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slant six's RULE!
http://www.usajon.com

I always hated how GM transmissions have no engine braking in 2nd gear.

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V8?? We don't need no stink'n V8!!

I drove a Volvo with the OD. It was a 4 speed manual with the button. It was a manual OD. It might have been malfunctioning. All I remember is it chugging real bad because some auto disengage thing wasn't working.

Some old Ramblers, and Studebakers had OD's. They were probably cable operated.

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'72 Duster 198 stock cam, 3:23's Hookers on jack stands for 8 years in the driveway
'79 Maxivan 360 Offy Qjet Comp RV cam/rusting in the driveway.
93 D350 160HP Cummins Auto Dually Clubcab needs a injector pump
2005 Golden Couch Buick

The A500 trans (also called a 42RH) works well, but it is quite heavy and not known to be as durable or well supported as other trannys (like GM 700 or 4L60E). You need an adapter plate to go from the SB V8 trans pattern to the Slant.

Mine has been reliable and hard shifting. I just bought a swap meet trans and did a $5 homebuilt shift kit. I recently had a trans or converter failure, but I think it's the converter.

When I did the swap, I went from a 904 with 2800 RPM stall and 2.94 gears to the A500 with 2200 RPM stall and 3.91s. The car actually slowed down about 0.1-0.2 sec in the 1/4 mile, and handling was noticeably a bit worse due to the extra 60-70 lbs of weight. MPG did go up about 10% with the lockup. When I went to 3.23 gears, it picked up about another 4-8% in MPG with A500. If I had it all to do over again, I might have stayed with the 904 and hwy gears, but the A500 has served me well overall. I had to cut the bellhousing some, move the engine 0.5" forward, find the adapter plate, fab all new lower and upper X members, and beat out the BH as well as grind some things off the trans. Of course, a new driveshaft was needed.

At the time, it was a swap I could afford ($140 for the trans, $5 shift kit, $500 converter). Now, the GV OD might be more attractive. MUCH easier fab work. I have been toying with trying a lockup 904 with a GV OD to get the best and simplest of all. If I could find an affordable adapter to a GM OD auto, then I might try that for my new Valiant.

Best, Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Thanks for the input Lou! I have never messed with the A500 swap, so I am glad to have the input from someone who has "been there and done that."

Sounds like I may be off-base with my criticism of Gearvendors. I think it is mostly the sticker price that makes me leery.

I would be interested to hear from anyone with experience with the Laycock overdrive units. It would be fantastic if there was a small, divorced, bolt-in overdrive unit.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

I am going forward with the 200r4..slowley. I have no garage so weather will be an issue.
I still have to pull the slant/904 from Mary's sold 1969 Dart. I have the exhaust unbolted/drivers side motor mount/pulled the rad/alt/ still have to unbolt the passengers side motor mount and the trans mount. for some strange reason i like working in cool weather/dressed accordingly. I have some xellent winter coveralls, and the cold weather means more inside warmming time. my fab bro said he can buld the adapter ..just need to get him the motor/trans 2 him.

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slant six's RULE!
http://www.usajon.com

Sounds good. Make sure you ask around here to get a number of folks who would want one. You'll have to have some idea of price to ask for real.

Keep us updated!

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

A500 uses 2.70/1.54/1.00/0.69 gears. A904/2.94 is 2.94:1 in top gear; A500/3.91 is 2.70 in top gear, or something less than 10% difference (if cruise rpm was 2200, it'd drop to 2041). Minor gain, and interesting that the car slowed down. [3.23 drops to 2.23 in top gear.]

Did it recover that 0.1-0.2 second with the 3.23 gears, or did it stay a bit slower? I wonder if internal losses (different design, or whatever is behind your recent tranny failure) might explain that instead. Or maybe it was just the added weight.

Interesting stuff. I'm sure Ma Mopar had a really great reason why slants ran with a different bell house pattern than V8's (inherited from the flatheads? V8's got a clean sheet design, and "fixed" something?). But it's kinda annoying that they did...

3.23s made it slower yet, about another 0.1-0.2 sec. I attribute to internal losses and wt. Plus, converter stall makes a solid difference.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

If you can stand the cost, the Gear Vendors units are pretty awesome. I had one on a Polara with a supercharged small block. Used a 727, the gearvendors and 3.90 gears. Installation was simple; change the tailshaft housing, shorten the driveshaft and put some dings in the transmission tunnel.

I put 10's of thousands of miles on the unit and dozens of drag strip passes (high 12's @ 113, ha traction).

It made highway driving pleasant, and for the drag strip, I would go 1st, 2nd, then switch to the overdrive gear; would put the car at almost the rev limit through the traps.

I mostly used it in a manual mode; I mounted a footswitch next to the high beam switch. The transmission was a full manual valvebody, so I kinda enjoyed pushing the button and hitting the slapstick, heh.

I'd use it again in a heartbeat, it was simple and reliable. It'll be going into a different build in a Duster at some point in the future.

For the slant, I'm still waiting to have the time to do the T-5, have finally collected all the parts...

Thanks for your input!

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Figured I'd add my 2c on the gear vendors OD unit (never having owned one but seeing them on friends' cars at the strip and hearing their experiences). The GV overdrive is a simple bolt-on to a 727/904 that gives you a split gear and requires only very minor dings in the tunnel to fit into larger mopar tunnels, eg. b bodies. It is costly but indestructible, handling the power of stroked big blocks with ease. If you do ever manage to break one, even at the strip, they are warrantied for two years and GV will give you a new one no questions asked (if you manage to break one out of warranty, GV will sell you a new one at 1/2 price). The OD can be used to manually split one of your shifts during racing, allowing you to play some fun games with rear end ratios and tire diameters.

That said, it is definitely not a cheap way to go, smaller bodied cars may need to do some surgery on their tunnels, and even the hottest slant doesn't seem to make enough power to need the ruggedness provided by a GV unit over, say, a well built 518+adaper plate.

Thank you for your input!

I would argue "and even the hottest slant doesn't seem to make enough power to need the ruggedness provided by a GV unit over, say, a well built 518+adaper plate",and here is why. IF you all of the work yourself(rebuild the trans,make the adapter plate) I agree that the trans/adapter would be the cheapest way to go. But if you are not capable of rebuilding the trans,or machining an adapter plate,then you are looking at spending near as much as the price of a GV unit. about 8-1200 on rebuilding/upgrading the trans,50-125(prices I have seen) to buy a stock adapter plate,or have one made,and then a new converter at about 400.

Based off the high end of the above numbers you are looking at about 1700 bux give or take. Add to that the fabrication of having to re-engineer a trans x member and you are right in the GV price range. Also,mind you I have no evidence of this just an un-educated guess,I am willing to bet that you would have more parasitic DT loss from the OD trans over the GV unit.

Jared

Does anyone know if the GV unit will bolt up to a LU 904?? That is, do the tailshaft housings differ for a LU and non-LU 904?

Even more obscure: will a GV bolt up to a '65-down cable shift tranny? I bet not, but just checking...

Thanks,

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

It will work. The tailhousing/shaft are the same. It will not work, the tailshaft/housing are different.
But doesn't Gear Venders, have a "remote" unit? One that mounts to a fabricated cross member, and uses a driveshaft, from the trans, then another driveshaft to the rear.

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Charrlie_S
65 Valiant 100 2dr post 170 turbo
66 Valiant Signet 170 nitrous
64 Valiant Signet
64 Valiant 4dr 170
64 Valiant 4dr 225