4l60e to Muncie swap

transitionbikes93 said:

Sadly, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I have been looking for NV4500’s here for 2 years. Cheapest I’ve come across in central VA is $1500, with 200k+ miles and no clutch or flywheel, no pedal assembly, no master cylinder, slave cylinder, etc.

Between the rebuild kit and the transmission, I have $400 in it so far. Add in a hydraulic conversion kit from American powertrain, a clutch, flywheel, mount, and a Hurst shift kit, it’ll be about $2,000. An NV4500 swap with the pedal assembly and used master/slave cylinders would’ve cost far more than that, and they are used with high miles, and would warrant a rebuild before swapping in. That American Powertrain kit works across a lot of the older transmissions and the T56, which is ultimately the transmission I will eventually get once I can find one that isn’t crazy expensive.

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454C2500Longbed said:

Ouch. That's a rough time. Looking forward to seeing your swap though!

I probably shouldn't tell you how much I picked up my NV4500 for with everything and a ton of parts.

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transitionbikes93 said:

I am also doing a flywheel out of a 67-72 truck. Should be the same bolt pattern as both are 350’s? I can double check and take more measurements.

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Nad_Yvalhosert said:

Truthfully, it'll be cheaper, faster, and easier to replace the existing 4L60e:
$500 for a good used tranny, fluid and a filter vs
$1700 plus for the flywheel, clutch, clutch pedal, pilot bushing, crossmember mod, driveshaft rebuild.

What about the EBL thing? Add that cost in as well.

Sell the Muncie, repair the existing tranny.

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NickTransmissions said:

All good info except Id calculate the cost of the 4L60E based on a complete overhaul vs a used unit...Used 4L60Es last on avg roughly 6months before something (3-4 clutch pack or sun shell) fails...most markets are fetching between $1850-$2200 for a full and proper overhaul plus another $150-$200 for a new converter...

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Nad_Yvalhosert said:

Nope. The crank was changed in 1986 when GM went to the 1 piece rear main seal. You'll need a flywheel from 86 and up.

32 spline manual tranny output vs 27 on the automatic?

Bear in mind you're also gonna lose your speedometer/odometer as the VSS is electric in the 400 trucks.

The Muncie is cable clutch, right? You have the bracket, pedal assy, etc? How are you gonna suspend the clutch pedal?
Then there's the shifter boot, or do you prefer water, mud, and cold winter air to come up through the floor?
You gonna cut off the additional width of the existing brake pedal so it doesn't interfere with the clutch pedal swing?

What tbe time needed to strip out the interior, cut tne floor, modify/build a clutch pedal, slave/bracket, and rewire reverse lights?
Don't forget to adjust the engine timing due to the lack of load from the auto tranny.

Truthfully, it'll be cheaper, faster, and easier to replace the existing 4L60e:
$500 for a good used tranny, fluid and a filter vs
$1700 plus for the flywheel, clutch, clutch pedal, pilot bushing, crossmember mod, driveshaft rebuild.

What about the EBL thing? Add that cost in as well.

Sell the Muncie, repair the existing tranny.

Click to expand...

transitionbikes93 said:

Sadly, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I have been looking for NV4500’s here for 2 years. Cheapest I’ve come across in central VA is $1500, with 200k+ miles and no clutch or flywheel, no pedal assembly, no master cylinder, slave cylinder, etc.

Between the rebuild kit and the transmission, I have $400 in it so far. Add in a hydraulic conversion kit from American powertrain, a clutch, flywheel, mount, and a Hurst shift kit, it’ll be about $2,000. An NV4500 swap with the pedal assembly and used master/slave cylinders would’ve cost far more than that, and they are used with high miles, and would warrant a rebuild before swapping in. That American Powertrain kit works across a lot of the older transmissions and the T56, which is ultimately the transmission I will eventually get once I can find one that isn’t crazy expensive.

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transitionbikes93 said:

Thanks for the heads up on a flywheel. Will pick up one for an 86+ truck.

Both have 27 spline output shafts. Counted them. Driveshaft will work with both transmissions as they are within an inch in length of eachother.

I am using the hydraulic clutch conversion kit from American Powertrain. It’s made to swap an automatic gmt400 over to a manual transmission. It has every piece and part needed other than the clutch itself and the flywheel… has the pedal assembly, lines, master/slave cylinders, absolutely everything… for $975, which is like $300 cheaper than a standalone TCM if I were to retain the automatic. The problem is my truck is heavily modified and getting boost, I need EBL Flash II to tune the OBD1 computer rather than burn chips. EBL Flash II deletes the TCM, so I lose transmission control. Building the 4l60e to handle the power I will be making is gonna cost $4,000+ from my local transmission shop. This is the way cheaper option. I am getting a standalone digital speedometer to compensate for the loss of my standard speedometer.

All in all it’s gonna be about $2000-$2250 to swap this manual in, from the parts list I gathered to make everything work, and that includes buying the transmission. Less than half the price of a built 4l60e and TCM that could handle the power my truck will make. I have the heads off the engine for machining currently, along with getting new valve seals, beehive springs, and 1.6 rockers. I will have to retime everything anyways.

This truck is far from a cruiser. It 3 different colors, and I don’t know if I am ever gonna fix that. It’s eventually getting coilovers up front, trailing arms in the back, lowered, with 295 wide tires on all 4 corners. It’s gonna be a manic, snarling, fire breathing nightmare of a truck, all while still having a “stock” tbi and L31 motor. My goal is to see what I can do with a tbi truck.

Plus, it’s been a couple years since I’ve had a manual and I miss it so much.

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b454rat said:

What trans is going in again? SM-465?

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