Sm465 to nv4500 swap

[Mv7fd]

I'm looking to swap out my sm465 to a nv4500 I have a 79 k20 with a 205 transfer case what exactly is needed to do the swap? What would the cost be and what a outs would it do for my mpg

[68Timber]

DirtyLarry has done a few of these and does really good write up's w/pics on how to pull it off. Do a search on his username and NV4500.

[cjlloyd81]

I completed my swap a few months ago and love it. Its not hard if you triple check and make sure you have all the right stuff. All in I was at about $1100... online you can find complete conversion kits for $3,000+ so I came out ahead even with some last minute panic moments.

I lucked out on mine and was able to scrounge one up off CL for $300... I had to drive 4 hours to get it... but gave the wife and I a good excuse to getaway for the weekend. My NV4500 came out of a 2wd (my truck is 2wd) 1992 Chevy 3500. That's important because the first two years had the same bolt pattern as the SM465. Later model NV4500's had a different pattern. So that made life a little easier.

One problem you're going to have is clutch... No one that I could find made a clutch hose to go from my OEM Clutch master cylinder to the NV4500 slave cylinder (and the master for the '92 wouldn't mount on my '86 firewall, and the slave from the 465 won't fit the 4500...) so what'd I do? well... I redneck engineered some **** and it works like a champ lol... I kept my OEM Master, the NV4500 slave and ordered a Quick Disconnect fitting from Russell (http://www.summitracing.com/parts/rus-641001), and a 72" braided brake line (http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EAR-64191972ERL). Hit up the local parts store (because I forgot/wasn't sure what else I'd need) to get some fittings to switch from AN to NPT. And presto! I had a hydraulic clutch line (Oh... and make sure your wife isn't distracting you when you go to line up the clutch itself.. mine did... and i put the damn clutch in backwards lol had to pull trans back and flip the damn thing).

I also had to cut the transmission tunnel to make room for the shifter as it sits further back then my SM465 did. I've got a 12x18" piece of sheet metal that I marked and cut a square in to cover the newly enlarged hole in my transmission tunnel, I just gotta get around to welding/screwing it in place.

Other than that its really straight forward... the speedometer sending unit on yours is probably on the transfer case right? So you should be able to keep your cable. Mine being 2wd was on the tailshaft so I opted to upgrade my gauges with AutoMeter and a awesome panel (http://www.classicindustries.com/pro...373509222.html <-- the one I got, yours will be different) and love it.

The crossmember... Not sure how your's is because of 4WD, but on my 2WD I had to hacksaw the lip of the crossmember in the middle so it'd clear the body of the NV4500. I this is the cross member ---> __|--|__ I had to make the center of mine (where the mount goes) look like this _|--|__ with the short side facing front (towards the transmission). And I had to redrill the frame to bolt the crossmember back in because of the additional length of the transmission the OEM bolt holes won't line up anymore.

In closing... make sure, double check, triple check that you have everything you need (i had to because this is my daily driver and I had to have her up and running over a weekend...). I thought... i did... but I failed to take into account that the NV4500 is longer than the SM465... so my driveshaft was now to long. You'll have that problem with both of your shafts. Keep that in mind and find a good local driveshaft shop that you can have your rig towed to (unless you're good with measurements, I opted to tow mine and let him do all the math so I didn't screw it up lol).

Sorry if I rambled... its 3:40am Pacific time and I just got home from a 12 hour shift at work and I'm tired. I've got pics on my phone that I'd be happy to supply if anyone wants them.

Take care, good luck... and TRIPLE CHECK everything. Transmission, compatible bellhousing, clutch, clutch fork, throwout bearing, hydraulic line and fitting (I had to gently file a hair off the fitting to get it to fit in... I didn't want to force it), driveshaft shop, speedometer?, etc...

[Mv7fd]

That's great info! But now I don't have to worry about the swap I got offered 8,000 for my truck and took it! It was in nice shape and I had just rebuilt the top end of the motor and didn't have rust but I wouldn't have paid 8 I guess the guy really wanted it