Richie O

I have to admit, that is nice. I drive big trucks all the time, so I am not crazy about having one in a small truck, yet, that is kinda cool.

LPU_911

Would one of those 6 or 7 speeds have synchromesh gears? Being an 18 year old kid who has driven standard diesels and one stick shift corrolla how hard is it to learn to drive one of those trannies? Sounds like a fun conversion.

BearKiller

Once you learn to drive/shift a truck transmission, you will grow to despise synchronizers, as they just foul things up, especially when trying to down-shift under load on a steep hill .

Richie O

Yup, It takes practice. People make it look easy, it is, but after practice. I have 5 big trucks currently and they all have a different transmission, and shift pattern. I ground, caught, missed, and was just plain lost for a long time. The harder you try, the more you grind. You need the truck to tell you when and how to shift. My least favorite tranny I have is the super 10. My best shifting truck has an 8LL reverse pattern.

mhuppertz

I heave heard a lot of complaints about the Super 10.

BearKiller

If you are meaning those 8-speeds with the weird shift-pattern where 3rd is where 4th is supposed to be and 4th is where 3rd is supposed to be, I have quit jobs where that was all they had for me to drive; I never could get along with them.

I dis-like any 10-speed.


Maybe I am weird, but I am one of the few that can get along with an old 5-speed Maxidyne and even the two-pole 6-speed Macks.


My favorite of all is a 9-over with deep-reduction.

I will choose an old crappy truck with a 9-speed over a fancy road-queen with just about anything else, excepting a 13-speed, which is still a 9-speed.

Subliminal

Bah,

I still don't know what to do.

My options are the NV4500, a rebuilt Getrag or possibly rebuild my own Getrag...although that prospect scares me a little bit. I don't have a press (although my neighbor might).

BearKiller

In that case, I suggest you rebuild your transmission.

It will be a good learning experience; and, if it doesn't pan out, you haven't been out more than a bit of time and a few dollars.

Subliminal

That guy that Brandon mentioned, the one from eBay (Jim)...

What a guy! He talked my ear off for 45 minutes and I'm definitely throwing him my business.

Bencie

Thanks Brandon...and Subliminal you guys made my decision easier

Subliminal

Well, I placed my order. I called Jim (first mentioned in Crossy's Son's post) and we talked for quite some time. He builds lots of Getrags and lots of NV4500s. He said he didn't think one was any better than the other, and both (when used properly) should be up for anything I'll throw at the truck. He said the only reason he could really see for going with a NV4500 in a 1st Gen is when you're swapping to an auto, as the parts for the swap are more readily available.

I ended up placing an order for the following:

G360 rebuilt $1100
South Bend clutch and flywheel $750
NP205 rebuild/reseal kit $200
Shipping $150.

Total of $2200, which is less than I would have paid for the NV4500 conversion I was looking at (which wouldn't have included clutch and TC rebuild kit).

...and he said he's shipping it tomorrow and he thinks it'll be here Friday.

Great guy. "I'll be 61 this new year...I've been building these things for almost as long as they've been makin' em and I haven't had one come back yet".

Crossy's son

he told me the same thing on shipping, hopefully it's here today , He shipped it tuesday i think.

Which clutch did you get? the con-O organic ?

Subliminal

You know, I'm not 100% sure. I assume its the same Con-O that everyone sells for $700-$750. Mainly I was interested in the flywheel with the bearing and the pressure plate. I think that about 50% of my vibration issues have been because of that big ol' pressure plate.

BearKiller

It's funny that we were just discussing this, as for the last two days and probably for the rest of the week, to help out a neighbor in a bind, I have been slinging around a big old International tri-axle dump-truck that has an 8LL.

This one has a standard H-pattern with 3rd and 4th where they should be, but it sure don't shift worth a flip.

I never drove an 8-speed that did for me

They must be tough as they seem to be the transmission of choice in dump-trucks around here.

Richie O

Some shift mean, some don't. We just had one rebuilt last week as the low high syncro was wasted. I drove it today, and its ok, but does not shift as easy as the reverse one. The very hardest tranny I have shifted was a 9 speed behind a 275 horse 671 turbo truck. The motor would not unwind quick enough to get the next gear. The truck I shifted every 3 seconds was a 13 speed behind a natural 210 horse 3208. It needed every gear going up hills.