[kipps]

Just a rough idea on price. Have casually looked for a nv4500 to replace my sm465. I would be mounting it to a np208, which was standard with either the sm465 or the nv4500.

In my case, I'd need just a bell, tranny, and a hydraulic throwout. If these parts came up for less than $1200, that'd be very cheap. Shouldn't take too long of a search to find them for $1800. Of course, all of that would be used.

A cheaper option is to somehow utilize a 2wd tranny. These require switching the rear housing and the output shaft. Total parts cost for a seal kit, a new shaft, and a new housing is somewhere in the 400 dollar range. I've seen a 2wd tranny with a cracked bell listed for $400, and the guy can't seem to move it. It's just one more project that I don't want to tackle right now, so I'll pass on that one.

Another way of cheapening the cost, is to find a tranny without a bellhousing. I'm told the 621 bell can be made to fit a nv4500. supposedly, several of the bell-to-tranny bolts are installed from the inside of the bell, and are drilled and tapped into the tranny housing. This might actually be the best way, if you have easy access to a 85-87 driver's side external slave bellhousing. This would allow you to use a factory slave setup, easily clear the passenger side driveshaft, and avoid the trouble of an internal slave.