Gear Venders OD on a toploader? Experience

[TorinoBP88]

Has anyone installed the gear venders on a toploader, using their alum tail housing?

I know its more money then a TKO trans, but i have intereste in that set-up.

My car originally had a three speed with an OD, and while a am negotiating with a guy to buy a correct stock set up for my car (1964 galaxie) I do have two toploaders, a stock galaxie unit, and a totally revamped BIBO unit,,, and looking at it, i have been thinking more about using it and getting the OD from gear venders instead of going back to stock.

Opinions?

[jayb]

I have a Gear Vendors setup for a toploader that I got from Barry R.  He took it in on trade from a customer if I recall correctly, and said it worked fine, but the toploader itself had an issue.  Popping out of gear in third or something like that.  Maybe Barry will chime in here, but I don't think that putting the GVOD unit on a toploader is a problem.

[TorinoBP88]

I am restling with searching out the correct T85-3 spd/OD for my galaxie, or to install a TL and spend a little extra for the GV OD. At first i thought it was a bit pricy, but looking at the smile factor of a Toploader shifting vs a stock non-syncro 3 spd, i am thinking more about the more modern option.  I dont really want a TKO trans, although im sure if it was in the car i would like it. But I want a more stock set-up.

[machoneman]

No experience with GV's fine unit but I've always had one question in mind: How much does a iron-cased TL and GV unit together weigh with even a short driveshaft? Any guesses or actual weights?

[jayb]

The Gear Vendors unit itself weighs about 40 pounds.  It's about a 45 pound adder to a C-4 when swapped on in place of the stock tailshaft housing.  Any weight loss from the shortened driveshaft would subtract from this amount.

[machoneman]

Good to know as past pics made it look heavier.

For c-4's as in Jay's rides, the GV unit makes perfect sense. But, for a true stick car, I'm still a big fan of the Richmond 5-speed with a 1:1 high gear. Unlike the overdriven high gear in TKO's, one can actually use 5th (power shift through all 5 gears as all 5 gear spreads are close-ratio) in acceleration and not get that huge drop off in rpms when hitting high gear. High gear is also more mechanically efficient in 1:1 than a .64 - .67 drop in 5th with other types. I would like to know how much this may gain in RWHP in comparison testing although I recognize it wouldn't be much.   

There is a thread this week (Oct 24th) in the FE Forum where users and sellers both agree that TKO's aren't the most smoothest shifting trannys. The Richmond is and shifts just like a T-Loader or Munice.  At 95 lbs dry, less shifter weight, one can actually lose some weight compared to a T-Loader and still maintain an external shift mechanism, unlike all other modern 5 & 6 speeds that have internal rail-type shifters. JMO.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/74182/thread/1319580762/Another+option+to+the+TKO600.+Keisler+RS600

http://www.richmondgear.com/07pdfs/RG23.pdf

[jayb]

I'm always a little scared of the Richmond transmissions because they only rate them to 450 lb-ft of torque.  That seems awfully conservative to me, but in a drag race application maybe they are limited to that.  I have a Doug Nash 5 speed trans that I bought in 1980 or so, and of course this is the precursor to the Richmond trans.  I really like it, and have used it at the track, but not in a real high horsepower car.  Do you know of anyone with experience who has track experience with the Richmond where the engine is making 600-700 HP?

[machoneman]

I have known of many who used a slick-shifted version of the original Doug Nash 5-speed with great success in Comp Eliminator some years ago. Originally, the DN tranny did not have the torque tube, used to absorb driveline shock when dumping the clutch. Later drag race versions had the tube although many successfully raced the first version for years. Later, when Richmond bought the rights, they continued manufacturing the exact same trans but now in 3 versions,  street (my tranny) road race and the torque tube drag race version.  

Agree that the 450 ft./lb rating seemed mighty low when looking at the internals versus a TL or even a M-22 Rock Crusher. I bought mine in '94 after hearing from many street, road race (SCCA) and former drag buddies that it was still a great trans.

Today, I'm not close enough to DN or Richmond drag racers to comment on current high hp drag applications, but Larry K. with his drag-only Battlestar Galactic Ford station wagon swears by his 5-speed. I don't know what hp he's pulling from his FE combo but I do know he's in the 10's at way over 4,000lbs.  A few other current DN or Richmond drag users also commented in the FE Forum in the last year but I don't remember who they were.  Larry I'm sure could add details to the current user list and maybe comment on who may be at that 600-700 hp level.