hey guys! ive been looking for a long time for a pre 1983 pickup with a 22r and 5speed. i found a 1980 for sale with a 20r mated to the 4speed manual. the truck is in awesome shape and very little rust. so my question is... will the 22r and 5speed "drop" right in without any serious modifications, or is it not worth it and should just keep looking for one with the 22r and 5speed. Thanks

 

22R will work, you might run into some issues with the plugs(electrical connections) being different.
If you can find an L- series 5 speedtransmission it will be a direct swap for the L-43 4 speed. Any other transmission will be 4" longer and require that you move the crossmember back and need to do driveshaft work (lengthen front d/s and shorten rear d/s)

is it worth it? all up to you IMO...I ran a 4 speed L43, (there is an L-45 (top shift) 4 speed) that I absolutely hated because it was a side shifter that was very sloppy)The 5 speed gives you decent highway manners..

 

Thanks dropzone

One more question, he says that it has a "welded" rear end and has and extra set of matching axles. Does this mean that the differential is welded up so its like a locker??

I'm kinda new to the 4x4 truck world, so I don't know a whole lot of the terminology, I grew up on atvs and the two wheeled kind.

Thanks again