T-18a Swap in a CJ7

Mike, owner of the blue CJ7 seen in the gallery, drove his CJ for about two years with a T-176 before it blew up. This was his only vehicle, and he had to get it going soon in order to get to work and to class. So, finding a replacement was the first priority.
He immediately started calling people who had ads for Jeep parts, whether or not they were advertising transmissions. Almost anyone who owns an old Jeep has a wealth of the parts. Mike found a guy who didn't have a tranny himself, but knew someone who had one in his backyard. It was a T-18a, which at the time meant little to us.

We did some research and found out how desirable this piece is. The T-18 is a cast iron, extremely strong tranny with a granny low first gear. The T-18a has an even lower first gear, and is relatively rare. Quite a find, and it wasn't even advertised! Just goes to show how effective a little networking can be when looking for Jeep parts. Jeep owners tend to know others.

The tranny went in with hardly any problems or major modifications. Mike's CJ7 is a 1980, originally with a six cylinder and the ill-fated T-176. The heavy duty unit bolted right up and required no driveshaft modifications.

There was a Dana Model 20 already bolted up to the T-18a, so Mike decided to use that instead of adapting the new tranny to his Dana 300. This required a couple of new holes drilled into the frame for the Model 20 skidplate. So in effect, he lost the lower gearing of the Dana 300, but made it up (and then some) with the granny low gear. The reverse gear is even lower.