Hey all,
I'm working on swapping a 13BT into my cousin's '77 BJ40 and I'm at a point where I know there are a couple of different paths that I could go down, and wanted to open it up to this group to see if there are any other options I haven't considered or if there is a strong community preference for one over another. I've made significant progress, but am blocked until we have a plan of attack.
Plan of attack
* 13BT acquired complete accessories through bell housing.
* Retain 4spd trans & solid t-case in the short-term, long-term plan is to go with H55f, split case, rear axle w/ parking brake
* Flip radiator outlet to opposite side for 13BT
* New exhaust
Complete
* Original B diesel removed, engine mount brackets transferred to 13BT
* Bell housing from B retained to provide mounting options (missing lower block -> bell housing brackets)
* B diesel sold
* Converted vacuum shutoff switch, starter, and alternator from 24V to 12V (have not addressed glow screen yet)
Mounting options
This is where I have the most questions and would really love input. The South American BJ40 has the transmission mount on the bell housing that attaches to a crossmember. The 13BT relies on the H55f side-mount transmission mounts. Here are the options I see...
Thanks in advance!
Aaron
I'm working on swapping a 13BT into my cousin's '77 BJ40 and I'm at a point where I know there are a couple of different paths that I could go down, and wanted to open it up to this group to see if there are any other options I haven't considered or if there is a strong community preference for one over another. I've made significant progress, but am blocked until we have a plan of attack.
Plan of attack
* 13BT acquired complete accessories through bell housing.
* Retain 4spd trans & solid t-case in the short-term, long-term plan is to go with H55f, split case, rear axle w/ parking brake
* Flip radiator outlet to opposite side for 13BT
* New exhaust
Complete
* Original B diesel removed, engine mount brackets transferred to 13BT
* Bell housing from B retained to provide mounting options (missing lower block -> bell housing brackets)
* B diesel sold
* Converted vacuum shutoff switch, starter, and alternator from 24V to 12V (have not addressed glow screen yet)
Mounting options
This is where I have the most questions and would really love input. The South American BJ40 has the transmission mount on the bell housing that attaches to a crossmember. The 13BT relies on the H55f side-mount transmission mounts. Here are the options I see...
- Mate the 13BT to the 4spd via the 13BT bell housing, add a rear mount cross-member like this one from Advance Adapters. I've read that the clocking of the 13BT bell housing requires modification to the engine mounts on the frame side, and I'd prefer not to do that because when we go to the H55f we will need to undo whatever we did to support the 4spd.
- Use the B bell housing to mate the 13BT to the 4spd and utilize the bell housing transmission mount. I've read that there are potentially clutch clearance issues with this approach. This would require sourcing the lower block -> bell housing brackets and dealing with bolt size differences, etc. However, this feels like the simplest solution to support the long-term plan.
- Go big and get the H55f, split-case, rear axle, and drive shafts now and do it all once. Logically, this feels like the right solution, but time and budget may not allow.
- ?????
Thanks in advance!
Aaron