having just weighed my rig and read the other thread on sm420 weighing 135 lbs here is my idea. what if sombody cast a aluminum 420 case? if anybody out there is in the foundry business and would like to under take the idea i may be intrested in funding such a project. what do you guys think? anybody know what a bare sm420 case weighs? any calucaleted guesses on what a aluminum case would weigh?

how much did your buggy weigh camo ?

full tank of gas and a 6 pack in the chest it tipped the scale at 3400 lbs.

front axle =2160
rear axle =1240

a bare 420 case not including the shifter weighs around 40 lbs:D

is it fair to guess that a aluminum would weigh 1/2 of the steel one? so 20 lb ?

does anybody have a confirmed weight on a complete sm420?

Sm420s are one of the lighter HD trannies. I don't have any numbers, but the case doesn't weigh much. NP435s/SM465s/NV4500s all weigh MUCH more than an SM420.

I dont think they weigh 135 lbs. , cause I can pick one up in the shop with one hand pretty east but I will go out here in a minute and weigh it . In my opinion the majority of the weight comes from the shifting tower , first gear , and cluster gear:smokin:

if indeed a bare sm420 case only weight about 40 lbs for what it would cost for an aluminum 420 case i don't think the weight savings would even remotely justify the cost or effort involved.

- jack

so how much would you pay to save 20 pounds on a aluminum case? i would gladly shell out $200 bucks for one.

to me *personally* it's not worth $200 to only save 20 lbs ...

i'd be surprised if you could get the production process in such a mass qty that they could be made for $200 each. look at the cost of the aluminum tcase bodies for landcruisers for example ....

- jack

Eric here it is ( the weight of a sm 420):

1) a complete old style 420 no extra webbing w/ shift tower and knob 121 lbs.

2) shifting towere w/ knob 21 lbs.

3)Cluster gear no bearings 18 lbs.

4)output shaft (no bearings) 16 lbs.

5) 1st and second gear 12 lbs

6)input shaft w/ bearing 5 lbs

7)front input bearing retainer 2 lbs.

8)bare new style case ( extra webbing ) w/ revers idler 48 lbs.



If you had an aluminum case , shift tower , drilled weight saving holes in cluster gear , 1st gear , you could probably save close to 60 lbs. I have no idea what that would cost though. :smokin: :smokin: :smokin:


count me in if you could get them for 200.00:D :D

Yeah me too Camo. Although I'd really prefer it if you cut new gears too ;)

I'd gladly pay 200 dollars to loose 20 pounds! Oh wait, this topic
was about transmissions......nevermind.... lol

--Sherpa

Originally posted by camo
so how much would you pay to save 20 pounds on a aluminum case? i would gladly shell out $200 bucks for one.

I don't know what you are smokin but give me some.:flipoff2:
I would bet that getting a case cast and machined will be much more than $200 but in the racing world 20lbs for $200 would be cheap.

I found this thread deep in the Sm420 search. Did these things ever hit the streets?

Dude, welcome to TWO years ago! It's all about the powerglides now...

Who would want a non-fully-syncro'd bling part? I'd rather have a lightweight NV4500 for blingin' :flipoff2:

Originally posted by xBabyJesus
Dude, welcome to TWO years ago! It's all about the powerglides now...

Who would want a non-fully-syncro'd bling part? I'd rather have a lightweight NV4500 for blingin' :flipoff2:


First off your response is DORK!!! second I would like one thats why I posted smart guy:flipoff2:

I think this one falls into the bolt on portals category. Didn't happen. not gonna happen. I think Camo has an auto now, so there is no one left in the manual trans crowd to dump money into something like that.:flipoff2:

Ok fawk it

I realize it's an OLD post....but with the advent of super low gear sets/doublers etc....I wonder why the T-176 is so overlooked...I eman I agree no "low hole" but who needs it when your 4+:1 in the case anyway.

NoRM

Originally posted by P|n-BaLL
I realize it's an OLD post....but with the advent of super low gear sets/doublers etc....I wonder why the T-176 is so overlooked...I eman I agree no "low hole" but who needs it when your 4+:1 in the case anyway.

NoRM
t-case gear sets = 600 + $$$$$

low gear trany = 100 bucks roughly give or take.

jiMMy

Originally posted by The Jerk

t-case gear sets = 600 + $$$$$

low gear trany = 100 bucks roughly give or take.

jiMMy

Oh I agree as far a $$$$ spent...I was just thinking in terms of folks that were serious about trimming every ouce they could it seems like a feasable alternative. I personally think the Sm420 rulez in the cheap ta free reduction world.

NoRM

There is also a lot of weight in the bellhousing.

Originally posted by masonmachines
There is also a lot of weight in the bellhousing. not if you say adios to the matching indiex ring and run an aluminum model one. jiMMy