T-18 and swap it in. Especially if you are doing the engine swap. It will give you an extra low gear that you may never need but then again you just might want it.

Unfortunately to short shaft the T-18 you have to take it apart. Then replace the input shaft and bearing retainer with a much shorter one. This is something that you can do. (I was able to do it and I have never worked on a tranny in my life.) While its apart you may as well replace the bearings and syncros so you dont have to later.

 

AFAIK the IH T-18 bell pattern is different from every other manufacturer. However, according to NickMil, the mainshaft and adapter can be added to a Ford T18 to make a short-shaft transmission. There are holes to drill (??) and holes to plug, but it can be done pretty easily.

 

What a great start Mike, good luck.

 

Welcome from Colorado! My opinion differs with these guys. I say go for the t18 if your going to wheel. That is one of my favorite mods. The low gear can't be beat for holding you back on a steep incline. When I started out on my jeep we pretty much restored to original then decided what to do. Unfortunately the money that was spent the first time around was a waste. If you already have issues with the tranny put in the t18 instead of spending money repairing t150.

 

I think that the T-18 would be the way to go if you offroad at all. I plan on doing the same thing this winter. I need a better low gear. You will, I think also need a different bell housing from a 76 and newer. I think that the intermediate bell housings are an inch or so longer then the later ones, and I already know that their isn't enough room for the 4 spd bolt patterns. You can find already drilled and tapped bell housings for the T-18 or on some you can drill and tap yourself. The IH 4 spds have studs instead of bolt holes. As far as I can tell you can drill your bell housing to fit the IH pattern, then bolt it up and install as a unit with the bell housing. That leaves the IH input shaft, it is too long, as is the retainer. The cheapest route there would be to install a Ford input and a Ford retainer. New Ford retainers sell on Ebay for about $25.00 a few times a month. And approximately once a month you can find NOS Ford input shafts. You need to know your tooth counts etc. I just picked up one last month for $18.00. You will also neeed a clutch disc to fit the T-18 splines, A adapter style pilot bearing and most likely a different throwout bearing setup to fit the larger diameter Ford bearing retainer. Lastly you will need to lenthen the front driveshaft and shorten the already short rear driveshaft.( you may have some minor driveline angle issues to deal with on the rear) The T-18 tranny setup length appears to be about 1 3/4 to 2 inches longer. This still appears to me to be well worth doing and not all that difficult. And by the way, that looks like a pretty nice Jeep you have.

 

hello
i'm 'iowa'
where are u from in iowa?
iowa

 

Hey Iowa, I'm High5. I'm in Ottumwa, where you at???

High5

 

Guthrie Center!
50 W of DM
iowa

 

Re: new '72 cj5 (also from Iowa)

Thanks all for the comments!
The picture really does not do justice to this jeep. It is really in much worse shape than the picture shows. A LOT of rust. No gas tank. Wiring is a mess. LOTS of play in the steering. Top is tired. yadda yadda yadda...

Here are some thoughts and more questions on some of the comments so far...

Since I already had the IH t18, my first thought was to install a shorter shaft into that transmission.
I even found the short shaft addapter at Parts Mike's site. http://www.partsmikeparts.com/t18_input_kit.htm
But the kit alone is $200. If I could buy an entire ford t18 transmission for $125 then it would already have the short input shaft. An additional benefit, I wouldn't have to do the conversion. Yes?

The ford t18 should bolt directly to a t150 bell housing. This would be another argument for not using the IH t18. It should be more simple to buy the ford t18 from the salvage yard and then this would bolt up directly to the t150 bell housing that I already have?

It still looks like I would need to scavage parts from the IH transmission and put them into the Ford but it looks like I already have those parts. True?

The Ford transmission at the salvage yard is still installed on the truck. Should I also buy any other parts that might be with it such as the clutch disc? What about any other clutch parts out of the ford that might be helpful in a tranny conversion?


Thanks again for all of the information!

-mike.

 

Hey,
I'm near Cedar Falls. About 100 miles ne of Des Moines.

-mike.

 

Re: new '72 cj5 (also from Iowa)

Yeah, unless you could get the $19 short shaft from ebay that CS referred to.

Yes. However, I have not done this swap - Nickmil is the local guru re T18 swaps - maybe he will weigh in. You'll need the adapter between the IH T18 and the D20, and the main shaft. Both of these (as I understand it) are the same as the ones used in Jeep T18s.

With a Ford T18, you use the stock T150 bell and clutch parts, and either a Jeep or Ford clutch disk. I'd buy a new disk - they're cheap, and changing it is too much work to rely on a used part. You'll need a new pilot bushing, available from Novak, Advance, R&P, probably others, or make it yourself.

 

More ...

http://www.earlycj5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4449&highlight=T18+T150

There's probably lots more if you search.

 

HI mike,

Maquoketa iowa here about an hour east of you

chevyguy