Tranny And Engine Adapting Question

Forget project creep, .... how about project Explosion.

When I put the T18 4 speed in my 78 CJ5 I used the T150 bell housing and bearing retainer so as to keep the original clutch Throw out bearing etc. Now I am looking at putting in a SBC. I have looked at the "iron duke" bell housing, but it is just as expensive on ebay as Advance Adapters custom new.bell housing. So if I am looking at $400+ how about getting the Chevy to T150 bell housing? That way I get to keep my clutch setup, and the bearing retainer hole will be the right size. I just have to redo the changes I had to make to put the t18 to this new bellhousing.

Thoughts comments

Couldn't decide if this belongs here or off topic or builders form....

 

The iron Duke (metric) bell is smaller than the v8 bell so that won't work.

I wouldn't try to save a dime by spending a buck to keep the 150 clutch.
go with a car bellhousing and mill it just the same as a Buick v6 to t18 or use a truck bellhousing and have an index ring turned.

For v8 I would only consider a tbi 350 or a ls/lq

 

Yep, I have a 350 tbi our of a 1995 Chevy G20 van.

 

Sell it and buy a 5.3 ls engine. Same job, way better engine.

 

why? what about it is so fantastically better? i know that a 5.3 ls is a great motor (we've got one with ~330k), but why not use the 350 he already has? it's not much different

 

Better internals and metallurgy meaning they last longer.

 

You'll need to drive em to feel it. The 5.3 is lighter and breaths. The 5.3 would get better mpg and can take more performance gains. 5.3 is better sealed so water crossings are less of an issue with splashing. Overall It's like a Honda civic to an iron duke but in this case I think I comes down to what the operator wants to work on and is comfortable with.
A 350 can take abuse and is a little easier to work under. The 304 has taken the rig pretty darn far as it is. A 5.3 wouldn't loose anything but a little learning curve and doesn't have the 350 rumble.

 

Not necessarily. The LS platform is indeed very good but where it really shines is making a lot of power at high rpm and actually staying together. If one is looking for low rpm torque, most, if not all, of that advantage goes away. The Gen I engines can also run well in excess of 200k miles with "modern" fuel injection which I attribute most of the longevity of modern engines to. Nothing wrong with either metallurgy or internals, assuming you have the proper parts.

The largest advantage I see of LS versus Gen I is in the availability of aftermarket induction systems. A lot more off-the-shelf options for LS. For the Gen I in a Jeep application, I think one of the "high flow" aftermarket TPI systems would be hard to beat. Those came about with GM's effort to pull some low end torque out of the 305's and they succeeded very well at that. Unfortunately, on anything bigger than a 350, they run out of air well before 5k rpms. But they were the grandfather of just about all our "modern" engine control systems.

 

Everything is different and improve from the older generation. Way more power direct from the factory, way better MPG and avaibility of part is crazy.

For having tested my 5.3 vs my amc 360 is there is no big difference in the low rpm torque.

Got a set of adavance long tube headers and magnaflow headers and the sound it just about right with my 5.3.

 

Yes to the fuel injection and just important, electronic control of the timing. You pretty much keep everything optimal no matter what the conditions are.

That is the Lakeshore/Gladstone mine and mill remains on Crystal Lake, Wisconsin Creek-Madison County, MT. It was taken from the summit of APA Mountain with a 300 mm lens. I don't remember who the red CJ 5 belonged to but mine is the blue one. You can't access that these days but it's not much of a hike off the Jeep trail (which is reasonably challenging-probably the second best trail in the Tobacco Roots).

A 2017 photo. It is disappearing rather quickly.


Hijack apologies!!!!!!!

 

An amc 360 and a chevy 350 are not the same

 

350 ls and 360 aside. Because all are perfectly fine for replacing a 304.

Does anyone have thoughts on how to arrange the clutch between a 350 and a t18 that currently has a t150 bellhousing???

 

For me, .... I like the stock bell crank mechanical clutch linkage. If you have the T150 bellhousing the linkage is bolt on.