72' 4x4 project

[beechcreek]

My question is i have a 3-speed on column, and want 4-speed in floor. What 4-speeds will work with my 72' 4x4 truck? And where may i start looking?

Also, what inch suspintion lift do i need to run 35" or 36" tires?

I hope this is in the rite forum.

Thanks for your help!

[OLDCHEV4X4]

I would use a sm465 trans with a 205 TC.
A 4" lift will let you run 35" tires.

[beechcreek]

Can you use a 4 speed transmission out of a 72' 2wd. can the yoke be changed out so the transfer case will bolt up? Will the transfer case bolt up to the regular transmission.

[1969K10]

Originally Posted by beechcreek

Can you use a 4 speed transmission out of a 72' 2wd. can the yoke be changed out so the transfer case will bolt up? Will the transfer case bolt up to the regular transmission.

I'm not the expert on this, but you would have to take the tail off of the 2WD tranny, and maybe change out the rear shaft for a shorter one.
You could also run the X-fer "divorced style" which would involve a short drive shaft from the tranny to the X-fer.

What X-fer do you have? Some of those old I-6/3 spd combos had some kind of Dana X-fer. From what I understand, you won't want to run that behind a V8 in a full size P/U.

The more info you give, the better help you'll get from the guys that know their stuff on here...

[1969 GMC]

Originally Posted by beechcreek

Can you use a 4 speed transmission out of a 72' 2wd. can the yoke be changed out so the transfer case will bolt up? Will the transfer case bolt up to the regular transmission.

You could, but then you'd have to use a divorced transfer case. 2wd SM465's have a 35 spline mainshaft and a different tailhousing with the speedo gear in it. You could swap it over to either 10 or 32 spline 4x4 setups, but that would require a complete teardown, and in my mind isn't worth it. 4x4 SM465's arent exactly rare, so it shouldn't be too hard to find one.

What I am not sure about, though, is if the adapter and drive sleeve off of your current tranny/transfer will fit on an SM465. I'm guessing you already have the NP205, but it's not totally unheard of for a truck to have a Dana 20. There are plenty of pics on this website so you can ID your t-case if you can't see the tag on it.

If you do have a Dana 20, you will need to source a complete SM465/NP205 combo. It can set you back probably 200-400 dollars. If you already have a NP205, you can probably get just the transmission for well under 100. If the adapter is different, you will need to find that too.

Good luck!