lostviking

The T5 is a fine transmission, and has been done by many people. I'm sure they are happy with the results. I don't need the overdrive and the 435 is a very short transmission with the shifter straight out the top. There is another member who did one several years back, for similar reasons as mine. I'm trying to get a bit more information from him right now.

OK, looked under the truck. The elephant was there, called the fuel tank. Anything is doable, but to get room for the transfer case, the fuel tank would have to be moved. I think I could move it to the other side, move the filler neck to that side of the cab, run the exhaust down the drivers side since the tank was over there, but that means moving the battery...too much has to be done I think to make it reasonable. If I want a 4x4 with this body, I think the only reasonable way to to do a complete frame swap. Not gonna happen. It was a nice brain exercise, but I don't believe this is worth the effort for me. I'm back to an IFS from Scott's Hot Rod shop. I know he can do it for the flathead, but...just don't know anymore. One thing I did learn about was some of the great transmissions I could switch to, if I wanted. T5's aren't IMHO the best swap. There are some nice truck transmissions, like the NV435, which are short, top shift and have the same, or similar stickout. I have to wonder why people have gone to the T5 in the first place. Anyway, I'm not doing a 4x for the reasons above. If anyone else thinks it's still worth the effort, I'd love to watch your project.

Hmmmm. Have 3.55 gears in the rear end, and fronts with that are easy to find. Thinking that I don't need overdrive...which brought me to NV435 transmissions. Nice and short, shifter seems to be nicely placed and easy to adapt to a NP231 transfer case. I really need to slide along the ice cold garage floor and see if this was all just a brain tease. Where is that gas tank?

There are different lengths. If I'm going V8, that might not be the best transmission anyway. Does anyone know the length of the input shaft on the stock 3spd?

Not really, just put the blinker in line.

https://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/transmissions/manual/ax15

Haven't found all the information I need on the stock trans, but since T5 swaps happen all the time...it has a stick out of 7.2 inches. The AX15 has a stick out of 7.5 inches, so it's in the ball part of doable. Need more information. There are also different stick out lengths for the AX15. Bell to transfer case is around 16.5 inches...still looking at this.

Opinions are welcome. One that was brought up was the expense/effort of doing a 4.0 or just doing a V8. The V8 might fit better due to the overall length. I don't know right now if that's true, but the V8 comes in front of a 5spd and transfer case that would be just as available. So I'd be leaning to the V8 side. the fuel tank clearance is what I haven't looked at yet. Need to crawl under my truck and take some measurements. If I've given anything away with this truck, it's that I think about things and take it slowly. It's nice to get on here and ask questions, and hear what other people might have done, or just another perspective.

What I meant was that I was still planning on using the stock bell housing. One thing I hadn't thought of was what 41/53dodges pointed out, the gas tank getting in the way. Have to take a look at that for sure before I spend much time on this.

Does anyone have the measurement for the input shaft stick out? The distance from the front face of the transmission to the tip of the input shaft? If anyone has or knows someone with a Cherokee, the distance from the rear of the bell housing face to the rear of the transfer case. I'll see what I can find. The fuel tank is definitely something I didn't think of. That might put a wrench in this. The pedals aren't an issue. I was thinking of using the entire assembly from the Cherokee anyway and mounting them to the firewall. I like the idea of the master being where it's easy to get at. That means the stock bell is not an issue. I can make something work for the rear mount. Still in the thinking stage of this idea. Only just mentioned it to the wife, but we were driving cross country so I don't think she was really listening

I've been on a trip to TX for Thanksgiving, so no contact since last Monday. I agree, once I got this far a V8 is about as much trouble. Of course, I don't think it's any trouble My other thought on that is that the V8 is probably shorter overall than the 4.0, I'd have to check but I think that makes sense. I wasn't worried about losing the rear mount if I kept the flatty, I was going to see if I could adapt the trans at the rear of the bellhousing. I don't know what the input shaft length is for either transmission right now, and I'm that early in the thought process. I do know I'd rather convert to 4x than spend as much on a IFS. If I did that, it would have to be the Scott's unit with is NOT a MII style, but rather one engineered specifically for the truck. It's about $5000. But that is the complete front end with motor mounts. Just connect the steering shaft. But a nice 4x since I didn't buy a new Jeep and I'll want 4x4 when I retire and escape California... Whole lotta thinking and looking around. It's great to hear from anyone who's done it, why learn from your own mistakes... Have a good evening everyone. 5:50PM and just got home a half hour or so ago. Gotta find where the cat is hiding and get him relaxed. He doesn't like being left alone.

Not many applications used the T5 in a 4x4. Those were non-world class such as 4 cyl Jeeps in the 80's I've read. They only come in front of Dana 300's also. I need to get some better information regarding the input shaft on the 3 spd stock transmission. There are several length input shafts on the AX15. Lots of information is still needed, and I'm getting ready to drive out of state to see my Mom for Thanksgiving. Be a week or so before I'm back trying to find more dimensions.

How long is the head? It helps to know which family the engine in in.

Haven't given up on this. I used some air dry clay and did an impression of both the outside and inside faces. This time I've got the complete detail of both surfaces from the bottom edge all the way up to the flat top. A friend of mine at work is going to use the CMM system to plot the surfaces for me and generate a cad profile I can use to get some better tools made. This time it will put the metal exactly back where it belongs. I'm also going to go with thinner dies, so I can have them water jet cut the pieces. The laser seemed to smear the edges a bit. I'll put two holes in each piece so I can align them and bolt them together also. I'm doing that for two reasons, one is just so I can try 1 inch wide and 2 inch wide dies (of course I can size up and down in .125 increments also).

I've been toying with an idea, at least in my mind. Instead of putting a Scott's Hot Rod shop IFS in my '46 WD15, I've been thinking about a 4X4 conversion. The thought is to use a Cherokee front axle assembly, convert it to leafs and use the factory leaf spring (at least to start). Put a steering box from a Cherokee (or other compatible one) in front of the axle. I can box my frame when I do that. Use the transmission and transfer case from the same. I can put the transfer case lever where the stock e-brake lever is now. I saw where someone used back seat or maybe it was third room seats from a Mopar to replace his bench seat, and that not only looked great, but left a spot in the center for a pull handle for the rear e-brakes in my existing Cherokee rear. Don't know if I can adapt an AX15 to the bellhousing on the flatty or not. It's not a bad engine, so why not keep it if I can. Otherwise I have owned and like the 4.0 Jeep engine quite a bit, and that swap has been done, so it can be done. If I did, I'd use the whole Jeep pedal assembly and master cylinders mounted to my firewall. Thoughts? Anyone done any of this? Adapting the stock steering column seems like the least difficult part. Keeping the flathead would mean no changes to the electronics. Crazy?

You could just go to Digikey or Mouser and buy the correct fast-on connector. They are cheap.

All good suggestions, but I think I didn't explain what was happening well enough. The inner die was designed by offsetting the outer die the metal thickness. That meant that I had to "figure the top end point out", rather than have a good model for it. I just picked a spot and ended it, then did a flat top. That left a sharp edge at the top of the tool. Unfortunately that edge ended inside of the top radius, leaving a mark. Here's a picture to better illustrate what I'm trying to say. I grabbed my Dremel and a sanding roll and put a radius on that edge instead. The tool only had the curve just below my finger, not the very top one. I'll have to fix that by hand. That's what I meant by rounding the end of a punch or something. I think I'll use a cheap chisel and grind it down to the shape I need. You can see more clearly how truly messed up the sides of the running board are.

After using the press, it's very difficult to use properly. I knew it was going to be awkward, but I think I need to hand the running board from a rafter so it doesn't need any other support. Also, I need to remove a sharp edge at the top of the inner die. It can leave a mark. Otherwise, it will put the round back. Not sure if it is the best idea or not. I might try some rods that I grind the curves into to do a little hammering also. I really messed this running board up badly

For better or for worse, the device of correction (or destruction) is complete. I welded the outer die to the jack today. Just three tacks. I've had the jack a long time, and it has lost some oil over the years, so I need to top it off. I'll get a bottle of jack oil asap, then on to the running board. Fun times

As always, life gets in the way. This weekend I finally had time to pull the running board off the truck. I used it to line up where the two dies will be mounted, then tacked the inner one to the plate I bolted to the top of the press. I have a 1/4-20 hole tapped in the top of the jack. I marked the location as closely as I could in the outer die, and drilled a pilot hole. I'm going to pop a 1/4-20 bolt in the lathe at work and remove the threads on one side so it fits loosely in the hole. Then, I'll shim the distance between the dies the thickness of the running board metal, and epoxy the die onto the stud, while under heavy compression. I'm still thinking about a couple tacks between the jack round contact and the sides of the die. If I do it will be just enough, so that I can easily cut it loose with a cut off wheel. That way the jack is still usable for other purposes. Should be able to squish something next weekend. Hope the darn thing works

The original engine would have been a T112, or 218 CU engine. I have a 1946 WD15. That engine is a 110HP 230. Nice engine, I'd keep it if you are staying with a flathead.

Line-lock is not a good solution, regardless of other issues, because it mean energizing a solenoid. It's for short duration use. IDK how far back it goes, but 1965 Dodge cars were still using the old axle style with the nut on the ends, but had integrated parking brakes. That shouldn't be much problem to put on the end of your existing read housing.

Depends. Aren't you talking about the coils of the relays? The circuits they control would have their own fuse/circuit breaker.

What car/truck, what engine?

On the wiring diagram in my shop manual, both the color and the size of the wires is given. It's a factory manual.