Slant Six Forum :: non mopar auto trans installed using a slant six engine?

One interesting alternative that I have read about but never seen installed on a slant six vehicle is a Laycock de Normanville "Type J" overdrive such as those used on Volvos. The Gearvendors unit is supposedly an updated version of the "type J" overdrive. I believe the type J is a smaller unit and is completely separate from the transmission, but I am by no means an expert or even very familiar with the type J.

Read more about it HERE and in the links discussed therein.

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 .

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

Author:	USAJon [ Wed Jan 04, 2012 1:26 pm ]
Post subject:
Quote: One interesting alternative that I have read about but never seen installed on a slant six vehicle is a Laycock de Normanville "Type J" overdrive such as those used on Volvos. The Gearvendors unit is supposedly an updated version of the "type J" overdrive. I believe the type J is a smaller unit and is completely separate from the transmission, but I am by no means an expert or even very familiar with the type J. Read more about it HERE and in the links discussed therein. ebay listings http://motors.shop.ebay.com/i.html?_trk ... op=3&_sc=1

Author:	bigslant6fan [ Wed Jan 04, 2012 1:37 pm ]
Post subject:	.
I always hated how GM transmissions have no engine braking in 2nd gear.

Author:	Rug_Trucker [ Wed Jan 04, 2012 2:26 pm ]
Post subject:
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.

Author:	Dart270 [ Wed Jan 04, 2012 5:29 pm ]
Post subject:	A500 thoughts...
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

Author:	Reed [ Wed Jan 04, 2012 7:07 pm ]
Post subject:
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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non mopar auto trans installed using a slant six engine? https://slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=46831	Page 3 of 4

Author:	USAJon [ Wed Jan 04, 2012 7:29 pm ]
Post subject:
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.

Author:	Dart270 [ Wed Jan 04, 2012 7:59 pm ]
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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

Author:	supton [ Thu Jan 05, 2012 5:17 am ]
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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...

Author:	Dart270 [ Thu Jan 05, 2012 7:52 am ]
Post subject:
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

Author:	72polara [ Thu Jan 05, 2012 9:43 am ]
Post subject:	Gear Vendors
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...

Author:	Dart270 [ Thu Jan 05, 2012 11:17 am ]
Post subject:
Thanks for your input! Lou

Author:	red79 [ Thu Jan 05, 2012 12:01 pm ]
Post subject:
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.

Author:	raPoM [ Thu Jan 05, 2012 1:56 pm ]
Post subject:
Quote: 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

Author:	Dart270 [ Thu Jan 05, 2012 2:26 pm ]
Post subject:
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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Author:	Charrlie_S [ Thu Jan 05, 2012 2:42 pm ]
Post subject:
Quote: 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? It will work. The tailhousing/shaft are the same. Quote: Even more obscure: will a GV bolt up to a '65-down cable shift tranny? I bet not, but just checking... Thanks, Lou 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.