1952 M37 Engine Swap Questions

[amikee]

Not sure I am posting this in the correct area I am new to this site. I have a 52 dodge m37. I am swapping out the original flathead 6 for an la318. I have the original np420 early model (that came with the m37 and I also have an np435. I would prefer to keep the original np420 for the pto setup. I only picked up the np435 for the bellhousing since it appears that bellhousing will bolt to a la318 and an np420 tranny. Has anyone on here ever swapped in a la318 and was able to keep the original np420 tranny? Thanks any advice or info would be appreciated.

 

[Travlr]

Not sure I am posting this in the correct area I am new to this site. I have a 52 dodge m37. I am swapping out the original flathead 6 for an la318. I have the original np420 early model (that came with the m37 and I also have an np435. I would prefer to keep the original np420 for the pto setup. I only picked up the np435 for the bellhousing since it appears that bellhousing will bolt to a la318 and an np420 tranny. Has anyone on here ever swapped in a la318 and was able to keep the original np420 tranny? Thanks any advice or info would be appreciated.

I'm hoping someone with experience will post, too. I want to actually drive my truck instead of storing it most of the time, so am considering what kind of modifications will be necessary.
Good luck with your project and I'll be lurking to see if you get some good information.

 

[M37keppy]

I did a 318 repower a while back. I used the 435 trany but I didn’t need the pto. The trick is to find a 60’s Chrysler universal cast bellhousing. Because it uses a hydraulic cylinder clutch release on the right side to account for the power pack being offset to the left. Check out the G741 website forum all the info you need will be there. Help me a ton

 

[G744]

I believe I have that bellhousing. Please PM me if you are interested in buying it.

I did a 318 conversion years ago, and had to use a 435 with a longer input shaft to accommodate the bell I had at the time.

Be aware, lots of high-speed highway driving will destroy your rear ring & pinion.

I put some 250K on my Diesel powered M37, using up 13 sets of gears.

Dodge's case-hardening, called Formate, just didn't hold up no matter what gear lube I tried.

The aftermarket 4.89:1 gearsets don't seem to suffer this fate.

Dennis