Gear Banger on a T18

[70StreetRod]

Hey there all! New here, figured I would jump right in...

I'm in the middle of a build and have decided to drop a 4 speed in our V8 '70 Bronco. Was looking at the NP 435 but have found a good deal on a T18, so considering that as well. Can anyone say definitively whether or not the gear banger kits work with the T18? Seems like it would be fine, given they have almost identical layouts, but would love to hear first hand (or even second hand) experiences.

Side note, if anyone would avoid the T18 and opt for the 435 I'd love to hear input on that as well.

 

[Allen_69]

Some additional info would help.

What type of HP are you putting out of your Engine?
What Gear ratio and tire size are you running?
What is your utilization of the vehicle? Off road? Trails? street only?

My personal opinion would be that I'd only use a T18 in a street rig with a stock engine.

Needing an adapter I'd be inclined to go to a modern transmission, there's a nice section called Tech articles on this site, has lots of great info:

http://classicbroncos.com/tech/t18-borg-warner-4-speed-manual-transmission-guide

 

[Toddpole]

I run a T18 with 6.32 first gear. Works great in the rocks. I regularly wheel Katemcy (K2) on 37s. Other than the shift pattern (reverse is over and up rather than down) it is very similar to the 435. I recently built my own version of a Gearbanger. It works great. All you're doing is transferring motion from one location to another. I think the most important thing to remember when ordering is to know the O.D. of the shifter near the base. There are a couple different sizes and you must get the correct collar to fit. I say go for it.

 

[Boss Hugg]

Yes, check your low ratio. My dad made the mistake of putting a t19 from a diesel truck in, later learning it had a low ratio around 4:1. Not great for crawling like the 6's. He also built his own gear banger.

 

[70StreetRod]

Some additional info would help.

What type of HP are you putting out of your Engine?
What Gear ratio and tire size are you running?
What is your utilization of the vehicle? Off road? Trails? street only?

My personal opinion would be that I'd only use a T18 in a street rig with a stock engine.

Needing an adapter I'd be inclined to go to a modern transmission, there's a nice section called Tech articles on this site, has lots of great info:

http://classicbroncos.com/tech/t18-borg-warner-4-speed-manual-transmission-guide

Thanks Allen! The truck is being built as a pavement pounder, will never see the dirt. I realize plenty of purists here will see this truck as an abomination, but it's a beach town hot rod, that's it.

The motor is a built 302 that is currently pushing about 400 HP. That's going to be toned down with a flatter cam and shorter manifold as it lopes like crazy and doesn't build very good vacuum. Bought it off a real gearhead that had it in a Maverick and it sounded like a straight up dragster.

Tires are 35"s on stock running gear (Dana 30 up front and Ford 9" in the back, 4.11 gears). The horse power and tire size is one of the reasons we wanted to ditch the stock 3 speed, as I'm paranoid about blowing it up. Should I concerned about that with a 4 speed too? 5 speed would be great, but you're talking about 3x the cost...

 

[70StreetRod]

I run a T18 with 6.32 first gear. Works great in the rocks. I regularly wheel Katemcy (K2) on 37s. Other than the shift pattern (reverse is over and up rather than down) it is very similar to the 435. I recently built my own version of a Gearbanger. It works great. All you're doing is transferring motion from one location to another. I think the most important thing to remember when ordering is to know the O.D. of the shifter near the base. There are a couple different sizes and you must get the correct collar to fit. I say go for it.

Toddpole, that's my understanding of it as well, it's pretty basic geometry... I will definitely keep an eye on the collar/shifter diameter, thanks for bringing that up!