My '66 valiant tranny was acting up so I got another from a friend. Trouble is they have different drive shaft hookups... mine's got a spline and this other one's got a flange comin outta the tailshaft, otherwise they look the same.
What I'm wonderin is, can I just swap mainshafts/tail housings?
Anyone know what I'm talkin about?

 

I believe you can swap it, you'll have to tear both transmissions apart. The flange drive was used in older cars. But what about shift linkage? Is the flange drive unit lever shifted or cable shifted, and does it match yours?

 

Shift linkage will be a problem.. 66 was the year they went to mechanical linkage and dropped the cable. Rebuild the one you have or find another trans. If you can remove the main shaft you can rebuild the trans

 

Well, I got 'em side by side on the bench, with the top-covers and tailshaft covers off. They appear to be substantially the same, mainshafts aside, same casting numbers, etc.
I may be in a bit over my head, but I'm gonna go for it. What the heck, how else am I gonna learn?
Thanx for the input, fellas.

 

It's foolish because you don't know if the other trans is good. with the amount of work you will be doing The differences in sealing rings, seals and who knows what?

 

Nah. not in my experience. What's "foolish" is to be intimidated by the things that COULD go wrong.
After a careful comparison of the two transmissions (by the way, we're talking MANUAL transmissions) I went ahead and bit the bullet. Smooth sailing all the way. All it cost me was some RTV gasket sealer.
Now the transmission functions perfectly. I used the case of the donated tranny, with the first and reverse idler, swapped the mainshaft from the old one and used the donor tranny's yoke and synchro.
Foolish? I'd have thought I could have been spared disparaging remarks when all I wanted was information, and possibly support...
Put THAT in yer pipe, TV.