[blykins]

A 302 bellhousing will fit a 351 or any small block Ford. Makes ure your bellhousing bolt pattern matches the block pattern. Some are 5-bolt bellhousings.....most newer blocks are 6 bolt.

You can change the input shaft yourself, but yes, things will jump out at you. If you're not used to doing mechanic work, this would be a biggie. If you're gonna go that far, there would be some other things that would need to be done I'd say...bearings, seals, etc. Just as a big recap, to change the input shaft, you will need to remove the tailhousing, then drop the countergear cluster (the shaft with the 4 gears on it that lies at the bottom of the tranny case) to the bottom by knocking the shaft out of the tranny case. This is rough because there are 2 thrust bearings that absolutely need to stay where they are....plus there are like 15-20 roller needle bearings on each side that can easily take a vacation. When that shaft comes out, the gears need to be dropped slowly to the bottom...then the input shaft can come out....you unbolt the input bearing retainer and it should just pop out. Of course you will need to press a bearing on the new one.....do you have access to an arbor press?

I would definitely hold out on the driveshaft. Did you even check to see if the slip yoke on the driveshaft slid up on the mainshaft in the tranny? And that it fit in the tailhousing? Some driveshafts are 28 spline, some are 31....some of the yokes are very big in diameter. I think a yoke for a Toploader is about 1.495" in diameter (OD).

Some of the things you will need to check when looking inside....see the brass blocking rings? The gear teeth next to them on the gears themselves need to be checked. They need to not be broken, stripped, or missing in anyway. Also, they need to be somewhat pointy on the face of them. This is so the synchronizer hubs can engage them easily.

You should also be able to take a wrench and shift the tranny pretty easy by turning on the shifter cams outside the case. Pay close attention to how easy it shifts....and more importantly, if you stick it in 3rd/4th gear, does the other shifter fork move? If so, then you have a missing interlock pin....

Also, under the top cover, when you remove all the bolts...there should be a bolt head that's flush with the case....is it there? There should be one sticking out of the side of the case also....where the shifter forks are. These are your detent plug bolts....they keep tension on the shifter rods. Not to be snotty or anything, but if this scares you, you might wanna take it to a tranny shop.

The input shaft shouldn't have much play at all. If it does, the bearing is probably worn....and probably along with the mainshaft bearing also....plus the tailhousing bushing and the seals. All of these should be replaced.

A C60 tailhousing sounds more like it. Is it on the tranny, or did you buy it separately? If you bought it separate, a 14" tailhousing will be fine. Just check on David Kee's website and see if it matches the type of tranny you have. A 28 spline tailhousing will not work on a 31 spline transmission, etc....It doesn't matter if it's a big block or a small block though...the tailhousing dioesn't know. You could have those bosses on the tailhousing drilled out and tapped if you need to. More than likely though, you can buy a shifter plate that will put the shifter where it needs to be.