T18 Conversion

I want replace T14 with T18 in my 71 oddfire. What is involved and do I start with 2wd or 4wd ford?

 

Eddy, this topic has been done to death. If you search old posts, you will find dozens of threads to read.
site:earlycj5.com 225 Dauntless T-18 conversion - Bing

 

Novak has a great article covering this swap as well.

 

Truck 4-speed Transmissions As I Understand Them

 

The Novak Guide to the Borg-Warner T18 & T19 Transmissions

 

to start . you will need a early V6 bell housing . the long 71 bell doesn't work here

 

How tell which I have 71&69 appear 1 piece

 

short bell


long bell with built in adapter. not the one on it in picture

notice the size of clutch fork boot

 

Guess I have 2 short bells on 69&71
No adapter plate and all aluminum .
How to do a search on topic?
Thanks

 

one on left is without transmission adapter
one on right is 71 year only with adapter cast into bell housing . T 14

 

Mine looks like right side just measuring at 9.5 inches

 

At the top right of your screen you'll see a little gray box with the word "search" in it. Click on the box and type your search into the box. Type in something like "T18 swap" or whatever. You'll have days or maybe weeks worth of reading.

You'll need to modify one of the short bells, as stated above, for starters. A custom made bell may be available from Novak or AA but I am not sure about this.

 

do a google/bing/whatever internet search for your terms and include earlycj5.. you will have lots to read.

 

There are almost thirty different input shafts that were used in T98/T18 over the forty year run. Best to find a complete unit that was already run successfully from bellhousing to driveline. Many have spent a couple thousand dollars buying a cheap/ free two wheel drive transmission and then trying to find parts to make it work.

 

Another way to do it is a T18 from a full size Jeep (I see these for sale fairly often) and the AA adapter kit. This would avoid the pitfalls that Daryl mentioned.
712512 : T-18 Transmission to Chevy/Buick Engine Adapter (New Input Shaft) | Advance Adapters

 

To echo what Daryl was getting at..dont buy a T18 because it's a T18..I had a friend buy a scout t18 for his jeep because it was a good deal...by the time he was done adapting and buying parts he could have bought a jeep unit from Herm ready to go...

 

The IHC transmissions are well-known to be ... different (lots of IHC parts are different). I would take Nick's word that you can use the output adapter and main shaft with a Ford T-18 to make a Jeep-compatible T-18. Read the caution above about clocking. Of course, you would not want to spend much money on such parts, because of the risk it won't turn out like you want. Don't fall for the sunk cost fallacy.

Understanding all this stuff and doing the homework is your sweat equity. Brain work. If you can't handle that, Novak or Advanced will sell you a kit that converts a widely-available Ford T-18 to Jeep transfer cases for what, $600? Might be worth it. If that's too scary, buy a turnkey transmission from Herm or Novak. You'll still have to install it in the Jeep, which involves some additional engineering.

 

I did this same conversion to my '71 a few years ago. I used an AA bell as it mated the GM engine and Ford transmission very well. The Novak site is great, but I wasn't sold on their plan to elongate two holes in the transmission flanges.
Here's the link to my build thread: Gem Of The Rockies ‘71 Rii Restomod | ECJ5 (earlycj5.com)
It's not cheap, but having the granny gear is SO WORTH IT!

 

I did this swap many years ago (pre internet). I used a Ford 2X4 trans with an IH mainshaft and D20 adapter, and an early bell.
Well worth the effort and sold my (rebuilt) T14 to pay for the swap.