350 swap into 81 toyota
#1
350 swap into 81 toyota
Been planning this awhile to put a 350 in my 81 toyota pickup. I have a lot of questions so feel free to put in any input you have any help will be greatly appreciated. So been having nothing but trouble out of 22r they don't hold up well in mud apparently so i'm goin with something i'm more familiar with the chevy 350. Main question i have is the transmission i know the toyota 5 speed has an adapter plate i have a friend that will sell me a 5 speed with adapter plate thing is will my 4 speed transfer case work or will i need a different one? will it change the lengths in the drive shafts? Or will it be easier to go with a chevy transmission and transfer case if so which transfer case do i need? I'm not worried about fabricating pretty good at it will a lift be needed for a 350 to fit? And for the people to say research i have and honestly i don't know which transfer cases they are talking about in most of them. So anybody who has done this swap or helped or researched it please
#2
Use a short shaft Turbo 350. It will bolt right up to the Toyota transfer case with adapter. A Toy tranny won't hold up to the chevy hp for very long. But your TC is gear drive like the old NP203's and will take the power. Do that and you won't have to change your driveshafts as well.
#3
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I have done a bit of research into the swap as well, and am thinking of going the same way you are. My understanding is a 3" body lift is required to fit everything comfortably.
#4
Yes it helps with the distributor not touching the fire wall depending on where you locate the motor on if you will need to beat the firewall in a little. The swap was quite simple the difficult things for me was mainly doing it all on my own but the power steering since it didn't have it before I just used a union on the pressure line and used a 350 pump. the driveshaft length I made the back fit but had to cut and add on the front. And the radiator finding one small enough to fit and still keep it cool. But in all it wasn't bad but I didn't do mine the expensive showroom way mine is just a mud toy
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Retiredsfc (01-18-2022)
#5
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Yes it helps with the distributor not touching the fire wall depending on where you locate the motor on if you will need to beat the firewall in a little. The swap was quite simple the difficult things for me was mainly doing it all on my own but the power steering since it didn't have it before I just used a union on the pressure line and used a 350 pump. the driveshaft length I made the back fit but had to cut and add on the front. And the radiator finding one small enough to fit and still keep it cool. But in all it wasn't bad but I didn't do mine the expensive showroom way mine is just a mud toy
#6
I used a Toyota transmission with an adapter bell housing but as of now I wish I would have went with all Chevy because my transmission does not stay in reverse for some reason and if you use the Toyota stuff make sure to put new ujoints in my first run I destroyed a driveline because of a ujoints being old plus I can't find a Toyota clutch to hold up so far with the 350 power
#7
I have same issue with toyota trans with 350 keep braking reverse, im doing all this for a buddy and its getting old im tired of putting in 5spds, if i put a 350 chevy trans can i use chevy transfer case also? Im new to the yota thing but dont mind working on anything any help,comments,and criticism is appreciated
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#8
Yeah you could use a Chevy transfer as long as it mounts on Chevy transmission and the transfer and front end housing is on the same side may have to modify a drive line to work. Do you know what exactly it breaks in the Toyota transmission and is it easy to replace
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so about a month ago I pulled the 22r out for a rebuild, its about half way torn down but I just picked up a nv3500 trans in a trade for some tires I had. now I really want to go with a 350 swap with the nv3500, and I'll need a tcase but I have a full floater 14blt and would like to stick a d60 up front. has anyone done this axle swap on a yota? I've been lookin for some info on how to go about all this but cant find anything really helpful. if anyone has any info that would be a great help. i'd like to have a good game plan before starting this big of a project u know. I like the idea of the nv3500 so I can avoid the issue of loosing reverse in the stock yota trans and like the idea of the better track width of the chevy axles as well as the added strength but wonder if its all worth it. let me know what u guys think.
#10
Ok maybe someone can help. deciding to do a complete restore but I can not figure out how to remove the front clip from the cab I got the fenders off but not fender wells and radiator saddle does anyone know if this can be done if so how without ruining everything
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I have a good 350 motor. still haven't decided on what transmission to use yet. was originally planning on the stock 5spd from my 3.0, now i am leaning towards the t350 because I don't want to be breaking stuff constantly. With 5.29 gears am I going to have to rev the life out of the 350 just to hit highway speeds?
#14
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I have a good 350 motor. still haven't decided on what transmission to use yet. was originally planning on the stock 5spd from my 3.0, now i am leaning towards the t350 because I don't want to be breaking stuff constantly. With 5.29 gears am I going to have to rev the life out of the 350 just to hit highway speeds?
Last edited by rustED; 12-30-2014 at 10:56 PM.
#15
350 swap
Yes it helps with the distributor not touching the fire wall depending on where you locate the motor on if you will need to beat the firewall in a little. The swap was quite simple the difficult things for me was mainly doing it all on my own but the power steering since it didn't have it before I just used a union on the pressure line and used a 350 pump. the driveshaft length I made the back fit but had to cut and add on the front. And the radiator finding one small enough to fit and still keep it cool. But in all it wasn't bad but I didn't do mine the expensive showroom way mine is just a mud toy
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