Engine, Tranny, and Transfercase . . .

The Engine:
I mulled over the various engine swap options available for my jeep and settled on the Ford 289. I located a disassembled 289 for $100 through my local sales paper and started the rebuild.

I took the block to a machine shop and had it hot tanked and discovered that one of the cylinders was pitted from and corrosion. The block needed to be bored out .020 in order to remove the cylinder pitting. Add new pistons and rings along with an Edlebrock Performer cam and matching intake and carb and you have my engine of choice.

The Tranny:
My first choice was a Ford T-18. It offered an easy match with the engine and with the Advance Adapters kit, I can mate it with my existing Spicer 18 transfercase. The AA kit was purchased through PartMikeParts.com and I have to say Mike is the Best! Great price, awesome service!

The tranny kit included a replacement center/main shaft for the Ford transmission. That means a complete disassembly and rebuild. I had never taken a tranny completely apart before but I felt that I was up to the task.

Parts Mike provided an exploded view and a one page instruction sheet to guide me through the retro-fit. I started the job some time in 2000 and finished it in May of 2005. Now it didn't take me that long to do the work, it just kept getting put on the back burner with family needs coming first.

Once I got kicking on the reassembly, it really went pretty quick and easy. I did need to replace two gears and all the synchronizers as well as all the bearings and seals. When I finished, the tranny and transfercase were ready for their joining. Or so I thought.

I discovered that there is a little grinding that needed to be done to provide the clearance between the transfercase shifter and the transmission housing.

Once that was done, it all went together just fine.

The Transfercase:
Basically, a bone stock unit, overhauled with new gears, bearings, and seals. The rebuild was simple and uneventful. The finished unit looks great and I expect will give me years of faithful use.

Combined, I expect the drivetrain to be a good option. A solid V-8 with power and torque to get me into anything I am likely to try and a tranny and transfercase to get me out of it.

I have a stock 10" diaphragm type clutch and stock driveshafts. I am not sure at this point if I will be able to keep the stock driveshafts, we'll have to wait and see.

That just about covers the drivetrain, now I just need to get it all into the jeep. Check the Current Work to find out what is happening with the installation.

~ Quick Links ~

The Early Days
The Disassembly
The Rebuild
The Drivetrain