Gear Vendor fitment in 1965 Galaxie/390/C6

[jakengle]

Hello everyone.  I have not been engaged in this forum much, but was a long time and active member of the old FEforum.  With what I learned there I build my 390 and my Galaxie.  I have been fine tuning this combo for the last 7 or so years and am ready to take a few bigger steps.  Right now I have a 3.70 gearset with a detroit locker and a ~2600 stall convertor in the built C6.  The 390 is 9.5:1 with edelbrock heads and RPM intake, 750 double pumper, FPA shorty headers, full exhaust.  This combo is excellent around town and on shorter highway drives, but its not much fun on longer drives at interstate speeds.  I ran it for a few years with stock 3.0 gears, which were sluggish around town with this loose convertor, but cruised effortlessly on interstate.

So where I am is on the verge of buying a new or used GV overdrive with the standard C6 'long' mount and I am wondering if anyone here has done this in a '65-'68 galaxie and if there is floorpan interference or any other complications.

thanks!
jason

[gt350hr]

   Jason ,
       I haven't done the Galaxie , but I own two GVs and see no reason why they would not fit. The unit is narrow enough to stay in the tunnel and doesn't stick up above the adaptor , height wise. Mine are both in Ford trucks but I could give you dimensions so you could verify you have room.
   Randy

[jakengle]

Thanks for the offer to measure.  I know that Jay had issues with the floorplans on his '64 galaxie and others had issues with '66/67 fairlanes, so if no one can verify fit with a '65, then I will have to try and measure to see, but not sure how I could  establish a baseline to measure from.

[jayb]

Right, the tunnel on my 64 had to be cut away to make the GVOD fit properly.  But it was all under the seat, not really a big deal.  I just pulled the front seat and carpeting, cut the floorpan to make it fit, and then fabricated a bulged sheet metal cover close up the hole from the top side.  Well worth the effort to get the advantages of the GVOD, in my opinion.

[jakengle]

Thanks Jay!  I am not going to let it stop me, but I sure would like to hear that I will be OK.  May be time to just place the order and go for it.

[AlanCasida]

I had one in my '66 Galaxie and I was able to get it in with no modifications to the floor. I have since moved on to a TKO600 5spd.

[cammerfe]

Let me suggest you go 'all the way' and get the short version. The only drawback is having to take everything out of the case to install the short output. Even if you aren't real savvy, (And maybe you are) it's not a big trick to lay things out in order as you take it apart and carefully put it back. It also gives you a chance to inspect the insides, and renew as you might find worthwhile.

KS

[jakengle]

I had one in my '66 Galaxie and I was able to get it in with no modifications to the floor. I have since moved on to a TKO600 5spd.

Thanks AlanCasida--another name from the old forum.  I assume that you had the long tailshaft version--any negative feedback on that long version vs. the extra trouble to install the short kit?  I sure like the compactness of the short one, but these cars are pretty long and so it doesn't seem like it should be too bad as far as driveshaft length or changes to the shaft angles.

[AlanCasida]

I had one in my '66 Galaxie and I was able to get it in with no modifications to the floor. I have since moved on to a TKO600 5spd.

Thanks AlanCasida--another name from the old forum.  I assume that you had the long tailshaft version--any negative feedback on that long version vs. the extra trouble to install the short kit?  I sure like the compactness of the short one, but these cars are pretty long and so it doesn't seem like it should be too bad as far as driveshaft length or changes to the shaft angles.

Yes I used it with the standard length tailshaft. It really makes it hang out there a long ways but I didn't have any problems with it and I ran some 11.70s that way on DragWeek a few years ago. One caveat is I was running the "other" bbf (460 type) motor with some custom front motor mounts to get the motor a little lower in the car since 460s are taller. Currently I am running the same setup in my '65 Mustang and have ran 10.90s with no issues. Having said that, I wouldn't discourage anyone from getting the shortie kit. I think it would make for a little cleaner installation.   

[galaxiex]

FWIW I have the shorty GV on my C6 for my 66 Galaxie 500XL

It ends up being approx 4" longer than the stock C6.

Not installed in the car yet, and I am using the factory XL floor shifter and linkage.

I have some small concern that the extra bulk of the GV might interfere with the shifter.
Probably can work around it, if there is an issue.

Obviously can't report on floor pan clearance until I get it installed.

[jakengle]

That's a nice setup galaxiex.  I am tempted to go to the additional trouble of pulling the trans for the shorter version...

[galaxiex]

That's a nice setup galaxiex.  I am tempted to go to the additional trouble of pulling the trans for the shorter version...

Thanks!

If you are not familiar with the inner workings of automatic trannys
I'd suggest having someone that is familiar with them, (and the C6 in particular) nearby.

It's not rocket science, but I'm a trans rebuilder going on some 40+ years and very familiar with the C6.
Easy enough for me, but there can be caveats and gotcha's once you get into it.

In particular, I had a little trouble with the custom output shaft that also drives the GV oil pump.

GV changed the design from the earlier units, and it's not as "installer friendly" as the old design.
Simple enough, but if you remove the shaft from the GV unit (or maybe it comes that way)
it can be tricky to get it back in the GV pump without doing some damage.
Care and going slow and not forcing things is key.

Maybe sounds strange, but automatic trannys require a little finesse at times.

[66FAIRLANE]

Heres a forum link to my install. http://fepower.net/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=169.msg1210#msg1210

If I did it again I would buy the short version and change the shaft. But I love the unit.