My project is a 1980 pickup with the 20r. I found a deal on a 22r last year that I couldn't pass up. I've been rebuilding it slowly and all that's left is the head. Gonna use my tax return to finish her up. That being said I have a W56 trans with T case that I want to throw in when I swap the motor. Here's the kicker. Since I have two T cases, why not double them up. I know the cross member will need to be moved or I'll have to fabricate/buy a new one to support the cases. After all that I have the issue of driveshaft length. My shafts will be essentially useless. I had the idea to mount the whole setup, minus drive shafts, then measure for new shafts, pull the T cases back apart and install the old tranny and T case until the new shafts arrive. Am I completely out of my mind? Is there a better way to do this since this is my daily driver?

 

You've gotta do what you've gotta do. I mean no one wants to pull their tranny multiple times, but if it's your DD, you have to do what it takes to stay on the road. Other options would be to reach out and see if anyone's got an old car laying around that you could borrow for a while.

Are you saying you'll use the original 80 tranny & tcase, then do the swap when the new shafts are done? Or swap the W56 in now, then add the second tcase on when the shafts are done? The difference being, you'll almost definitely need to modify your current shafts to fit the W56. So you're going to be doing a lot of work just to keep it on the road. Modify shafts for a temporary setup while you're waiting for modified shafts for the more permanent setup. How much work you want to do is completely dependent on how much work you want to do. That'll vary, person to person.

So I guess if it were me, which it's not, I'd keep the old transmission in place while the new shafts are being built. Rather than trying to get the W56 in there right away and having to do two different shaft modifications.

 

^^ What he said.
W56 is longer than the L series trans that came in the 79-83 trucks (all toy trans after this era were longer) so you'll need to do driveline mods and move the crossmember to swap to newer trans (even without the second case). But your L series should bolt right up to the 22R.

 

Seems a little measurement and math would tell you how much to shorten the rear shaft and lengthen the front. Seems to me that both changes should be the same amount.

You should be able to have your modded shafts ready to bolt on when the new tranny is stabbed. No cut and try needed.

 

depending on the year of the 22r your swapping in .. hope your putting the 20R head on it ?

 

Good info. Seems like common sense but that's not so common anymore. Slacker, I have been contemplating the hybrid 22R for some time. I know it breathes better and I live at 4500 feet so that's a plus. I don't have any experience cutting shafts so I have no clue where to start. Tom Wood's drive shafts, (no idea if they're any good) has them in the CV style for around $700 for the pair. I'd rather spend that money on tires but if my splice job doesn't hold up what's the difference? Is there anything else I need to watch out for?

 

If you want your shafts to hold up and not shake you should take them to a driveline shop, for sure. I'm just saying that it should be easy to determine how much they need to be shortened and lengthened, respectively.

Should'nt cost more than a couple hundred $$ tops to get them modded.