Okay, now that’s a lot better! The 3.80 gearing is much better for my application than the previous 3.55 setup. I find myself in fourth gear a lot and sometimes even in 5th if I’m on a fast back road. Before, I only EVER hit 5th if I was on the interstate wanting speeds around 65mph. I will say however, I wish there had been an option for a 3.73 because now it is just slightly over geared. But again, just slightly. I am much happier with the transmission now, but I still stick to my original comments. I don’t see the big deal with it, really.
Transmission- $150
Rear end that could be geared to match the 5 speed- $100
Rebuilding the rear end with posi and 3.55 gears- $600 (approx.)
Adapter plate, clutch, and all that stuff- $600 (approx.)
’85 Thunderbird driveshaft + 1” lengthening- $200 (approx.)
Okay right here we are already at approximately $1650. If this was all I had to spend, I might have been pretty happy. But it goes on…
First test drive I realize my mighty $150 transmission is bad. I’m kinda over it so I take it to a shop to have it pulled, then take it to have it rebuilt. This whole process= about $1200.
Get it all together and it’s pretty good, but the transmission is kinda whiny and nothing all that special. I also realize that I didn’t do so good of a job with rebuilding the rear end myself as the pinion wants to move back and forth when I let off and on the gas, so with a new job starting in a weeks time I decide to pull the hogs head out and take it to a driveline shop. I realize that this should be the last time I ever take that damn rear end apart for a very long time, and should be sure to have my gearing straight, so I tell the guy to go ahead and install the 3.80 gears even though he quoted me a whopping $859 to do it!!!!! But, I’m in a bit of a time crunch and again my mind says, “this is it for a very long time, just do it”. And so I did.
Now, I finally have the driveline squared away. But for $3,709 (approximately, it’s most definitely more when you add in the gaskets, oil, and miscellaneous shit), I have to say– It definitely was NOT worth it. But alas, water under the bridge, Julio is running great and all is right with the world. I’m not one to worry about mistakes here and there, just happiness in the moment.
But for those of you looking to do this swap, make sure you know what your getting yourself into. My case is a little different I know, because I wanted a specific rear end setup and an S10 tail shaft, but still, hazards are EVERYWHERE when you attempt something like this. And junkyard transmissions are usually in the junkyard for a reason.
Oh, and my speedometer still doesn’t work. I need to fork out another $300 for a cable-X box…
…just saying’
Boedy