whats involeved in puttin a th350 trans into my 3sp truck..

[oldblue1968chevy]

Ive located a th350 trans outta a 70 van, is it a bolt up kind thing, or how will it work? Thanks!

[WorkinLonghorn]

I thought about doing this when my knee was acting up.
I have a cross-member for an auto trans still sitting here. What you will need is either a different steering collumn with the shifter on it or a floor shifter. Then you will need cooling lines and a radiator with a cooler in it. You will need a modulator tube/hose,kickdown linkage,flexplate,torque converter,not sure about driveshaft length. It will take a little doing,not really a "bolt-up" but I don't think it will be too hard.
___and of course the auto trans cross member_________

[oldblue1968chevy]

yikes lol more than i thought!

talk to local mech here in our itty bitty town...see what he says bout it

[chevy29267truck]

i will be doing that soon too my 67 chevy intell my bestfriend dose the 4speed i will be doing some work for the 4speed

[72BLUZ]

cross member, shifter linkage & steering column if you want to keep it original. then the labor to install everything

[big_al_71]

I just did that on my 71 about three months ago...
Very simple to switch if you have time and patience...

New Steering column
New Lokar shifter linkage
New Lokar kickdown
New Drive shaft
New tilt steering column with shifter
Tranny crossmember
Tranny lines
Tranny cooler
New alum. radiator
Th350 Built to hold 800hp

[Gray Ghost]

Don't forget new flexplate....you can use the same driveshaft but with a different yoke and it will have to be a slightly different length.

[LuckyHenriksen]

Its not really that hard, it just looks like a lot when you write it all down. I swapped mine form a 3 OTT to a TH400, and I used a Hurst Quarter Stick shifter. It works great. It also depends on if you have the motor out or not. I think its easier to swap them if you have the motor out. You also have to remove the clutch pedal, or just let it swing like me =]

[hotrod 80]

I did this in my 67' and im here to tell you it's a boltin , but not an easy one .
You will need flywheel with bolts , torque converter , trans lineand cooler , steering column , drive shaft shortened and new yoke , shifter linkage , auto cross member , linkage to the 6 (if it's a 6) . and a starter . The starter is what cuase my 6/auto swap to fail . Couldn't find the correct 250/th350 starter so i put a 350 in it . Might be easier if it's a V-8 .

[STP67-72]

I have done this about a dozen times. Some work, but worth the time. Cutting the old std trans.crossmember out is the part i hate the most. Hope this helps.

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by hotrod 80

I did this in my 67' and im here to tell you it's a boltin , but not an easy one .
You will need flywheel with bolts , torque converter , trans lineand cooler , steering column , drive shaft shortened and new yoke , shifter linkage , auto cross member , linkage to the 6 (if it's a 6) . and a starter . The starter is what cuase my 6/auto swap to fail . Couldn't find the correct 250/th350 starter so i put a 350 in it . Might be easier if it's a V-8 .

No need for the whole starter. You can just swap the starter nosecone in a few minutes.

[hotrod 80]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

No need for the whole starter. You can just swap the starter nosecone in a few minutes.

What nose cone is this for future reference ? I started 2 threads on this and never got an answer . I put a 168 tooth flywheel on it .

[mrein3]

Don't forget, the flywheel to crankshaft bolts on an automatic flexplate are shorter than the bolts from a manual transmission flywheel. Just keep the bolts that held the flexplate on the van and you're good to go there.

The bolts that hold the torque converter to the flexplate will need to be saved and reused from the van too.

[70GMCer]

Originally Posted by mrein3

Don't forget, the flywheel to crankshaft bolts on an automatic flexplate are shorter than the bolts from a manual transmission flywheel. Just keep the bolts that held the flexplate on the van and you're good to go there.

The bolts that hold the torque converter to the flexplate will need to be saved and reused from the van too.

Those bolts can also be had at auto parts stores.....

[big_al_71]

Being than when we did it I was also putting in a new engine it made things a hell of alot easier. The crossmember was a piece of cake with the engine out of the way. Doing it this way was the best thing to do..see pict below.

[mrein3]

Left one is off a straight stick truck, right off of an auto tranny truck.

[LuckyHenriksen]

Yep. Where can you find just the nose piece?

[Tx Firefighter]

I just collect old unworking starters when I run across them.

There are really only 2 different nosecones to worry about, straight bolt pattern and staggered bolt pattern.

The small flexplate uses a straight across pattern. I just poked through my pile of starters till I found a junker with the proper nose cone.

If memory serves me correctly, it was a small block powered 80s vintage Camaro.

[66skylarkpost]

the one on the right looks to be from a buick v8 ( 350 - 455) or a 153 toothed flywheel small chevy . the later 168 toothed had both the longer two bolts and where staggered