Good donor jeep??

I just picked up a buick V6 for my jeep when I found in the paper a 76 jeep cj5 without a title. Will the tranny, transfer case axles be a good choice for my 58 CJ6 since I am putting in the bigger engine. Plus I am hoping it has the back seat in it as well. And I am going to use the instrument panel and lights to change my jeep over from 6V to 12V. I thought this would be a good way to change over. I don't know what engine tranny combo is in there but I am going over there tonight to check it out. Are there any quick clues to tell if the tranny is a T18/ T150 or the T176? They are asking $650 for the jeep.

 

A '76 CJ-5 will probably be a 3-speed T-150 . The T-18 for that year should be the close-ratio (4.02:1 1st) T-18 if present - 1977 was the first year for the wide ratio T-18 in a CJ-5 AFAIK. The T-176 did not start until at least 1980. The T-18 is easy to ID by the shift pattern. The transfer case is Dana 20.

The T-150 is a good transmission, but can't be used with the D18 - you'll have to stick with the D20. Axle ratios are either 3.54 (more common) or 4.10 optional. The rear axle is an AMC Corporate 20, which is quite a lot less desirable than the centered (with D20) or offset (with D18) flanged 44 from earlier years. Problems with the 2-piece M20 axles and weak axle tubes are well known. The rear axle will have the spring pads in the wrong place for your chassis; the front 30 axle should be a bolt-in, though it won't have disk brakes, instead 11" drums.

The T-150 has a Ford bolt pattern, which can be adapted to a GM bell if you want to use the Buick V6. See the Novak web site under T-18. Certainly the Buick will fit the engine compartment better than the '76 engine - the V8 can be wedged in, but an inline 6 would require modifying the firewall.

hth!

 

Maybe a summary will help. I don't think there's much there that you can use - maybe the front axle and the dash, and the front axle won't match the gear ratio of your existing axle. There were lots of changes for the '76 model year, so not much will cross over easily. Plus $650 may be ok for a driveable '76, but it seems like a lot for a parts donor.

What's wrong with your original drivetrain? You can go a lot of places and have a lot of fun with your stock drivetrain plus the V6.

 

What I was hoping to find was a cheaper way to swap the V6 into my jeep by upgrading the tranny and transfer case with the one from the 76 Jeep. If the tranny swap would have worked, I would also have had all the neccessary parts to convert over to 12volt. But after your response I think I am going to pass on this vehicle. Plus being new to the Jeep world I am having a hard time deciding the best route to go on things. I want to do the swap right, but at the same time keep the cost down. The transmission upgrade seemed the right way to go. I didn't want to use the T90 and break it and then spend more money on buying a better tranny and adapters and loose the money put into adaptering the T90 to the Buick V6.

Matt

 

The T90-to-GM adapters come up on the used market pretty often. You should be able to find one for cheap if you watch and are ready to buy. The V6 adapter is the same as the one that's used for the small block Chevy. The T-90 is basically the same as the 3-speed transmissions that came with the V6 from the Jeep factory, so it will be fine if you don't abuse it long and often.

 

I have found in a Jeep junk yard everything needed for the swap, bellhousing $150, outputshaft $50, adapter $50 and one other part for $40(can't remember what it was). Is that to much?

Thanks,

Matt

 

sounds too high, at least for around here
supply and demand will dictate price

 

Try eBay, or the Willystech parts board. A private party sale will always be less than a junkyard.

If you look at the Novak site, you can see the parts needed: http://www.novak-adapt.com/catalog/kits_cx.htm The kit is $309, and a good rule of thumb for used parts in good condition is about half new. You'll also need the bell if it did not come with the engine, but I think you should be able to do a lot better than $150.

 

Thanks, I will look around and try to find a cheaper bellhousing.

Matt

 

$150 for a bell sounds extremely steep to me. Would you go $75, I might be able to hook you up. Maybe cheaper, my friend has a bunch of stuff and he is getting ready to clean house on V6 stuff. Been after him for a while to join the site and he won't do it. This post may get deleted but just trying to help out. Hell, a couple of wks. ago I had one I would give you for shipping, wasn't the best bell in the world but it would have worked.

 

Might call R&P at 503-557-8911. They have several GM to T-90 adapters, I think they get about $35-$40 for them used. They have a couple of nice bellhousings for the V-6 right now, not sure of cost. They can also hook you up with the long input shaft as well. Nickmil

 

Thanks, I will give them a call and see what they have for me.
I went and looked at the 76 CJ6 and it was in poor shape.

Matt