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Shaved Ford 205 to 4l80e project

dmtfabrication

abrogate
Joined
Jun 1, 2013
Messages
134
Location
St Louis metro East
I'm helping a friend with his new engine/trans/tcase setup. The buggy is getting a 5.3, 4l80e and a Ford 205. No pics of the engine yet, but I have the wiring 90% done. We looked for a TH400, but found a cheap 4wd 4l80e that was in decent shape, with the converter and the short tcase adapter. The stock adapter was perfect for the flat rotation he needed.

 
I know this isn't ground breaking stuff, just couldn't find a similar thread so I thought I'd share.





To make this work, the adapter needs modified for the inner shift rail. Four of the six bolt holes line up to the Ford 205 pattern. The two empty holes in the second picture can be ground into a slot and you can get all six bolts in.
 
A short 32 spline input for a GM 205 was put in place of the Ford 31 spline version. Just swap the bearing over. Done.




Matt's buggy is an evolution of a XJ turned into full buggy over the years. The old AW4 shifter cable came from the front. We flipped the shifter lever and the travel is now correct for a front cable.



We aren't using the range sensor. Or at least don't plan to. The front d shaft is pretty close to it
 
On to the shave. I had read about this 205 shave **** and never understood the need. Then I had a Ford 205 in front of me rotated flat. The small compartment this has to fit in will put that spike directly under the drivers seat. We took off 2.5 inches and capped it with 3/8 plate. I threaded a bolt into my laser level and mated that to a magnetic base. Easiest way ever. Just set an angle finder on the input shaft with the rear cover off, set it at whatever degree.




 
I blasted a 3/8" plate out and tacked it in place. I read that the 205 was made out of cast steel. To me, the sparks were different in color and pattern from the 14 bolt shaves I have done, but the sparks definitely were different from mild steel (A36). I also read that guys were just MIG welding the plates on.

Using .035 ER70s6 with 75/25, my results sucked. I preheated the case in the parts washer (140 degrees) and continued to localized preheat with a rosebud to an ASSumed hot enough temp (tempstiks and IR gun at work) I ran a root pass and it fractured.



There are tons of small fractures on the surface of the fillet. I am going to try some Ni rod when I get a chance to buy some
 
nice tech. I had to do the samething for my 205 to fit under my floor......just havent welded anything in place yet. gonna keep an eye on this

Brian
 
X2 on sharing this is good stuff for yA do it yourselfers, I got a 6.0 and 4l80e a few weeks ago and wanted to do this same thing to utilize my ford hp 60 i have
 
Thanks. I remember back when forums were loaded with tech daily. Not the case anymore. I read somewhere that if you weren't contributing, then don't bitch.

I am still waiting on the nickel rods, so no progress.
 
Could you post up a pic of the inside of the piece you cut off please? I'm wondering how much can be cut off before getting into the case cavity itself.
 
Whats the plan on the rear output speed sensor you will need ? you would be better using a 2wd version 4L80 if not you will need the main shaft from one so you can put it in the rear of the trans you have where the rubber plug is at in the pic
 
Re:

KVINSON said:
Whats the plan on the rear output speed sensor you will need ? you would be better using a 2wd version 4L80 if not you will need the main shaft from one so you can put it in the rear of the trans you have where the rubber plug is at in the pic



I have the Dakota Digital SEN-01-1 on my GM 205, plan on using the SEN-01-2 for the Ford. There may be other ways to get VSS out of this trans, just not as it sits. My sensor with the adapter was about $40 I think???

Hucklebuggy said:
Could you post up a pic of the inside of the piece you cut off please? I'm wondering how much can be cut off before getting into the case cavity itself.

I'll get a picture of the under side tomorrow for ya. My guess is about 1"

hjpcummins said:
What kind of gear clearance do you have with the new plate ?

I didn't measure and I didn't remove as much as some I saw while doing the research. The top of the gear neve passes above the highest point of the front input rear opening. So looking at the back of the case, about .75"

 
I got the Nickel rod yesterday and knocked it out. 1/8" Ni-99 is what we used, welded fine. 350 F minimum temp before welding, but with the ambient temp in the shop around 35-40, the temp was hard to keep above 350 F.





The welding blanket helped retain some heat.

 
Close up of the adapter mods



Ground out a pocket for the bolt and wrench.





Probably shout have ground it down further, but the little point was a great pry spot to break the two apart.
 
Almost forgot an important step. The input bearing retainer needs ground down to fit inside the adapter. Just the outer ridge and the little tabs. Also, counter sink the holes for a 5/16-18 countersunk bolt. The OEM cap screws are just there temp because I couldn't find the right stuff locally.



 

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