Ok I have done the search... clear answer is not there. First off anyone running this set up? Info please if so.

First question: In my search I did find conflicting info on how a NP203 (from a T350 trany) mounts up to a 700R4. One person said no need for ANY adapter, others quote new output shaft from AA for the 700R4.

Second question: Does anyone make the adapter for a 203 to a FJ-62 split case? Now I am told the FJ-62 TC are different since here in the states they all came stock with the 4 sp automatics. So in other words an adapter for a FJ-60 split case would or should not work with my FJ-62 split case...yes...no?

Third question: Ok lets say the 62 TC wont work out, what are FJ-60 TC's going for these days? (I would hate to loose my vacuum 4 weal drive shift though!)

The 3FE is coming out, and the 5.7TBI or 7.4TBI is going in no matter what (displacement just depends on my buddies at the yards! $$). The thing is to be the daily driver, but heck I might as well do it right first off the cost is basically the same in the end. (+ or - $100-200 I think... famous last words right!) I plan to also use the rig as my long haul tow mule too, are 203 crawler boxes not up to this constant use?. It's wrenching time. :usa:

203s can be mated to the 700r4 with a factory adapter I believe it was used with the Turbo 350. These adapters are quite rare I guess as most of them were left on the 203 when sold and probably discarded by the new 203 owner.

Jerry Nichols makes an adapter for the 203 to split case, I believe AA sells it. Look on their website under crawler gears. I believe he makes one for the 62 case as well. I seem to recall Kevin Ehrlick (central/mtn. rep for TLCA) in Colorado did this in his 62. I believe he stayed with his factory Toyota automatic but that isn't really a problem as you have already solved the 203 to 700r4 adapter. Jerry Nichols sells them, Mudrak sells them, Mark Whatley in Alaska sells them, and Charley Rupp at www.chimneycanyon4x4.com sells them. You might try sourcing them from one of them and saving a little money. I believe the 203 to split case adapter runs about $585 if I remember correctly.

Split Cases for 60s are expensive right now. Too many folks have been going the h55f route in 40s and have been sucking them up. I just purchased one for $400 and after looking around that seems to have been a great deal. My next cheapest one was $550.

If you could keep the vacuum shift on your 62 split case that would be ideal as you would have one less shifter to relocate and worry about.

AFAIK, you do need a shorter output shaft for the 700r4, from AA and other sources. It makes the back of the tranny mimic the th350...so the stock GM th350 to np203 adapter will work.

This is my plan for the '76 FJ55 that I am going to build this winter...

cruiserbrett is right that you can get a shorter shaft for the 700r4 to mimic the th350 output shaft. AA sells them.

a second option, and what I did for my 700r4 to 203/205doubler was to use a factory 700r4 to NP208 adapter (2.5" long) and drill and tap the NP203 case to mount it. It is fairly easy to do. You will have to slightly grind the adapter to fit over the stock 203 seal retainer.

Either way get your NP203 GRB from one originally mated to a TH350. It will have the correct 27 spline input.

HTH

The 700R4 has the same bolt pattern on the back of the transmission as the TH350 and uses a 27 spline output shaft just like the 350. The difference is that the 700R4 was only mated to the NP208 or later alum t-cases, and the output shaft sticks out a little over 2" instead of the 7/8 " on the TH350. To mate the 700R4 to a 350-version NP203 you can either replace the output shaft in the TH700 with an aftermarket output shaft that sticks out of the case by about 7/8", or you can get an NP208 adapter housing and machine it to fit the NP203. I think the easiest (and definitely the shortest) way do to this is to buy the shorter output shaft from Off Road Design (about $160 IIRC) and then use the 1" thick factory adapter plate for the TH350 to NP203 case.

One small correction to lcsixty's informative post... I believe Jerry Nicols and others "markets" the adapter for the 203 to LC split case. The adapter is actualy made by AA.

Lcsixty, Cruiserbrett, Cruiserrg and Medusa

Thank you for all the great information. One question on the output shaft from the 700R4; could one just cut the existing out-put shaft that is already in the 700R4, down to 7/8”? Or is it without splines at this short point? Great help here thank you!

Personally, I wouldn't do it. That is a hardened shaft. I'm not sure if the splines would be long enough or not. I just don't like messing with hardened stuff. It never seems to be the same after you start heating, cutting, resplining, etc...

Sorry I forgot about the shaft change. Too much on my mind. Or I could blame it on the 110 degree heat. Idaho is just about to hit an all time high.

I agree, I wouldn't cut the shaft down either. You would not a desirable amount of spline for engagement. Just to compare

TH350 4x4 output:
http://www.novak-adapt.com/images/pics/8641088.jpg

700R4 4x4 output:
http://www.novak-adapt.com/images/pics/8681812.jpg

The necked down area behind the splines on the 700R4 shaft is the problem. Also note, you just can't stick a 350 shaft into a 700r4, it'll probably fit but doesn't have the right fluid passages.

Here is a pick of a NP208 adapter fitted to a NP203GRB:
http://webpages.charter.net/cruiserrg/images/toypuproject/image057.jpg

http://webpages.charter.net/cruiserrg/images/toypuproject/image056.jpg

I did mine this way because it is only 2.5 inches longer than a factory TH350 adapter with the short 700r4 shaft. I felt for 2.5 inches I could pass on rebuilding the trans to install the new shaft, but I am building to 110wb so I have room. If space is an issue I would look at a TH350 trans( overall length of 21.5") vrs. 700r4 (overall length of 23.375")

If you want more details on mating the NP208 adapter to the NP203 GRB let me know.

[i]
The necked down area behind the splines on the 700R4 shaft is the problem. Also note, you just can't stick a 350 shaft into a 700r4, it'll probably fit but doesn't have the right fluid passages.

I did mine this way because it is only 2.5 inches longer than a factory TH350 adapter with the short 700r4 shaft. I felt for 2.5 inches I could pass on rebuilding the trans to install the new shaft, but I am building to 110wb so I have room. If space is an issue I would look at a TH350 trans( overall length of 21.5") vrs. 700r4 (overall length of 23.375")

If you want more details on mating the NP208 adapter to the NP203 GRB let me know. [/B]

That is great, your own home brew adapter kit, I love it! I will nose around and see if I can locate a 208 mount. Can that be from both a T350 or a 400R4? I have no qualms with modifying the case to work this way. Mill, drill, tap what ever it takes! I have the room since this is going into a 1990 FJ-62.

BTW thatks for posting up the photos!

Originally posted by helocat

That is great, your own home brew adapter kit, I love it! I will nose around and see if I can locate a 208 mount. Can that be from both a T350 or a 400R4? I have no qualms with modifying the case to work this way. Mill, drill, tap what ever it takes! I have the room since this is going into a 1990 FJ-62.

BTW thatks for posting up the photos!

Not a problem. For the adapter you will need one originally from a 700r4 to NP208. will have a six hole attachment to the NP208.
There are two versions: one with short mounting like in my pic, and one with "long ears" that will place the crossmember mount much lower.

As far as making it fit, you will need to slightly enlarge the hole on the tranfercase side of the adapter. You could machine down the seal reatainer on the NP203, but I chose the adapter incase I wanted to go back to a different adapter. I just ground the adapter hole to make it larger, its only needs ~0.007-0.010" larger dia. You will probably have to clearance 4 spots in the adaper to clear the seal retainer cap screws. You see what I mean when trying to get it to sit flat. I just chucked a cylindrical grinder into the drillpress to clearance it. Or you could have it milled.

Next I just lined up the adapter on the NP203 to mark for the holes, Should line up the top hole on the adapter with the top hole on the NP203 for a straight up install ( you could custom rotate the doubler at this pioint if needed, I just installed straight up). Drilled 5 holes into the case to tap for studs. Be carefull not to drill into the gear, but I was able to without removing the idler shaft and gear (just clean well after drilling and tapping).

The sixth stud will not allow for drilling because my landed just of the flat machined area. To get around this I clearanced enough out to allow me to weld in a stud in this location. See pic:

http://webpages.charter.net/cruiserrg/images/toypuproject/image061.jpg

Lastly before mounting the adapter, plug the old bolt holes with set screws and some RTV ( you can see one in the pic above). The last thing you will need to do is ake a cover to retain the idle shaft in place. You could cut up a TH350/NP203 adapter or make you own. I think I'm going to fab my own.

Hope that explains everything. Fairly easy to do, tough spot was the sixth stud.

i'm still in favor of running the factory 350-203 adapter for a couple of reasons:
1) no alignment problems! if you do decide to adapt the 208 adapter, you better make damn sure that your shafts end up aligned perfect, or either/and or both the trans and t-case will self destruct in no time.
2) the adapter for the 350-203 is very common and should not cost much more than $25. if you can't find one, let me know, i've got a couple.
3) the th700 case is the weakest at the rear, where the tranfer case adapter mounts. you only have 4 bolts holding the reat of your powertrain off the back of the case. it will crack (seen it more than once), unless you build a good cradle type x-member under both your t-cases in an effort to take the load off the back of the trans.
4)you should definetly use the AA output shaft. they are specifically designed for this application. you could cut down the stock unit but your splines would be super short and probably fail in a very short time. only bummer is that you have to tear down the trans all the way to replace the output shaft.
for what it's worth: except for the loss of spline length i see no problem with shortening a shaft by cutting it with a cut-off disc, not with a torch or plasma cutter. AA even tells you to do so on some of their applications.
enough for now!:rasta:

cruissering,

Great description! I think you trouble shot that 6th hole just right. I can understand Orange's concerns for maintaining centerline, where you able to hold this by locating off the seal retainer on the 203? I could see this being done with a CoAx gage on a mill. Stuff like this make me wish I was not holding out for CNC for my Bridgeport, a basic DRO would be the ticket here! Like I indicated before I will see what I can scrap up for the 208 mount.

Orange, you have some good points here. I cant even imagine what a miss aligned shaft would do to the 700R4! I am familiar with the basic 700R4 to one piece TC, this is what I am running in my FJ-40. The AA instructions call for a long shaft 700R4 (2 w/d unit) and cut it down to a specific length. The other option is to tare down the trany and install the kit included out put shaft. I suspended the 700R4 with my engine crane and used bubble levels and a machinist square to line up a perfect cut on my small horizontal band saw. The basic little saw mowed right through it... well slowly! I got a better cut than the one AA included in the kit. An yes I built a mother of a cross brace for the bottom of the trany to mount to the frame, I will use the same design again on the 62....BIG but low profile.

Originally posted by helocat
snippage,
Great description! I think you trouble shot that 6th hole just right. I can understand Orange's concerns for maintaining centerline, where you able to hold this by locating off the seal retainer on the 203? I could see this being done with a CoAx gage on a mill. Stuff like this make me wish I was not holding out for CNC for my Bridgeport, a basic DRO would be the ticket here! Like I indicated before I will see what I can scrap up for the 208 mount.

Yes I used the seal retainer to center the adpater on the NP203 case. Like I said its only about 0.007 too small. My adapter fits tightly onto the seal retainer for centering. I am at all concerned about it. The bonus going this route is that if I do have a concern with the 700R4 failing, I can replace it with any stock 4x4 700R4 and not have to teardown to get the custom shaft. I figure the NP203 is strong enought it would take any abuse.

Orange45 is right though you'll want to support the transfer cases well, because that will be the weak point. The NP203 GRB is heavy, and since I am putting a NP205 behind it I will have to have mucho support.

Good luck with the project

Originally posted by Medusa


One small correction to lcsixty's informative post... I believe Jerry Nicols and others "markets" the adapter for the 203 to LC split case. The adapter is actualy made by AA.

The doubler adapters for the 60 series were designed and made by Jerry Nichols originally; Jerry did all of the R&D, etc. However, not possessing the manufacturing capability, Jerry has AA make the plates for him. They are not an AA product, although I believe you can buy the plates from them direct. The sales area territory is split; Jerry handles east of the Rockies, Mudrak west of the Rockies, Mark Whatley has Alaske, etc. Just to give credit where credit is due, Jerry is the originator of these 60 series adapters, and not simply a "marketer" of an AA product. HTH :beer: