I want to put an A518 Trans in my 76 plymouth fury and i cant find one in a scrapyard that is 2 wheel drive. What goes into converting a FWD transmission to a two wheel drive? Im still in highschool so buying a brand new trans is not an option. Thanks for any advice in advance.

The overdrive tail shaft is different between the 2wd and 4x4 version. I think you can put a 2wd tail shaft from an A500 onto the back of an A518 but not totally sure on that. Those at least are easier to find because you can get one off of any 2wd 5.2 or 3.9 truck.

Have you tried looking in the full size vans for a 2wd 518? I've had better luck seeing them in those than the trucks which more tend to be 4x4's.

Dakotas came with them. Have you done any research on the swap? It isn't just bolt in and go. You have to have a driveshaft made and you will need to figure out a new crossmember for the trans mount. What engine do you have in the car?

I am actually doing this conversion right now on my '66 Coronet.

Call around to your local salvage yards and ask for a tranny out of a 92-94 2WD Ram Truck, early to mid 90's full size Ram Van (150, 250 or 350) or the early 90's Dakota's had them as well. You want the A518/46RH. Most the time you can just reference the 46RH and they can find it from there

If you find a 4WD tranny with the transfer case attached you can buy a 2WD tail shaft off the bay for around $65 buxs. You will need to cut the bell off and buy a bolt on Ultra Bell housing from JW Racing, depending on what motor you plan on mating it to. I am putting mine behind a 383 and the part number for that is #3100.

There are a couple good "How To" threads here on the site that will walk you through everything from A to Z.

Good luck!

thanks a million and its going behind a 360

Ive been doin some serious googling and some say the output shaft is too short to just bolt on a new tailshaft. Is this true or was i mislead?

Output shafts do not interchange. The intermediate shafts are the same tho.

output smoutput-----the overdrive units 2w---4w just bolt off and on--sometimes if luck is with you it will function ok----to do it right the tranny might have to be rebuilt to adjust the tolerances from the overdrive forward-there is a thrust type washer in the overdrive in about 5 different thicknesses that is used to adjust the tolerance in the maincase--do not disassemble the overdrive unit as there is a spring in there that can cause serious injury--bob

I did this swap in a 71 Challenger. Do yourself a favor - find a RWD transmission. There are so many other problems you are going to have to chase, don't add this to your list. Things that you are already going to have to deal with are:

1) Rework the shift linkage. The OD unit interferred with the mechaical linkage - I went to a cable set-up.

2) Change the driveshaft length. You also need to swap yokes.

3) Rework the transmission mount and crossmember.

4) Rework the bell housing connection - either with a JW ultra bell or a JVX Adapter. I went with the JVX.

5) Lengthen the spedometer cable

6) Maybe modify your transmission tunnel. I had to modify the tunnel frame and some sheet metal to get the engine/trans to sit level.

7) I made new trans cooler lines, went to 3/8". Not positive it was necessary, but I read it was and seemed easy enough. Also added another cooler up front.

8) Add the electrical wiring and the pressure switches for the OD and lock-up controls.


Aside from the RAM trucks look at vans and service vehicles.

Good luck

Thanks a million guys i probly would have gotten into some serious trouble So i will look around for aa trans out of a b150/250/350 van and see what i can come up with. This new trans is bolting up to a 360 samll block would i still need the adaptor plate for the bell housing?

No adapter needed to bolt to a smallblock..

No you won't need an adapter.

okay so found a 1996 Dodge 1500 V6. If im correct it has a A500 trans in it. Think with a rebuild it will hold up to a 360 with a decent cam in it? If not will the tailshaft bolt to a A518?

96 is the RE (electronically controlled) transmission. 95 & older for the RH transmission.

Can i still salvage the tail shaft housing with OD unit and put on a older A518

also the hydraulic o/d is operated by hydraulic---the electric o/d is operated by electric and the electric housing is about 1 inch shorter---bob