I am planning on swapping an h41 tranny in to my cruiser.  oes anyone know strong is this tranny compaired to a sm420 or sm465. This tranny seems like a better swap for me seeing how it just bolts in to my drive train
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The 420 is too old for me to trust.
>the 420 is too old for me to trust.
and a 23 + year old unknown condition Aussie Toyota tranny is better?
Unlike a US item, the internals of the H41 (pre 1981) are non US parts and many are very hard if not impossible to find. At least a split case H41 shares some parts (key) with H55's which are making their way into the US system piece by piece. And you are trusting MAF and their high quality used parts for a 4.9:1 tranny?
best, of luck. I am with PH, do the sm420 if you don't want OD. And used H55's for over $750 w/ or w/o t-case is not a bargin either (aussie supplied). I know of 5 Tucson delivered H55's (from MAF) that either the tranny and/or the transfer were unusable.
Hope you don't think I am an a$$h@le by just disputing the facts.
All sm420 parts are available, easily as used parts and even as NOS (new old stock). You can even get brand new comlete 420s. You just have to look for the new parts; they are not at your GM dealer. Parts availability may be worse in the US for the H41. The first gear synchro on the H41 has a tendency to wear out. The synchro is big $$$, but this is not a big deal because you just run it when it is worn out. The output shaft has the same tendency to wear as the H42.
The SM420 swap can be done for under $500 even if you have a 4sp case. New adaptor plates are about $200. F bellhousings are cheap. You don't need a new clutch, just the disk. There are 1000s of sm420s running around in cruisers, so you can bet they are dependable.
~3/4" plate for the SM465 conversion - http://www.classiccruisers.com out of Salida CO. It's the plate I use now. (Not nearly as cheap as the SM420 plate tho, largely because CC is the only place making it...)