Gearvendor install on an E body

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I saw an install on a 70 B body seemed almost trouble free.

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I installed one in my 69 RR this Summer. I love it. It was a pretty simple install. My S-60 has 4.30s and with the GV it's a whole new ball game. It's life altering - I went from being that guy stuck in the slow lane to cruising at 65-70 I also raced at 2 events with it, running 10.60-70s, and I didn't even notice it was there.

Most of the possible gotchas in an E body I suspect will be in the tunnel. You may need to use an air hammer and make a little space. The GV people told me you can also safely remove material from the flange on the GV if needed so that's an option. I decided to massage my tunnel with an air hammer. I needed about 1/8 of an inch of clearance in 2 places where the flange touched the top of the tunnel. It took me about 10 minutes to make the needed clearance. That part of the tunnel is covered by the carpet and console in my car so the mods are invisible.

I helped a friend install one in his 67 Impala. THAT was a pain in the budunkus. He had to fabricate a special cross member and beat the snot out of his tunnel. We also had to cut 2 rectangular notches out of a brace in the tunnel. It was much more effort to install it in that Chevy than my car was. Hopefully your E-body will be like mine.

Oh, one other thing... I had a US Car Tool drive shaft loop before the GV. That will not work with the GV installed. So I fabricated a new loop from a Jegs generic loop and used the seat belt bolts (replaced with longer grade 8s) to hold it in place.

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The thing that bothers me the most is the short driveshaft. Im already starting out shorter than most at 108 wheel base. I can handle the massaging and the fabbing but that to short shaft scares me. By the way I would never have thought of using an air hammer that is a handy tool and to think I used one all the time working in the Airline industry. Thanks

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Yep, the short drive shaft does look weird. I think mine is about 36" inches long. However, I honestly can tell no difference when driving the car - except my RPMs are _much_ lower. I *think* my final drive ratio is 4th is 3.36:1 - I have not done the math but that's what the GV people told me it would be and it feels about right. I ended up getting a new drive shaft. It was about $250.

I used an air hammer with a blunt bit. It looks like an inverted, thick, intake valve. It really wasn't a big deal. I think it took me about 4 hours to install it. Most of that time was messing with the tail shaft on the trans. Make sure you have the right snap ring pliers to get the old shaft off and new one on. It will make it much easier.

I also added a couple of degrees of pinion angle with some aluminium shims from Mancinis.

I never used to worry about getting a speeding ticket on the highway since I was always in the right lane going slow. Not any more... My car wants to fly now. One other thing, if I find a stretch of road and I step on it and hit 3rd and then, while I'm still on it, hit 4th, it's pretty darn scary. I don't know what the top speed is now but it is a lot faster than I want to go

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Hey Preddy, what are using for the transmission mount using a gear vendor on a 69 B body?

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How do you put it in overdrive? Do you need a special shifter?

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