[briney]

hi guys ! i had a bit of a search, and couldn't find what i was after. so here goes. i have a 1977 f100 2wd. it has a t18 trans, 3.25:1 nine inch, and 31 inch tyres. this gives me about 2200 rpm at 65. the question i have is, the 4bt's i have been looking at have come out of vans. they have a th 400 attached. i would like to keep my t18. does anyone have a photo of the rear of these engines ? is the flywheel housing small block chevy ? would an sae 3 flywheel housing be hard to get ?

 

[BobS]

Welcome to the 4BT Swaps Forum.

You do not want an SAE housing. I posted this thread which has pictures of the Borg Warner Ford T-19 transmission adapters and flywheels:
http://4btswaps.com/forum/showthread.php?t=841
I believe the Ford versions of the T-19 and T-18 share the same bell housing bolt pattern but you may wish to first confirm this.

 

[briney]

i can buy a bellhousing designed with 6.2 chev v8 onto t18 in mind. does your post mean this will work with my setup ? i am in australia, so a lot of this stuff doesn't exist over here.

 

[BobS]

Very interesting. Is the "stick out length" of your T-18's input shaft approximately 6-1/2 inches? Secondly, what standard shift flywheel do you have available that comes on the 4BT's?

 

[Mikel]

Keep in mind that with a 3rd gear of 1.7, downsifting from 4th to 3rd will almost double your RPM's. Good luck.

 

[briney]

not sure about input length. don't really know what the flywheel is like either. what i want to know is, if the flywheel housing is sbc wouldthis engine go straight onto the standard length bellhousing and work ? or does the bellhousing need to be shortened to get the input shaft into the spigot bearing and clutch ? also, yeh there is some big gaps in the ratios which get worse as i gear up the rear end. 4bd1t's here have a 5speed with a hi/lo splitter, maybe one of those packages would be more suitable. where i live is pretty flat, and the truck doesn't get loaded up much.

 

[briney]

also, if i found a ford flywheel housing, would the engine bolt to my sbf bellhousing that i already have ?

 

[BobS]

not sure about input length. don't really know what the flywheel is like either. what i want to know is, if the flywheel housing is sbc would this engine go straight onto the standard length bellhousing and work ? or does the bellhousing need to be shortened to get the input shaft into the spigot bearing and clutch ? also, yeh there is some big gaps in the ratios which get worse as i gear up the rear end. 4bd1t's here have a 5speed with a hi/lo splitter, maybe one of those packages would be more suitable. where i live is pretty flat, and the truck doesn't get loaded up much.

The standard shift 4BT flywheel appears the be the first thing you will need to get sorted out. If your T-18 has the 6-1/2 inch stick out length and you have a bellhousing for a T-18 to the Chevy pattern it COULD POSSIBLY be a bolt together set up using Chevy parts but you will need a standard shift 4BT flywheel. You definitely first need to find out what 4BT standard shift flywheels are available.

 

[BobS]

also, if i found a ford flywheel housing, would the engine bolt to my sbf bellhousing that i already have ?

I think there is a good possibility that it will however you will still need a standard shift 4BT flywheel.

 

[briney]

themob i am planning on buying the engine from is selling me the engine complete with flywheel, alty and starter, and vac pump. for 3500 australian pesos.

 

[briney]

also, does anyone have a detailed close up photo of the sbc adapter ?