Who is using a Gear Vendors unit

[speED]

Approximately 15/ 20 Years ago I had a Gear Vendors unit in my 67 Camaro. Did the job, gave me overdrive especially when overdrive transmissions were not as strong as modern units. Unfortunately the unit was flooded with salt water. Currently at a crossroad. Do I have it repaired or install an overdrive transmission. On the Gear Vendor website I noticed they now have an electronic feature which allows gear splitting for better quarter mile performance. Does anyone have experience with this option, is it worth getting the unit repaired and buying the additional electronics?

Thanks,
ED

[jfaria78]

I had a GV unit with the electronics. I thought it was ok when I was driving down the freeway, but the on-off automatic unit was not as reliable as they advertise. At least IMHO. I would go with a 700r4 or a 4L80E. I think the technology in these transmissions are much better these days.

I ended up selling it and getting a T56

James

[wayne70]

I have a GV in my car and am real happy with it. I would check with GV and get a price to rebuild and up grade then check the price of a 4l60 or 4l80.

[Jake's Performance]

I have a GV in my car and am real happy with it. I would check with GV and get a price to rebuild and up grade then check the price of a 4l60 or 4l80.

I agree,
Call GV up and see what the cost is. If it's reasonable and you liked the way it functioned before, stay with it.

If you need an OD trans let us know. We specialize in the GM automatics, particularly the 4L80E.

[ponchopwr70]

I have a gear vendors and love it. I just don't like any of the od transmissions. The gear vendors will last and weather you have a th350 or th400 they are cheaper to rebuild than an od trans. I do use the gears in between gears the problem is finding enough road to do it on.

[speED]

Thanks guys,

James (jfaria78):
The electronic portion is what I'm really concerned about, in fact when I called GV I explained how I would like to take full advantage of having 6 forward gears in a quarter mile run - the tech/ sales rep at GV did not leave me with a feeling of confidence in the units ability.

Jakes Performance:
I'll give you guys a call when I'm ready, still in the planning stages.

[E.rodz]

I ran a gear vendors in my 81 chevy pu.and i loved it the launch was awsome with the electronics you could hammer it down from a stop and it woud automaticly go from first to first od.than you had to manuly **** to second and going through the traps in 2nd od. and never hitting third.only had 12000 miles on the truck when I sold it but no problems.love the way it sounded when going through the gears with full spray of n02.if you already have the tranny and the stall convertor I would get it fixed but doesn't sound like thats the case sounds like it could have been in a flood? if you switch tranny's remember you will have to make a new drive shaft and crossmember.possibly a electronic controller,different convertor.add everthing up before you make your choice.what kind of hp. do you have?are you running n02?

[speED]

E.rodz,

Only item flooded was GV unit, still have turbo 400 in car. Unfortunately cost is an issue and you do bring up some good points. The car has 600 HP on muscle. How ackward is the shift to second in relationship to turning the GV unit back off?????

ED

[jfaria78]

I had about the same horsepower you have and once again to shift between shifts was not a very good solution, they make it sound as if it will automatically turn off when you change gears, but in my experience it did not. Also, when you run the wire that goes from the speedo output on the th400 you have to run that with the cable then run it to the computer. Don't run it up to the fuse panel in my experience it would shut off going down the free way becuase heat increases the resistance of the wire and it thinks you are going 5 mph.

For the 2600 plus the driveshaft it was not worth it to me. I think I could have bought a awesome 4l80e for that, plus you can get the paddle shifter now, so I really don't think it is worth it anymore.

James

[mjoc1]

In the new Chevy High Performance Jan 2010. They add a gear Vendor to a 700r4 to basically get a 8 speed auto. If you read the article it tells you why you should get a gear vendors unit. I would update repair the gear vendors and also get an overdrive trans. I would then see if it would be possible to get a paddle shifter setup myself.

Mike

[Taylor1969]

In the new Chevy High Performance Jan 2010. They add a gear Vendor to a 700r4 to basically get a 8 speed auto. If you read the article it tells you why you should get a gear vendors unit. I would update repair the gear vendors and also get an overdrive trans. I would then see if it would be possible to get a paddle shifter setup myself.

Mike

Careful... some of those are advertorials

[Jake's Performance]

I build and have been building OD trans for retrofits for quite some time now.

I've built, installed, and driven all the different combos as far as GM OD's.

Many different cars, gearing, engine combos.

My personal car is a 1969 Chevelle SS with a 427 BBC and 3.73 rear.
I've had a TH400, 200-4R, TH400 switch pitch with GV in this car.
It's getting a 4L80E now.

The GV is a tough unit, it does give OD as advertised. It is a pretty simple installation in many cars. if you already have it and liked it, it is probably the simplest easiest solution.

My car is under another restoration so I didn't put much mileage on the GV but I personally didn't like it as much as the other OD transmission options.

I think the gear splitting feature is overrated. That's fine for a towing application but IMO the GV doesn't react quick enough to split in a dragstrip scenario. Maybe do a 1-2 shift then split, or a 1-1 over-2over.

I had a vibration issue likely due to the angles required to make it fit without cutting up floorpans and the short driveshaft.

If you had no GV and wanted to upgrade I think the OD trans are a better option.

However,
I can help you setup the GV to shift into OD automatically based off pressure and speed.

[speED]

Thanks guys,

Based on the different opinions and my personal experience I think it is time to upgrade to the 4L80E.

I appreciate your input,
ED