Posted by Brian in Oregon on Thursday, January 04, 2001 at 1:44PM :
These kits come in two halves, so you can pick either a 318 or 360 (or a 273 or 340), and either an NP420 (available now) or a different transmission. I would guess Ray will eventually do an NP435 like he did for the WDX on his website. Or, you'd only need the engine kit if you went with a 318/360 and a short tailshaft 727 and did the crossmember and driveline work yourself.
For those wondering why I'm sticking with the NP420, it's so I can run the original PTO winch. The kit comes with a chain coupler to provide clearance around the bellhousing. It replaces the large PTO drive shaft coupler assembly. (Basically two gears with internal splines back to back and a chain wrapped around them. It allows some flex and is smaller in diameter.)
Anyway, like the engine kit, the NP420 kit is well engineered and well made. It has virtually everything you need, and has a very well detailed instruction book.
You supply a Hayden flex fan, a 72-on 318 or 360 depending on which engine kit (the water pump outlet must be on the passengers side, not the drivers side like pre-72), and a 318 or 360 flywheel and pressure plate (the kit comes with modified clutch disk.) The crank need not be drilled for a pilot bushing. Ray supplies an oversized pilot bushing that fits the larger diameter hole in the end of the crank, so it will fit non-drilled automatic trans crankshafts. You also need an extra center dump exhaust manifold for the drivers side (most will have a rear dump on that side), and an exhaust system (Ray shows examples of crossovers in his manual, or you could run dual exhausts). You also need a cast iron non-hydraulic bellhousing for a 318 & NP435. DO NOT use the aluminum bellhousing. Ray and I feel that since the NP420 is unsupported by frame mounts, it *could* snap an aluminum bellhousing under high G force conditions. BTW, Ray's engine kit comes with throttle linkage, motor mounts, and even the radiator hoses and clamps. These are very complete kits.
At this point, I'm still cleaning up the engine and transmission and PTO. I need to replace some gaskets on the engine (whoever built it failed to use any gasket cement and it leaks oil from everywhere).
I'll make update posts as I do the conversion.
http://helitool.com
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