1975 Brutally Simple Daily Driver

Fixed it for you. It got moved up from a 50’er to a 20’er through dirty glasses.

 

Went for a drive to fetch my new… older?… transmission today.



My Bronco buddy arranged transportation to his place which is way closer to me than Denver where it started. He’s definitely a Ford guy and it’s easy to see that walking around his place. There’s the ‘69 highboy, ‘66 Mercury 2wd, his ‘74 Bronco, and a slew of parts stashed away everywhere. I was very excited to see the Bronco! It’s been a while, but this was one of the first bigger fabrication projects I had while working at a local 4x4 shop. Tons of tube work, a bunch of aluminum, and it’s all hidden under a patchwork quilt style body. This thing is very solid and after quarter panels and rockers it just might get painted… maybe… someday.





Anyhow… the NP435. I got it home and had a closer look at it. Judging by the crazy shifter, it was clearly swapped into the early Bronco it came out of. The date on the case is 10/31/68.





Overall, I’m happy with it. Still no clear direction as to when this is happening or what transfer case, but this is an awesome transmission that I’ll be able to swap over my bellhousing, clutch assembly, and even the pilot bushing should work. Right now I’m leaning towards keeping my current Dana 20 in lieu of its 2.03:1 low range. This trans will jump me from 25:1 to 57:1. Not sure how much more important 70 or 75:1 is to me for a bunch more added cost. We’ll see what other deals might come along, I guess.

 

I really like the NP435, much nicer to drive than a T18.
That one was definitely in an early Bronco, a 4 speed in one of those ends up with the shifter under the dash.

 

Well… it’s getting to be that time of year again. It was 34° outside this morning and I needed to move some parts around. The top was wide open to get to so I reluctantly put it all back together.



Made a good run though! Now… about those door bottoms…

 

Paint it black.

 

When did you paint Her ? Looks better than the Pink

 

X2
With apologies to the Rolling Stones....

 

Comet wash a little bit ago followed up with clear coat. Hopefully it last a little while.

 

Problem is I don’t want to paint the whole thing. My first choice is red but I think it’ll get tough to match. Second choice is the almond color I did on the roof panel.

 

It would look great if the whole top was that color.

 

x2, this would be my choice as well, and maybe paint the wheels to match.

 

Nope. Not a fan of the solid color tops. This one came off of a white CJ with the bottom half of the door painted to match and I really dig the look. I’ll search around. Maybe the hardware store carries “sun faded red but sometimes pink” in a rattle can.

Picked up a small fuel tank that I can rework some to put under the driver seat. Price was right in that it was free. Not sure I need another project though.

 

I don’t hate the doors. The can said “sunshine red” so I figured it must be in the same family as “sun faded red”.

 

The real problem is we're having beautiful September weather and you have the top on your Jeep!

 

Time to get serious about the NP435 swap! Transmission to transfer case adapter has been order just now through Novak. I decided to not get overly fancy and to stick with the current Dana 20. Should I want deeper than the 57:1 final ratio this setup will give me, I’ll always have the option to build a 2.46:1 low range Dana 20.

Four speed, here I come!

 

I hope your 4 sped swap goes better than mine did!

 

Was that because of the bellhousing? It seems like his intermediate would be an easier swap to a T18 as that was an option for those years.

 

That’d mean finding a CJ T18 or modifying one from a J truck or the like to fit in a CJ. I’ve heard that the NP435s shift a little nicer and I found mine at a screaming deal. The decision was made to go this route because I can reuse my T150 bellhousing, relatively new clutch assembly, and even the pilot bushing also.

 

Fingers crossed! The decision to keep my Dana 20 was a big part of hoping to streamline things. If everything goes to plan it’ll be to pull the trans/transfer case, swap over the bellhousing, install the Novak adapter, install the new transmission, install the transfer case, modify the floor and crossmember as needed (might make a new crossmember… we’ll see), shorten/lengthen driveshafts, and peel out.

So, like… a weekend, right?

 

You will get it installed in a weekend. Then have to pull it 2x to get the correct throw-out bearing.