[n00bie]

I've got a 1980 258 with 1986 T-5 tranny and a Dana 300. I really don't like the T-5 so much. I just picked up a T18 from a friend. What do I have to do to make this work? I've done all kinds of searches but came up with nothing.

[Happy Joe]

Depending on the T-18 you will (probably) need to get an adapter and possibly a bell housing and sometimes you need to switch the input shaft.
Is it a ford T-18 or a jeep T-18 or a scout T-18?
the ford has the lower first gear, the scout (some? all?) and some jeep t-18s have a longer input shaft that will need to be changed to use the short bell housing. Some T-18s have a non ford bell housing bolt pattern (these can normally be drilled out to the butterfly pattern). If your bell housing is drilled and tapped for the ford butterfly pattern then you can probably bolt up the ford t-18 to your bell housing and only have to change the pilot bearing and add an adapter to the output shaft to use your D300. If your bell housing does not match then you probably will need a different bell housing.
If the t-18 came from a J truck there is a chance that the splines will work and the stock adapter will bolt up to the transfer case.
Note some T-18s come with a high first gear (approximately 4:1) usually jeep wagoneers. if you have one of these you will gain nothing but a little strength by switching.

Using a T-18 is not always as simple as it first appears.
Enjoy!

[n00bie]

Thanks..I've got some investigating to do. I appreciate the help.