I would like to replace my current four speed with a five speed. This truck is all stock and is a daily driver. Any suggestions for my 80 4x4. Thanks.

 

How much you wanna spend? Marlin Crawler L52HD is a great upgrade, but it'll cost you a grand. The normal rebuilt transmission of theirs cost $900+, so might as well go with the heavy duty for $100 more if you go that way. They upgrade all 4 speeds to 5 speeds during the rebuild. Otherwise look for one used, or find a local shop to have yours rebuilt, or rebuild it yourself if you've got the skills. They weren't great transmissions, so it'll be hard to find one in any shape worth spending money on, but you can try.

You can get later 80's transmissions in there with some modifications to driveshaft lengths, crossmember support, and a little floor cutting for shifter knobs. I think if you have a good fab shop or can do that stuff yourself it's really not that hard of a swap. I was well on my way to doing it before I just decided to bite the bullet and go with a Marlin.

 

The L52 seems to be the easy 5 speed conversion. Thanks for the advice.

 

i got an L52 out of an 83 to replace the 4 speed in my 81 and it bolts right in.

 

Ya, thats the set up I'm going to do. Thanks