VintAGE-Vans

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BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER.... A's, G's & E's


4 posters

    AUTO TRANSMISSION SWAP PARTS LIST-HELP NEEDED

    Lazarusvan
    Lazarusvan


    Number of posts : 1293
    Location : Charleston, South Carolina
    Age : 51
    Registration date : 2011-02-22

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    Post by Lazarusvan Fri Aug 26, 2011 4:08 pm

    Having ruled out one van and strongly considering another, I contacted a recommended place that can do the tranny swap. Limiting the search to auto only vans makes finding one even harder, so I'm trying to get a grasp on conversion.

    The potential van is a Chevey First Gen V-6, 3 on the tree.

    He said that he couldn't give me an exact quote (he is guessing 8 hours or so) without knowing what parts I would need. He mentioned things like linkages and their length, shifter type/length, where it hooks to the carb?, brackets, etc and other things it needs.

    He also said it would be a huge help if there was a thread or photos showing the process. If anyone can post a good thread from the past and a complete list of what parts I need to seek, that would be great. I am trying to determine potential cost but mainly the cost of additional parts beside the shifter and tranny.

    I would likely go with the 200-4R transmission. Beyond that, what else do I need? I would be fine with using the column shifter unless that is impractical.

    Thanks for the help!
    Twinpilot001
    Twinpilot001


    Number of posts : 6186
    Location : spokane ,Wa.
    Registration date : 2009-09-28

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    Post by Twinpilot001 Fri Aug 26, 2011 5:22 pm

    [i]get a custom tranny mount made - or one from a later van -like 70-88 models with a trans mount x-member- Thats the biggest problem - You will need differeny motor mounts from ger 2 chev vans or again custom motor mounts - there are some threads on doing a 700R4 and just looke for them - the 200R is same and will fit / work well for you. trans man will need to hookup & adjust any trans / to carb linkage for you also thats available from most any trans builders just search the net & summitt & jegs for thats stuff-Happy Vannin
    donivan65
    donivan65
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    Number of posts : 12218
    Location : San Diego, California
    Registration date : 2008-05-12

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    Post by donivan65 Fri Aug 26, 2011 6:43 pm

    Does that van really have a V6 in it? A 2004R might not need the driveshaft cut down,,,,you will probably need a new front yoke for it. You need some kind of rear trans mount,,,,you need some kind of Throttle Valve Cable linkage to hook it up to the carburetor. Your exhaust might need to be moved to clear the transmission. your engine might need to be lowered to keep the transmission level and clear the floor,,,,,
    Lazarusvan
    Lazarusvan


    Number of posts : 1293
    Location : Charleston, South Carolina
    Age : 51
    Registration date : 2011-02-22

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    Post by Lazarusvan Fri Aug 26, 2011 6:51 pm

    donivan65 wrote:Does that van really have a V6 in it? A 2004R might not need the driveshaft cut down,,,,you will probably need a new front yoke for it. You need some kind of rear trans mount,,,,you need some kind of Throttle Valve Cable linkage to hook it up to the carburetor. Your exhaust might need to be moved to clear the transmission. your engine might need to be lowered to keep the transmission level and clear the floor,,,,,

    Yes, V-6. Would the 700R4 change anything? Of course, I could go with a Powerglide, but that seems to be a waste of "upgrading" the transmission. Still would make the other half happier..
    Lazarusvan
    Lazarusvan


    Number of posts : 1293
    Location : Charleston, South Carolina
    Age : 51
    Registration date : 2011-02-22

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    Post by Lazarusvan Sat Aug 27, 2011 4:00 pm

    Donivan, I spoke with the owner and he corrected me. The van has an inline-6. He isn't sure what it has for a tranny, but he said it's a high reving one as it does 70 with ease and doesn't sound like it's going to blow up. It could have been upgraded when the motor was rebuilt by the previous owner.

    He has all the parts from a Powerglide auto, including column, so if any of that is compatible with a 350 Turbo or 200R, I would like to know. I now understand that those work with the inline 6's.


    Last edited by Lazarusman on Sat Aug 27, 2011 9:02 pm; edited 1 time in total
    Twinpilot001
    Twinpilot001


    Number of posts : 6186
    Location : spokane ,Wa.
    Registration date : 2009-09-28

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    Post by Twinpilot001 Sat Aug 27, 2011 4:30 pm

    [i]any of these trannys are compatable- yet- The TH 400 is a little overkill & over the years many have said not to run it with any small V8 as it takes too much power- i believe that - The powerglide is an oem tranny for the 6 & early v8's and the Th350 will work great alos & have the 3rd gear =Happy Vannin
    donivan65
    donivan65
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    Location : San Diego, California
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    Post by donivan65 Sat Aug 27, 2011 8:17 pm

    The important thing is what rear end gear ratio does the van have? The transmission just hooks the engine to the rear end,,,,,and the engine has to keep up with the rear end. If you have a 10 bolt cover on the rear end, you probably have a 3:36 ratio,,,,,low on torque, fast on speed, good on gas,,,,,HOWEVER,,,,things go downhill if you got a 12 bolt rear end cover,,,,,All the transmissions in the world are direct drive,,,,,(engine turns the same as the driveshaft,,,,,BUT them there overdrive ones, the 2004R and 700R4 make the driveshaft go faster than the engine and thats when good things happen,,,,,
    DanTheVanMan
    DanTheVanMan
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    Number of posts : 7899
    Location : Escanaba, Michigan
    Age : 62
    Registration date : 2008-10-08

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    Post by DanTheVanMan Sat Aug 27, 2011 8:51 pm

    Lee,
    Ask him if he can take a couple of pic's of the tranny. If he can get a shot from the bottom at the pan we can tell you exactly what it is....

    Dan

    AUTO TRANSMISSION SWAP PARTS LIST-HELP NEEDED Tranny10


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    Lazarusvan
    Lazarusvan


    Number of posts : 1293
    Location : Charleston, South Carolina
    Age : 51
    Registration date : 2011-02-22

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    Post by Lazarusvan Sat Aug 27, 2011 9:18 pm

    Thanks, guys. This is slowly starting to make sense to me. The owner had a friend send me shots of the undercarriage, so it would be a day or so before I could get another.

    With that being said, unless anyone suggests otherwise, none of the above factors is really any reason NOT to move forward. I'm obviously ahead of myself.

    I was trying to get a grasp on what I might have to do ($$$). If I understand correctly, I just need to know exactly what the bolt pattern is so that I can see exactly what trannys will work.



    donivan65
    donivan65
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    Post by donivan65 Sat Aug 27, 2011 11:05 pm

    All those transmissions fit a 6 cylinder engine,,,and they all will work with your column shifter,,,,a TH350 and a Powerglide can come with a van rear transmission mount on it already,,,,,others need a crossmember to hold the transmission in place,,,,, I would rate the Automatic Transmissions with PowerGlide, then, TH350, 700R4 and best 2004R as to getting better performance over a 3 speed manual. But if you have to pay $2000 just to get a 200 or 700 built up, thats another story. It depends, do you just want to get rid of the clutch or have a quieter running engine with better gas mileage? Once you find a transmission, they all basically hook up the same way,,,,except some have the correct mount on them,,,,some use the 3 speed driveshaft,,,,and some you need to modify those parts to make the trans fit the van. Everything is possible as long as you got money,,,,,,
    donivan65
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    Post by donivan65 Sat Aug 27, 2011 11:49 pm

    These transmissions fit my 6 cylinder Chevy,,,,,,


    AUTO TRANSMISSION SWAP PARTS LIST-HELP NEEDED Transf11
    Lazarusvan
    Lazarusvan


    Number of posts : 1293
    Location : Charleston, South Carolina
    Age : 51
    Registration date : 2011-02-22

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    Post by Lazarusvan Mon Aug 29, 2011 8:14 pm

    Thanks for all the help. I am still working on getting a photo of the bolt pattern and making the deal. The shipping right now is the deal holdup on my end. Paying a little more for a van and adding pissing in the wind money for shipping is a tough pill.

    Quick related question: The proposed van comes with a Powerglide tranny and all the linkages, etc as well as a auto column w/original wheel. In general terms, are those Powerglide accessories (linkages, cross member, etc) straight up compatible with the other,more desirable trannys.like the 200 and 350.

    I'm trying to convince the wife that paying a little extra and getting those parts is going to save us a bit on the back end with upgrading to 3 speed auto.

    And, if worse came to worst, if we dropped the Powerglide in in the short term since it comes with the van, would we be in a lot of labor time if we later turned around and put in a better tranny. (She thinks this will be a project that doesn't get done and she IS NOT excited about 3 on the tree for any duration.) Stay single...

    Extra info: van includes both axles, all the outside parts from a Chevy V-8 that his friend dropped in his truck (water pump and those types of parts) for anyone that might need something should this work out and I can make back a few dollars. I would not ship the axles for fear of damaging the van in transit and filling my garage with more crap.


    Last edited by Lazarusman on Mon Aug 29, 2011 8:24 pm; edited 3 times in total (Reason for editing : Added extra info)
    donivan65
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    Post by donivan65 Mon Aug 29, 2011 9:18 pm

    Well,,,,,a van transmission does not have a crossmember,,,,you only need one if you try and put a car transmission in a van,,,,an automatic transmission uses a flexplate and torque converter,,,,and if you have to modify the driveshaft, that is an added cost,,,,all shift levers will shift the trans,,,,,the REAL auto trans ones have the indicator on them to let you know what gear you are in,,,and they have lockouts on them to keep you from bumping the lever into another gear,,,,you could probably switch out the 3 speed and put in the Powerglide in a day if you use van parts,,,,
    donivan65
    donivan65
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    Post by donivan65 Mon Aug 29, 2011 9:39 pm

    Here are some crossmembers people made up to put a car transmission in their van,,,,,

    https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t17281-transmission-mounts

    Lazarusvan
    Lazarusvan


    Number of posts : 1293
    Location : Charleston, South Carolina
    Age : 51
    Registration date : 2011-02-22

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    Post by Lazarusvan Tue Aug 30, 2011 6:08 am

    Thanks, Don. I may mess up terms and confuse others, but the tranny came out of another van as far as I know, so it should all the parts that were associated with a Powerglide.

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