SBC to T-14

OK, now you’ve got me curious. I’ll have to go out and measure the width of my frame rails then get under my buddies truck to measure his transfer case. Let ya know what I come up with as soon as I have time to do it.

 

The GM drivetrain is going to be LONG. The NP205 is a poor tc at best. The full time operation is useless. Most part time conversions require that you replace later stamped steel diff housing with an earlier cast/hardened carrier or you will spin the engagement teeth off. The overall weight of the drivetrain is probably more than a stock Jeep. Personally, I would think of simply picking a trans that will perform in the application you choose and adapt it in the existing drivetrain. This will eleminate a lot of the extra headaches.

 

You must be thinking of an NP203, in which case you’d be right. The NP205 is a part time transfer case and is one of the strongest options available this side of 2-ton military truck transfer cases. Hell, they’ve been used in 1-tons by GM, Ford and Dodge since before I was born.
The only real downfalls of an NP205 are, as earlier state, they’re huge, heavy and up until recently there weren’t any aftermarket options, particularly for the sad 1.96:1 low range. Though now that they’re being used more often, after market companies have kicked in with twin stick conversions, and I believe I saw a 4:1 low range gear set advertised before.
As far as being too long, that’s probably a matter of opinion. With my Corvette 327 engine, SM420 transmission and Dana 18 transfer case my rear drive shaft is 18” long. I don’t think that’s too bad. Certainly worth the smile it puts on my face anyway.

 

I'd like to keep it as lite as possible. It's a simple in and out deal if I have the right trans. If the T-14 in it now grenades, I might go the Chevy drivetrain route. I guess I can always sell the adapter on eBay.

 

That's what I'm sayin', I don't want the extra weight. Somewhere, I'm going to have to trade-off strength for weight savings or vise-versa.

 

The tranny in your Cheby is more than likely an SM465, which is a good heavy duty transmission with a 6.58:1 Granny Gear. Ever consider adapting your Jeep transfer case to it? The bell housing should bolt right up to your motor without modifications.
Just a thought.

 

Thanks for the info! The trans. in the Jeep now must be from the straight 6 then. The guy I got it from said it was from a V6, but like I stated earlier, the adapter I bought wouldn't work. The shaft was 8.5". But, the straight 6 trans. has worked with my homemade adapter for about 4 months of muddin' before this winter. I wonder how the guy, with the T-14 I'm interested in, came up with 10" for the shaft length? Mabe he was just giving a rough estimate. Thanks again.

 

Yes, it is an SM465. I know this because two summers ago, I removed a TH350 trans and 208 case from the Cheby and replaced them with the SM465 and 205 case. The automatic to stick swap was fairly simple because I used a hydraulic clutch setup. After all that, I beat the body all to hell, and it's pretty much falling off the frame now. I honestly did not think about the SM465 to Jeep t-case. I'm not even sure what t-case I have in the Jeep. I just used the t-case that came on the T-14, it was already there, it worked fine, and it was free with the T-14. (the T-90 t-case wouldn't fit the T-14 anyway) So, I would need to see what case I have, and get an adapter for the SM 465. I'd still be saving some weight and gaining a stronger trans.:stout: Sounds like a very good thought! Thank you much!

 

Well now, don't I feel stupid You are, of course, correct. However, the length will still be a problem since the 205 is a divorced Tcase. On a side note, there are a number of trans options, including auto four speeds(need to check gear ratio's, since many run a fairly high first gear).

 

Not necessessarily! They came in both flavors.

Don

 

The T14 shaft is splined 2 and 3/8 inches out from the end of the bearing retainer. The flywheel bushing boss is 1 and 1/8. Total length from the face of the trans body to the end of the shaft is approx. 9 and 1/2 inches. I have extra parts available for the T-14. To include the syncros, and main clutch shaft if you need them. All parts have less than 60k on them. Do alittle swapping with you. Let me know..

 

Let me clean that statement up a bit...The NP transfer cases require a adapter(what I originally meant to say). Most of the adapters are quite long.