OD's Jim, I agree the GV unit is a great piece. The only additional benfit of using a late model OD trans is the advantage a lock up converter. Nothing like have a 4k converter at the track and be able to lock it up for around town/highway driving. :Brow: By chance did you measure the bump steer on that car to see how much additional bump steer was created by using the tall spindles? I have done that same mod to my car, mostly because I got the spindles and wilwood disc for free, and I am a little worried that it might cause problems w/ my alignment going down the track. Any thoughts? Thanks and keep the midnight oil burning.
Bump steer was minimal.. with the old upper arms anyway.. I have to go thru that process again, since I have to put different upper arms on it to get it to align.. That's tomorrow's project. Pretty easy bump steer adjustment on this deal.. The BAER outer tie rod has built in provisions to change the arc of the tie rod.. with the spacers and nut you see in this pick. Because the car had the stock lower arms, the stock type steering box and linkages, and we had the standard spindle upper control arms that came with the car on it, we had no bump steer issues.. now that I am going to the tall spindle upper arms, I am going to check it again, but I still expect no issues, as the arc of travel of the suspension has not changed, since we still have the factory lower control arm. With the too short stock spindle upper GW control arms, we could not get the camber where it needed to be.. not enough adjustment range.
I also added an aftermarket upper control arms designed for the tall spindle conversion (Spartan) but I still use a GM outer tie rod. When you can please let me know what you find out and any solution you come up w/ to correct any problems. Thanks,
Hey Jim. Is it somewhat safe to assume that this mod to the floor can only really be done with a column shift car? The hump would necessitate a further mod to the console. That under carriage looks great by the way. Any pics of the car itself? I guess that's what happens when you have an extra 50k just burning a hole in your pocket huh? :error: :laugh:
GV od in Riviera X frame? While most everything is do-able, is it going to be a nightmare to install in my 69 Riv with the heavy x frame?
Jim, I too chose to go with the GV/TH400 combo but have not had the chance to run it yet, although I am quite anxious. I was happy to hear your comments. We too had to modify (stretch) the floor pan for clearance as well as slightly modify the center console.
Looks good! One thing you will notice is that occassionally, when you drop it into gear or go to reverse from drive, there will be a noise that sounds exactly like a bad u-joint.. this is normal for that unit, according to the GV techs. We heard it once in a while with that convert, but not always. After having quite a bit of time on it, I really enjoyed it. The manual shifting will be firm, when you let it shift automatically it's almost unnoticeable. Have fun JW
Steve, It wasn't serious modification, just a little trimming is all. I am going up this afternoon so I will try to get a few pics then. Dave
I don't think I've seen this question asked, but I can't be the only one wondering about it... Any thoughts on putting the GV behind a stout 200r4?
OH MY GOD!!!!!!! Even with a 4.10 rearend, a 200R4 with a GV unit would have a top speed of over 280 mph at 5000 rpm! Seriously, it probably wouldn't be very practical as the rpm's would be SO low on the highway, like 1500 rpm or so at 70-80 mph. Now if you're into running at the Bonneville Salt Flats, that just might be the ticket.
Steve, Went by the shop yesterday and took a few more photos. This first one shows the console where we trimmed... i dunno, maybe 2 inches off it. I do not think it will show once installed with seats and carpet.
This picture shows from underneath how the unit fits and where we massaged the floor pan to fit it. Next one is from the inside of car. You can see the bulge next to the shifter.
