Free 1987 Chevy TBI 350 and Tranny swap

When I return from overseas, my father has decided to donated his pickup truck to me... it is a rust bucket but the engine is a newer crate motor and it is very reliable. I know that the tranny has a super granny gear, but I'm not sure it will mate up to my dana 300 (advance adapters should be able to help in this department)
My question is; has anyone used a chevy manual (I believe it is an M20 Muncie, w/6.55 1st gear) in a cj5 and what were the results like. Is it going to be longer than my t-176 and will I need new drive-shafts?
Is it really worth it (between the radiator, adapter, motor mounts, exhaust, shafts...) Or would I be wise to have a rusty but reliable shop truck.

Thanks in advance.
James

1980 CJ5
1987 Chevy pickup
2000 Cherokee (wife's jeep)
1990 Daihatsu Rocky (My Japanese Jp, six years is a long time w/o a 4x4)
Eventually I will have a mid 70's CJ6!

 

This swap has been done tons of times and is a very good one. The granny 4 speed should be an SM-465 Muncie. The M-20 is a car 4 speed with a high first gear. The granny tranny is a great one to use in a Jeep. Basically you will drive it like a 3 speed on the street and use low gear for moving slow on trails, rocks, etc. The 465 is way stronger than the T-176 as the T-176 was basically a Ford car 4 speed modified to go in a Jeep. Advance Adapters and Novak both have tons of info available for this swap as well as parts necessary to do it, i.e. motor mounts, adapters, etc. I prefer the Novak adapters as I've had far fewer problems with fit on those over the AA. Don't get me wrong, AA makes some great stuff, but prefer the fit and finish of the Novak's. The TBI motor you have is a great way to go. It's the easiest type of fuel injection to adapt and maintain, and parts are available at every corner FLAPS. There are a couple of companies that manufacture stand-alone wiring harnesses for this like Howell, Painless, I "think" Centech may make one, etc. I personally have the Painless kit and it worked great for me. There may be some less expensive but high quality alternatives out there however so definitely do some searching around.
This whole thing is not a bolt in operation, but it's definitely worth all the work needed to do. Don't forget you will need a radiator or have your existing one modified. MEPCO I believe has a radiator for this conversion that is a direct bolt in. Wiring will have to be addressed as will linkages for clutch, throttle, etc. I'd recommend using a hydraulic slave and master cylinder for the clutch. Makes life much easier. Do plenty of searches on the net, ask lots of questions, and let us know if we can help further. By the way, welcome aboard! Nickmil

Edit: Yup, you will most likely need to modify the drive shafts. Nickmil

 

:iagree: i'm doing the 465 to 300 right now. the novak kit with the main shaft is the way to go, imo. shortest and strongest setup. just too bad is on backorder for 3 weeks. gonna miss windrock ride 'cause of that. welcome from nc.