[whateverpratt]

With the transmission in the truck, all I had to do was get a shifter, get some fluid, and get my driveshaft worked on. My driveshaft ended up being frozen together. Do yourself a favor right now, and go outside, grab a grease gun, get under your truck, and grease the slines on your drive shaft if you don't have a slip yoke. I had to get a new one built that cost me $180 (the driveshaft guy was able to use some of the parts from the old one). I was too scared to try any transmission fluids other than what was recommended, so I dropped $125 at the local Dodge stealership to pick up 5 quarts. I put in 4 and a half. I picked up a shifter for the trans from a yard (that would have sold me the transmission and the shifter for $425) for $45. I bolted the rest together, put in the seat and floormat and took off down the road.

The transmission was great. I do miss the slop and movement of the old sm420. The NV4500 has a tight shifter without much movement or slack. The overdrive is amazing. I can comfortably cruise at 60-70 which is just what I wanted. These last two pics are of the transmission in first and reverse. That isn't the stock bench seat. The po told me it came out of an '80's chevy, but the clearence is fine. It touches the seat in 2nd, 4th, and reverse, but just barely. I'll still probably heat up that shifter and bend it so it's not right on the seat, but it works just fine for right now.