Need help with transmission choice 76 2wd

[silver64coupe]

I hate to part with this truck. I've driven it every day for the last 20 yrs. Unfortunately the lady in my life is unable to drive standard shift. As a compromise (instead of replacing it with a new Tahoe) I would install a TH350 or 400. I just don't know what to look for (model #, shaft length, spline number etc). For example, I would think the th350 would be strong enough for a stock 350 ci 4 barrel, mild cam, holley alum manifold motor. What would I need parts wise to do the swap besides tranny and shifter. The other question would be, is it economically feasible.
Thanks

 

[diesel4me]

its not that hard

Is your truck a 3 speed or 4 speed now??--if its a three speed,a TH350 will bolt in place of it fairly easy,if you get the right tailshaft length the old driveshaft will likely work,if its a one peice driveshaft--you will have to find a way to shift it though,a "three on the tree" shifter can be modified to work,or you can swap in an automatic steering colum or floor shifter....you need a tranny cooler too,if your radiator doesnt have one(most manual tranny radiators wont,unless someone swapped a radiator from an automatic in)....A 9 inch tailshaft is the most common one used in 2wd trucks,but there are exceptions...

If you have a 4 speed,it might be more work,some of them used a two peice driveshaft with a carrier bearing ,you might be able to find a one peice driveshaft out of the truck you get the automatic tranny from--the tranny mount might be different,but they arent that costly--you might have to move the crossmember to different holes in the frame....

If you want a TH400,you will need to move the crossmember,change the driveshaft to a TH400 style(they have larger splines on the tailshaft than a TH350)or you can use a conversion U-joint to allow the TH400 yoke to fit a TH350 or standard tranny driveshaft,but the TH400 is different overall length than a TH350,so the shaft will need to be cut and altered to fit,unless you can score a truck with the whole setup intact,then you simply buy everything you think you might need(nothing beats having the whole truck next to yours when swapping things like this..)so all told,it can get involved--the TH350 would probably be easier to swap in than the TH400,but its not as strong,but they arent weak either...its up to you to decide if its worth it to you to convert...

It might be easier to just buy another truck thats already got an automatic tranny in it---or teach her how to drive a standard !!..

 

[silver64coupe]

More info

The present setup is a toploading cast iron 4 spd. The shifter goes right through the floor into the guts of the trans.1st gear maxes out at about 5 mph. I don't know the model of the trans, but I am interested if anyone can tell me what it is. The driveshaft is a one piece
thanks

 

[diesel4me]

more things I forgot...

That is likely a SM465 tranny--since yours is a one peice driveshaft,that will simplify converting it to automatic---I forgot that you will need a flexplate to replace your manual tranny flywheel,and you might want to remove the clutch and brake pedal and swap the brake pedal to the automatic one,its much wider..

Putting the tranny in is a chore,but not that bad--its hooking up a shifter,or changing the colum,adding a tranny cooler and all the changes like moving the crossmember (you might have to drill the holes in the frame,they arent always drilled at the factory for every possible tranny combo)all the "little" things that take the time and are a pain in the butt--you wont have any indicator in the dashboard to tell you what gear your in either,unless you swap the dash and colum out to an automatic version...then the driveshaft might have to be altered too,or replaced with one from a similar truck--again,its best to find a whole parts truck at the boneyard,or buy one for parts,when doing a swap this involved.....

I still think you should teach her to drive a standard!!!!
You'll never hurt that tranny,but you might need a clutch put in before she's good at driving it!!!...

 

[dyeager535]

I was thinking the same thing...there is probably no better tranny to learn to drive a stick with than the 465.

The girl I'm with has never driven a stick either, but she will learn on my 465.

You basically CAN'T hurt the thing starting in granny low, and it's almost impossible to stall it getting moving in low, so why not have her try?

Of course, there are those that are unwilling or afraid to learn, and thus won't. It just seems pointless to spend good money/time swapping out something that is working well/as it was intended to, instead of just learning to use it.

 

[sleeper_dave]

Sounds to me like you have three options:

1. Teach her to drive stick

2. Don't let her drive your truck

3. Find another woman

 

[pauly383]

My wife has NEVER driven mine , and its an auto truck , I thought about letting her , but it passes after awhile

 

[divorced]

My '76 C10 with a TH350 had a 9" tailshaft. diesel4me has it all laid out what you will need to do the swap. One tricky part to get may be the bracket on the frame to hold the shifter linkage.

 

[R72K5]

wish i had that 465 setup in my 84 2wd dammit, i LOVE 465 and 420 setups

465 is what would be in a 76

its 6.50:1 ratio first gear, unuseable gear cept if loaded down, normal unloaded driving you take off in 2nd gear it is 3.00 something to one ratio like a normal tranny is

th350 would be easiest to swap in, need auto or three speed crossmember, and auto linkage and auto column and if truck is longbed then driveshaft from a 2wd longbed pickup, trans to use is 6" tail, distance from tail end of trans to axle yoke is 74" i have some of these around if you need one

linkage you can use 73-up trucks, column through 84, crossmember 73-87 pretty much and i forget if you can use the 465 one 73-up or not, i rarely see a 73-up 4 speed truck cept for one tons

i have all the auto stuff if you could get here with the 4 speed stuff, cuz thats what i want in my truck more than the th350 i am going to be swapping to in it, we could trade trannies, crossmembers, driveshafts, etc,


good luck