alright i have an 85 k 10 chevy, i'm thinking about putting a standard in it cuz i currently have no transmission. i was thinking an ol reliable sm 465, but i would like a 5 speed, something with overdrive i'm not running huge tires or a ton of power. its got the stock right side diff axle and i'm curious if anyone knows if you can bolt an np208 or np 205 to a 5 speed out of an 88 to 95 chevy transmission  

A 208 can be bolt directly to a 5 speed manual but not a 205. Only real issue here is splines. YOu need to count the splines on you input shaft on current Tcase to consider your options. It "should" be either 27 or 32.  

okay, i currently have an np208 on the truck,
i believe its a 32 spline, is there one 5 speed that uses a 32 and one that uses a 27? or is it difference between a 205 and a 208 that ones has 27 and one has 32  

205's have several different spline counts and some as low as 10. 208 tend to have 32's with automatics and 27 or 32 with a manual. 32 is more widely supported with modern GM 5 speeds.  

i'm going to go out today and count them, it has a blown up auto in it so lets hope she's a 32 spline model  

alright looking at it now, its a 27 spline, you say they support both but more commonly a 32  

Yes. HD manuals tend to be 32 spline and LD manuals 27 spline. (none of this is set in stone though) If you have a 27 spline you "should" be able to at least find a NV3500 with same spline count.  

alright, im down to pretty much deciding to go with the sm 465 four speeds that the truck came with, i found one with a 32 spline shaft, the guy says it went with an np208 transfer case, i know thats a chain drive case and my 208 its a 27 spline, im curious if a 32 spline 205 will bolt to that same adapter so i could have a 32 spline 4 speed with a 205, or if it has to be 208 32 spline transfer with the same adapter  

Yes it could bolt to a 205 but honestly if I was going to do a swap I would put in a modern 5 speed OD tranny. It is too good to pass up. OD in effect gives you a wider ratio range for highest gear to lowest gear. If you use a early NV4500, you have a range of 8.45 to 1 vs 6.56 with 465 and what this means is that you can run even deeper axle gears for even more power and still cruise at a lower RPM than a 465 with taller axle gear. The 465 was a great tranny in its day but that day has passed and gas is 3.25 a gallon and climbing.  

well i did some shopping around, and where i am in maine 4x4 parts are hard to come by, i found whatever 5 speed they use in a 1997 chevy k1500 for 800$ thats the closest thing i can come to a 5 speed  

That would likely be a NV3500. Also consider this, a 205 has a low range of 1.96 to 1  and weighs about 150 lbs. A NP208 weighs about 85 lbs and has a 2.71 low range which is also a planetary reduction unit which is a lot quieter and smoother too. (208 uses/loose less power in 2wd as well as 4wd too)Plus 208 uses ATF fluid and will shift easier and use less power in the extreme cold you can get up there. Same with 3500. Net result is better fuel mileage in winter (which tends to be bad anyway but will be better with 208 and 3500) I have had a 465 and 208 in extreme cold and they can fell like there is very thick glue in them in cold weather. (they are not cold weather beasts) Even if you use 75w90 syn they still get real stiff in cold weather. (well below zero) I remember one winter when it was about 30 below I actually spun a input bearing on a 465 breaking the "glue" loose (this was back before there was 75w90) I warmer truck up well driving it and pulled it in barn and drain oil from tranny and put some fresh 80w90 with about 10% kerosene. It worked for rest of winter but it was still stiff in extreme cold.(I did change input bearing that summer as it was singing a bit) BTW, I have fond than Mobile One ATF fluid works pretty well in cold weather in gear boxes that need ATF. I even have been using it in my snow plow hyd systems for many years (with a few ounces of kerosene added too) and the hyd on plows perform well even at 15 to 20 below. With regular ATF they get real sluggish around zero but at least ATF still pours pretty well at that temp, gear lube does not. I would think long and hard before I used those old gear lube boxes up where you live.