Gear Vendors

[fe468stroker]

This is probably for our FE vendors or someone with knowledge of Gear Vendors Company.  On their home page there is a tab for applications and after selecting 4,5,6 speed manual transmissions their list comes up.  There is a listing for Toploader 17" tail shaft.  The part number is 189723 with the price as $3195.00.  But it says to contact them before purchase.  I emailed them and told them the application.  They emailed me back and said that they don't make one for this transmission and have no plans to do so in the future.  Well maybe I got a kid who sold underwear before the layoffs.  Then I called them and got the same response and was told that I would have to switch out the main shaft to a 14" before they can help me.  Not happening Batman!  Why would a company publish application information, assign it a part number and not produce the part?  If anybody has an (in) with Gear Vendors I would like an answer to that question.  There were many more Toploaders produced with the long 17" tail shaft.

[GerryP]

This is not the first time it has come up here or on other forums.  Yes, the 17" tail application has been a ghost listing for some years now.  At least 10 years that I'm aware of.  As you discovered, it is always resolved that you have to change out the output shaft to a shorty.  I guess they never really got around to casting up a new housing to make it work.

[wsu0702]

This is not the first time it has come up here or on other forums.  Yes, the 17" tail application has been a ghost listing for some years now.  At least 10 years that I'm aware of.  As you discovered, it is always resolved that you have to change out the output shaft to a shorty.  I guess they never really got around to casting up a new housing to make it work.

Business decision.  No return on investment for doing so.  There are a LOT of variations of the Ford toploader 4 speed transmission.  They targeted the most common variations for spending their tooling $$.  JMHO 

[cammerfe]

Let me inject another consideration into the discussion. If you simply connect the GV unit to the back of an existing transmission, you'll end up with a monstrosity that's about two yards long. You'll be lucky if you don't have to do significant surgery to the trans tunnel in order to gain enough room to be able to fit it all into the car.

With that in mind, when I put a GV behind a C6 some years ago, I got the shortest combination possible. GV offered me a replacement output shaft designed to be just long enough to stick out of the main case. An adapter and a coupling and the GV BECAME the extension housing. It was only a bit longer than the original had been.

I had to tear the C6 down completely, since the output shaft is one of the first things to go into an otherwise empty case. But I did a bunch of work on the C6 anyway, so it was actually very little extra work.

Might this same approach work for you?

KS

[Rory428]

" There were many more Toploaders produced with the long 17" tailshaft".
I would have to question that statement. I would imagine that Ford installed a lot more Toploaders in Mustangs/Cougars/Fairlanes/Comets etc, than they ever did in full sized Galaxies, Mercurys, and later Torinos. As Ken said, I would have to think that anything that could make the overall length shorter, would be a plus for packaging underneath the vehicle.

[2ndgear]

I installed a gear vender behind my big in and big output trans. in a 1969 mustang. I did change the main shaft to 14 inch. and also changed to a wide ratio. Works great without no mods. to the tunnel. I also think if you would have a 17 inch. adapter and then the vender there would be a lot more weight hanging off of the rear trans mount.  That could cause problems with the extra weight and also installing the unit. Tunnel problems.

[wsu0702]

I am going to get a quote on a Gear Vendors OD unit for a my 69 mustang big in big out (AE2) toploader tomorrow.  With the current business situation I am nervous that some of these specialized companies might not be around much longer.  Detroit locker and custom headers next.  I want to get these parts before they are no longer available.  I might be paranoid but better safe than sorry right?