well. i have done many types of swaps with rbv's.
for sure the most cost effective way to do a swap in any type of project from sami to 32 fords is with a complete drivetrain fan to t case outputs in a 4x4. whether its a powerstroke, modern hemi, modern gm ls, or typical 351 setup from an f series or bronco or 302 from an explorer...or a ecoboost from a modern 150. they are literally all the same to me.
in general i never recommend a 205 by itself. all con with that for a street driven rig. the low range sux and they are heavy and use a bit more fuel in the general. where they shine is when going with a doubler as they easily allow twin sticking and almost any t case can be mated to one pretty cheap all things considered.. if you dont need twin stick you dont want a 205 in a small tire driver. small tire being relative with 37 being small.
i have a fat bastard slobbering nutless diesel in my truck that is a little bit bigger then a 302......like maybe 460 bigger. i can still flat belly a np208.
the np 208 is a decent case and is easily adapted and made fixed yoke and has a 2.61 low verse the 1.96 low of the 205. it is real light which is good and bad. typical small blocks take a bit of time to fawk one up, and like the 205 they are pretty cheap and easy to rebuild and maintain.
this is my setup compared to a typical small block...its snug, but likes it under the hood of my ranger.....it seems happy in there anyway.
this is my t case, its a fixed yoke ford 208 with a chevy 32 spline input shaft and a custom thickness clocking ring that i typically use to install jeep 208 cases behind 302 or 351 fords. it is wide but not huge like a 1356 or 45..
this is the same truck when i run a nice mild 300 hp 302 in it with a
jeep np 208 t case. note it is small and fits like it was made to go there and allows tru center of the powertrain. which tru-center is not oem either btw.
the cool thing about the 205 and 208 is the damn things work on any domestic typical truck trans through the 90's ...


i can pop a ford dodge or chevy 205 on here with just a input shaft swap as long as they are 6 holers.
so its a non issue whether you use driver or passenger side drop axles....or whatever engine you choose.
the small jeep case is hard to find these days, but they are out there and still pretty cheap. but like you see here, the dirt cheap and abundant big ass ford 208 cases can be made to work with about anything you can think of.
one thing i like about the 4l80 that mine is hanging off of is that you can custom cut the all slip van 2wd units to fit whatever you want to do...if you have a solid or fresh 2wd unit you just need to find a 400 4x4 adapter to make it a 4x4 and they are pretty damn tough transmissions. the one i just replaced is the record holder for me of any transmission ever.
so dont limit yourself to a nutless typical 302 swap when there is so much shit out there unless your some sort of purist.
in that case hiway tune the 570 holley like homeboy is running and copy him to a tee, because thats the best 35 in tire mpg i have ever heard of and worthy of repeating.
keeping your factory t case is around a 500 dollar deal with advanced adapters in generl but that is doable as well so keep that in mind.