LS Swap/SWB Conversion Driveshaft
 

I have found a 2WD NV3500 (Silverado) transmission I am going to pull tomorrow and am having a hard time figuring out a game plan for the driveshaft.

I currently have 350/TH350 LWB with 2 piece driveshaft.
I am converting to 4.8L LS/NV3500 and cutting 12" out of the frame for the SWB conversion.

Should I take the Silverado driveshaft to have cut down or only the front yoke? The NV3500 will sit quite a bit further back than the TH350 and removing 12" I assume I will convert to 1 piece DS. Any recommendations are appreciated.

Re: LS Swap/SWB Conversion Driveshaft
 

Wait until you have everything installed before you do any d-shaft work...a driveshaft shop will tell you the best way to go...

Re: LS Swap/SWB Conversion Driveshaft
 

Yeah, I plan to wait until it is all done to get the DS shortened or built but finding a Silverado NV3500 at a junkyard has taken me 7 months so if I need the yoke (or more) then I don't want to leave it as I may not find another.

Re: LS Swap/SWB Conversion Driveshaft
 

Yeah if your getting the trans from a junkyard then id def grab at least the yoke if not the whole shaft..

Re: LS Swap/SWB Conversion Driveshaft
 

I would probably take the whole shaft, for the yoke and who knows it might fit the truck Perfectly after the swap.

Re: LS Swap/SWB Conversion Driveshaft
 

Old saying..You never know....
I took the driveshaft when I bought a 4l80 from a van for my 6.0 LWB. It fit perfect.

Re: LS Swap/SWB Conversion Driveshaft
 

if your current shaft is the balloon style ends were it shrinks down to the yokes then you can not reuse them much at all . there more a 1 and done .

now if the newer one or your older one are just std tube the same dia all the way from one yoke to the other no problem . this will be easy for a driveline shop to work with .

i would also grab the rear yoke at a bare minimum for the nv3500 just to know 100% you have a yoke that fits the trans your getting .

and only have the shaft made up / modified once all your mods are done and sitting on ride height . this way you can measure for angles of yokes and length of the shaft .

3 pics i saved from doing my rear shaft on my current 4x4 build .

Re: LS Swap/SWB Conversion Driveshaft
 

When I crunched the numbers, it’s was cheaper for me to buy a new custom driveshaft. I sent my measurements to Southwest Speed and they sent me one with a new slip joint, and adapter joints...done!

Re: LS Swap/SWB Conversion Driveshaft
 

I did the same thing got mine from Dan’s driveshaft half of what the local guy Wanted

Re: LS Swap/SWB Conversion Driveshaft
 

To anyone that needs to know, the NV3500 (SWB Regular Cab Silverado 1500) driveshaft is 2" too long on a SWB C-10 with the TH350 so it will be way long once I put the NV3500 in. Worth a shot, I will just end up having the NV3500 DS cut down as it should mate up on both the yoke and rear u-joint if my research is correct. I paid $75 for the DS so I will probably come out ahead just having it cut down rather than a new DS made.

Re: LS Swap/SWB Conversion Driveshaft
 

look up these guys almost in your area if you dont have one closer . i know lots of 4x4 off road guys have used them in the past . i chatted with them years ago at there orignal shop when i was down there .

https://oliversdriveshaft.com/