Closed drive conversion for later open drive trans?

Killer's post reminded me I wanted to ask this. I didn't want to hijack his post so....

Has anyone tried to convert a later, open drive tranny to closed drive?

I have been looking at my 70's ford top-loader and my 40 side shift tranny and thinking it might not be all that difficult since you have to shorten the drive shaft/torque tube anyway.

Was wondering if anyone has done it before and what their results were?

I think I'd like to stay with a torque tube for some reason but I don't want to drop trany gears when I shift too hard. I'm hard on trannys... It's a curse.

 

This is doable, and in fact toploader to model A is done commercially--someone sells them already tubed in several versions. This used to be done routinely with Cad Lasalle trans. Obviously, output gets cut and resplined.
I suspect easiest way would be to keep just the front wall of the original late tailshaft housing as bearing retainer, then drill that for the '40 TT adapter.

 

I have the drawings made up for converting a Jeep 4x4 T5 to closed driveline. I found that the difficult part was getting the output shaft resplined to the Ford output shaft spline.

You'd still have to shorten the torque tube components.

I've got one of these started, but it's low, low priority right now.

 

A possible lead: There's a driveshaft/axle place in Indiana that does mail order resplining. Will have to look up their name...little ad in the back of CC...Moser, I think.

 

Hmmmm....so can a 49 Chevy torque tube be mated to the back of a TH350 tranny???

That'd make things SO simple!!!

 

Ya know, not meaning to be a Johnny come lately, but can a C-4 mate up to a Model A torque tube?

 

'Hack-use a big rubber band.........

 

I haven't heard of a conversion for the Ford before, but I know that Patrick's, of Casa Grande, AZ, has a conversion kit to mate a saginaw 4 speed to a Chevy closed driveline.

 

Thanks for the input guys...

I planned to take pictures this weekend but had to work.

I am planning something like Bruce L. describes but I have a question. Do you think I need to find a way to retain the seal on the Top-Loader tail shaft? Right now a seal rides on the neck of the u-joint but I was thinking that I might not need it since there doesn't appear to be a seal on the back of the 40 tranny. Gear oil used to run down the tube right?