SoundByte

Thanks Charles, but I ordered brand new components online because of how cheaply I sourced them. Figured I wouldn't mind paying for the peace of mind. Same thing ended up happening with the clutch when I decided that I couldn't trust the used one I got. Anyway, after not a little bit of swearing and pulled muscles, we got the automatic out and on the ground, only to discover that it's about an inch shorter than the auto. I'll need to buy a driveshaft out of a 2WD 5-spd king cab/standard bed 720 before I can finish this swap. Anybody reading this should feel free to PM me, as I've just been able to make funds available for the part. Other than that, feeling good about the swap. Once the snow clears out, I'll be able to make it out to my friend's place and hopefully finish the job in an afternoon's concerted effort. Thanks for all the advice, without which I would most certainly be way more fucked.

Well, unless I need a different driveshaft, I've got everything I need for the swap (other than clutch arm / shifter dust boots and a shift knob). I'll tear into it asap and get pictures for the internet. I figure as long as I can't find an illustrated thread about the swap, I might as well make one.

I read somewhere that 2WD Z24 720s with a parcel tray in front of the shifter have the long-type trans. I haven't had a chance to verify mine though, as my friend's been driving the truck recently.

So I'm ordering parts online and trying to match terminology without pictures. Found the release bearing, and bought the kit with the hub (collar, I'm assuming). I found a clutch fork (arm?), but no fresh dust boot. Also an output shaft seal (rear oil seal?). I was about to order the clutch master and slave cylinders new because they're so cheap, but I might as well put selrahc's parts to good use. Thanks again for all the help, I'm new to swapping transmissions...

Datzenmike, you are my god. Seriously though, I was really hoping you'd chime in... The guy that has a trans to sell me told me it came out a 2WD truck, and since (as far as I know) they only put the Z24 in the 720 in '86, I'm assuming it's the correct trans. I rehosted the picture he posted: He's also offered to give me the clutch disk, pressure plate, and flywheel for another $20. I'm assuming that since these are all parts that were previously mounted together, I'll be able to get the clutch arm, pilot bushing, release bearing/collar from him. If not, I'll just crawl around under some scrapyard trucks until I find what I need. I wasn't sure if I'd need the manual flywheel, but I figured that as long as I can get the one that was mated with the trans I'm getting, I might as well use it. Selrahc360, I'll happily take you up on that offer. I dunno if you recall, but my truck is wearing some of your truck's blue body panels. My friend and I drove out to you last summer right after I got my 720. Your generosity strikes again... Thanks!

Maybe my google-fu is lacking, but I can't seem to find any real discussion or a guide to swapping a manual trans into an automatic 720. Any tips or links to existing guides/threads would be greatly appreciated. My truck is an '84 king cab 2WD auto (Z24). I've located a long 5-speed out of an '86, which I'm pretty sure (but not certain) will work for me. Other than that, I'm expecting to need: -Clutch master -Clutch slave -Clutch disk / pressure plate -Flywheel -Clutch/brake pedals -Shifter + 5-speed shifter surround -Clutch hydraulic line(s) (?) My question is... Am I missing anything? Are there any landmines that I should prepare for doing this swap? If there isn't an illustrated guide, maybe I should take pictures during the job and make one.

I'll give that Purr Tune a shot. In the meantime, I plugged my EGR holes! A few minutes with a forging hammer, and I had the pipes plugged up. EDIT: Gonna eventually cut them off shorter and spray them with hi-temp rustoleum black. I wanted to make sure this would work, and still have enough to clamp in the vice and cut off if it didn't.

EDIT: Sorry, double post.

The solution ended up being a Weber 32/36. It smoothed out all kinds of stuff, including the automatic trans sketchiness. I also found an ST wheel at the scrapyard, and relaced the wrap. Pretty pleased with how that turned out. The fuel pump shat out and was replaced, so now the only remaining problems to solve are the power steering (the pump is leaky AF, and hardly providing any steering assist at all), and plugging the EGR holes on the exhaust manifold. Trying to track down a pair of M24 x 1.0 bolts, which is easier said than done. Now, pictures!

I was down to come help as soon as I saw the picture of your truck parked at 12th and morrison. Guess I'm a little late, huh? High five for $400 craigslist trucks. Yours is way cooler than mine!

I found the arm. It looks to have melted apart, but I'm thinking of trying to patch it back together with a soldering iron (throwaway tips are pretty great for welding plastic). If worse comes to worse, I'll find some donor plastic, and fill it out with that. Thanks for the help! Hopefully repairing that arm and replacing my fucked up valve cover will smooth things out.

This is more or less what I'd like to do to my 720 if I had the funds. Can't wait to see how the manual swap works out. That's shaping up to be a seriously rad little truck.

I'm still convinced it ran on pure spite.

That E36 was an accursed Russian demon car. I sleep better at night knowing that it probably ended up in the crusher at PnP.

Word. I haven't yet spotted the arm that you're talking about, owing to having spent most of the day helping a friend move. I did however get the grille mounted. Again, hooray for zipties! Sooner or later I'll finish pulling that corner out, but for now I'll take the quick fix mileage improvements. Picture!