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Transmission/motor considerations

cwalton

cwalton

1/2 ton status
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Mar 7, 2012
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Location
Andover, NH
I am thinking about taking on a project this winter of rebuilding a motor to swap out with mine in the spring (mine needs a rebuild, but I need to drive it through spring). I might also snag a new transmission, as Im not a fan of my 3 speed that was converted to a floor shifter. My blazer has a 350 in it right now, but I'm thinking about having something different to swap in & out when they're both done, so what does everyone think?
 
What about a 383 stroker? plenty of power and would be easy to swap back and forth with the 350 since it's the same block. If you still want a manual i think a NV4500 would be sweet. I had a 383 in my 85 burb but i had the old 4 speed manual w/out OD. thing had awesome torque and could easily beat my buddy's in their dad's new vortecs and hemis.:D
 
Do you want an automatic, or a manual?

NV4500 swaps always sound cool, but check out the labor / costs involved first. It seems like every time I read a thread about an NV4500 swap they end up way more complicated, involved and expensive than originally expected.

The whole question of an OD transmission is a much bigger topic involving axle gearing, tire diameter, etc. Throwing an OD transmission into the truck without running some numbers first might end up so poorly matched that it won't be able to run in OD anyway.

The TH350 is a pretty cheap transmission to have rebuilt, so it might not be worth getting into an elaborate swap quite yet.


-G
 
Thanks for the replies guys, this will be a new type of project for me to tackle so this kind of information is exactly what I was looking for. That being said, I definitely want a manual transmission. A 4 speed would be nice, the main thing I don't like about my current 3 speed is the linkage set up. It is awkwardly placed on the floor and makes for a sloppy feeling when shifting.
 
Greg72 said:
It seems like every time I read a thread about an NV4500 swap they end up way more complicated, involved and expensive than originally expected.

might end up so poorly matched that it won't be able to run in OD anyway.
-G
Click to expand...
OMG, you've been reading my thread! :whistle:

:haha:
Greg is right, I'm regearing my axles for exactly that reason, and the swap was a bigger pain than you'd think. That said, I'm still glad I did it and I think (hope) that once the regearing is done having the low and high gear range will be a nice bonus.
 
I was thinking about Rene and Brian, but I'll add you to the list as well... :)


-G
 
I bought it this weekend. 350 motor with what I believe is an SM265 4 speed (three speed with the granny low gear) and a NP205 transfer case. The transmission I'm hoping will be good and strong for a while yet. I'm going to have to swap the engine from TBI to carbureted. I am also debating if I am going to just rebuild the engine or go with a 383 stroker kit.....
 
I would definitely do the 383 stroker. It's a torque monster compared to the 350 and will work nicely with the transmission/tc setup you bought. My burb with that combo had some serious low end torque when in granny gear and 4 low (I think max speed was like 5mph)
 
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