best, easiest, and cheapest tranny/transfer case behind a 225

I picked up a 225 the other day to put in my 2A and I had originally planned on putting it in front of a TH400/D20 combo I had out of a Jeepster (the wheelbase on the 2A is stretched to around 86"-90") however I am now thinking of maybe going for a 4spd with a nice granny low so I have been doing a ton of searching on here for what is the easiest and cheapest combo to go behind a 225. It seems like the SM420 and 465 are popular but then there is a $500 adapter between them and the D20 or there is teh T18 but that requires another expensive adapter so I was looking for something that was more of a DIY junkyard swap. Is there anything out there? Maybe a GM tranny and transfer case that you just have to redrill the bellhousing or something?

 

Use the search, Luke.

Reading previous posts on this topic will keep you busy for a good long while.

 

Thanks, I have been and still am searching on here, it seems all the swaps and writeups I am finding are going from a 225/231 to the original D18 and using an expensive adapter from Novak or AA. I am looking for a trans to bolt up to the 225 and either use whatever transfer case the trans came with or another cheap option. I am running a centered diff Scout D44 rear so using a D18 is out for me. I may just end up using the TH400/D20 combo as I already have it, I'll just have to push the engine up and the rear back as far as I can. I did find one writeup on using a FSJ T18 which originally had a D20 and modify the bellhousing and machine the input shaft down to use the stock Buick clutch parts and bolt up the to Buick bell, they swapped over to teh D18 too but it came in pretty cheap when finished.

 

Look for a T-18 from a Jeep truck or Wagoneer. Use the truck's Dana 20 wiith a twin-stick. Put the input shaft from a Ford T-18 in place of the truck's input shaft. Follow the instructions on the Novak site for adapting a Ford transmission to GM, except you'll have to drill a new hole for the one bolt hole in the face of the Jeep transmission that's different from Ford. There's another issue about the bearing thickness on the T-18 - search for Nickmil's old post about that.

Alternately, find any Jeep or IH 4WD T-18 with a D20. Use the adapter and mainshaft from the Jeep and install them to a Ford PU T-18. Nick also has a few posts about this. You'll need to drill and plug a couple of holes on the Ford case to mate the adapter to the Ford case. Again, follow the instructions on the Novak site for mating Ford transmissions to GM bells.

hth!

 

Thanks, that seems to be what I am finding as the best solution, mostly DIY work with just a little machining.