The Gear Vendors install thread
68' 4 door valiant w/ factory bucket seats, (don't know if that changes the tunnel area, but mines tight :rolleyes:), 904, 8 3/4" w/ 3.73's and dr diff spring hangers with the front eyes in the upper holes. i'm also putting the trans all the way up so no spacers on the cross member.
my progress, so far
68' Valiant 4 door
i picked up a Gear Vendors a few weeks ago, and finally had time to work on the install.
first, i knew from going though every thread and comment i could find, that there was no way to know if this was going to be easy or not on my car...spoiler alert, it's not. on this car it's not a BFH and a few dents job.
second, the gear vendors manual isn't very good. it's out dated, (they've updated the control unit, and instead of printing new instructions, they include an extra page with the new wiring instructions), and they have assembly steps that they already did. :realcrazy:
everything looks good and was well packed. i was going to just drive down there and pick it up (a couple hours away), but they did free shipping, so that was nice.
tail shaft comparison...
first thing is swap the tail shaft. i had never removed one before, and was a little worried about getting it back together, but happy to say it wasn't a problem.
until i went to put the cross member back in. that big ring where the OD bolts to the tail shaft housing is at the narrowest part of the tunnel
those tabs are where my shifter used to mount...
did some measuring and decided to just filet the top of the tunnel and i'll make a new top piece to fit
of course it once i got the clearance for the ring i found out a casting boss on top of the TS lines up perfectly with the cross member bracing under the floor
i thought about just grinding it off but would have needed to pull the tail shaft to get up there. i can't imagine GV hasn't had anyone mention this to them. you can see from the cross member bolt hole how close it is to having enough room :mad:
well i decided to open it up from the top and make a window for it. drilled an 1 1/2" hole though the floor and then used a grinder bit to shape what i needed
a little more massaging toward the back and fits just like it was made for it...:rolleyes:
68' 4 door valiant w/ factory bucket seats, (don't know if that changes the tunnel area, but mines tight :rolleyes:), 904, 8 3/4" w/ 3.73's and dr diff spring hangers with the front eyes in the upper holes. i'm also putting the trans all the way up so no spacers on the cross member.
my progress, so far
68' Valiant 4 door
i picked up a Gear Vendors a few weeks ago, and finally had time to work on the install.
first, i knew from going though every thread and comment i could find, that there was no way to know if this was going to be easy or not on my car...spoiler alert, it's not. on this car it's not a BFH and a few dents job.
second, the gear vendors manual isn't very good. it's out dated, (they've updated the control unit, and instead of printing new instructions, they include an extra page with the new wiring instructions), and they have assembly steps that they already did. :realcrazy:
everything looks good and was well packed. i was going to just drive down there and pick it up (a couple hours away), but they did free shipping, so that was nice.
tail shaft comparison...
first thing is swap the tail shaft. i had never removed one before, and was a little worried about getting it back together, but happy to say it wasn't a problem.
until i went to put the cross member back in. that big ring where the OD bolts to the tail shaft housing is at the narrowest part of the tunnel
those tabs are where my shifter used to mount...
did some measuring and decided to just filet the top of the tunnel and i'll make a new top piece to fit
of course it once i got the clearance for the ring i found out a casting boss on top of the TS lines up perfectly with the cross member bracing under the floor
i thought about just grinding it off but would have needed to pull the tail shaft to get up there. i can't imagine GV hasn't had anyone mention this to them. you can see from the cross member bolt hole how close it is to having enough room :mad:
well i decided to open it up from the top and make a window for it. drilled an 1 1/2" hole though the floor and then used a grinder bit to shape what i needed
a little more massaging toward the back and fits just like it was made for it...:rolleyes: