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gear vendor worth?

B

black dawg

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I have a line on a gv that is bolted behind a 465/205, all supposed to be in good shape. Last I talked to the guy (several years ago) he wanted 1800 for all of it. I found out that he still has the stuff, and I would like to make an offer for it. What would be a reasonable offer for this stuff? He doesnt know the condition (or if it works at all)of any of it, and is just going off of what he was told.:dunno:
 
black dawg said:
i have a line on a gv that is bolted behind a 465/205, all supposed to be in good shape. Last i talked to the guy (several years ago) he wanted 1800 for all of it. I found out that he still has the stuff, and i would like to make an offer for it. What would be a reasonable offer for this stuff? he doesnt know the condition (or if it works at all)of any of it, and is just going off of what he was told.:dunno:
Click to expand...

huh?
 
what I meant was that he never saw the stuff work, so he doesnt know for sure, but was told that it did.
 
GV is asking $3000 for them. If working perfectly, I think $1500 would be reasonable.

That being said, I'd run an NV4500/241 before I spent that kind of money on an add-on OD unit. I suspect you can darn near purchase a brand new/rebuilt 4500 and 241 for $3000.

What year is the truck? An '85+ 465/205 is fairly rare anyway. Not worth $1800, but coupled with the GV, could be depending on what you need.

Dad has one on his truck (454/465/205/GV), has for years, drives the truck a fair bit. It's nice having OD. I don't like add-on stuff when OD could be had with another transmission, however it has worked flawlessly. You also can't just turn it on and forget it, under 25MPH it makes a nasty clunk when it drops out if you forget. He towed up to 10K with it and a 454, and that, coupled with everything else I've ever seen, seems to indicate they are a stout unit that you won't have to worry about.

Then again, it's pretty much a miniature automatic transmission, which is why I HAVE a manual, so I don't have the problems of an automatic trans. :)
 
I dont like add on stuff either, but being able to split gears gives the gv an advantage (to me anyway) over the 4500.
 
But being only usable at 25MPH+, and an on/off/on "knob" to engage it, splitting gears isn't real easy. (in 3rd, clutch, pull OD knob out, release clutch, 3rd OD, push clutch, push OD knob in, release clutch, 4th, and so on)

OD is also not deep enough (both mine and my Dad's opinion) to actually split the gears. You are only reducing RPM by ~20%, to split the 465's gears effectively, you really need about a 50% OD. With 4.10's and 33" tires, he finds 3rd is too high and 3 OD is still too high. It truly needs to "split" the difference between gears to be effective. The 465 ratios are so far apart already, 20% doesn't do it.

I *think* on an auto trans it's a lot more of a seamless operation.
 
I have never done the math as to ratios with the 465 (or used the clutch when shifting a gv), but pulling passes around here, it sucks being stuck in a gear with the engine wound out, when you could shift the gear vendor and get enough speed to actually get into the next gear.

dont try to talk me out of it dammit:D
 
lol. It's just a pricey proposition. It also adds more electronics, there is a box that goes with it that goes inline with the speedometer cable. I think that might be how it "kicks out" at 25MPH and prevents engagement under that MPH. Obviously tied into vehicle speed.

Any additional gearing is better, no question there, but 4OD is all it's worth IMO. That is why I think a later (closer ratio) 4500 is better than a GV, side by side, if cost were fairly equal.
 
my buddy here http://coloradok5.com/forums/member.php?u=52422 did the 465/205 to 4500/205 swap in his truck and loved it . he runs 38" swampers and 4.56 gears .

down high way he droped a lot @ 70mph to the point you can run the highway with out ear plugs from the rpm's it had before. he said much better feel of the shifter over the old 465 . still not a t56 or tremec like feel in a car but a lot better .

it was a virtual bolt in for him as he had hydro clutch before and used a pass drop external slave bell that was on his 4500 he got . we added the advanced adaptors spacer kit and ord twin stick shifter kit to the 205 we modded for full twin stick at the same time. moved the shifter hole back few inches also .

didn't need to modify crossmember holes or position or even drive shaft lengths .

he scored his 4500 from craigs list ad . 5 speed from 1/2 ton truck with transfer case . lots of times the 88-98 style trucks if stick shift and W/T ( work truck ) on the tail gate got he 4500 tranny even tho it had a 4.3 v6 engine . what his come out of . and v8 half tons with trailer tow package got them if stick shift a lot also .

be on the look out there out there.
 
I think for manual transmissions, the Ranger overdrive would probably be more suited. It bolts in the front and can be used as a true gear splitter, plus you engage it manually with a shift lever. Plus they run about 1500 for a new one, used are probably significantly cheaper. You will have to modify your floorboard, driveshaft, and cross member to fit it though. The Gear Vendor unit reminds me of the 80's 4+3 manual Corvettes, where an auxiliary automatic would split the top three gears to save fuel.

http://www.high-impact.net/rangeroverdrive.htm
 
I look for gear vendors every now and again 1500 for something that isn't proven too work is way too much. You can fairly often see them for 7 to 800 add 250 or 300 for the trans and t case I wouldn't offer any more than a thousand
 
My plan after I look them over was to offer 1k.

It looks like I can use the speed sensor and reluctor from a late turbo 400 in the gv to keep my speedo (91 burb).
Can anybody verify this either way?
 
paratrooper307 said:
I think for manual transmissions, the Ranger overdrive would probably be more suited. It bolts in the front and can be used as a true gear splitter, plus you engage it manually with a shift lever. Plus they run about 1500 for a new one, used are probably significantly cheaper. You will have to modify your floorboard, driveshaft, and cross member to fit it though. The Gear Vendor unit reminds me of the 80's 4+3 manual Corvettes, where an auxiliary automatic would split the top three gears to save fuel.

http://www.high-impact.net/rangeroverdrive.htm
Click to expand...

gonna have to look into this. thanks
 
I can't confirm, their setup appears pretty odd: http://www.gearvendors.com/cgi-bin/shop/detail.cgi?id=11070&1.%20MANUFACTURER=GM&2.%20VEHICLE%20TYPE=TRUCK&3.%20MODEL=2500&4.%20YEAR=1991&5.%20TYPE=STOCK&6.%20FUEL%20TYPE=GAS&7.%20WHEEL%20DRIVE=4-WHEEL%20DRIVE&8.%20TRANSMISSION%20TYPE=MANUAL&9.%20TRANSMISSION%20MODEL=4-5-SPEED%20NP-205%20-465%204-SPEED%20-4500%205-SPEED-ELECSPEEDO

A cable driven piece with an adapter on it, vs. the reluctor setup like you talk about.

Probably need to call GV, if you have/can get a 400/VSS setup easily, then it would make things a lot easier if the GV unit will accept the reluctor and VSS. Can't say as I've ever seen the TH400/VSS setup.

In any case, if the GV control unit uses an input signal that the DRAC will output, you'd not need all their additional parts. GV would have to tell you what kind of signal the control unit requires though.

As to the Ranger, it's a true splitter, but with another lever, how useful/hard is it splitting gears towing? I'm just wondering how clumsy it would be to try and go 3/3OD/4 vs. the GV unit. At least with the GV it's on the same shifter handle, you don't have to let go of one, reach for another, etc. But at the Ranger is true gear splitting, and that might be enough to prevent you from having to do a bunch of rapid 3/3OD/4 shifts.
 
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the ranger box sure is tempting. Just under 1400 shipped from summit.

Just dont know how the shifters will work out being 7.5 inches farther back? I know I could relocate the t case shifter forward, possibly using the same hole in the floor.
 
I do agree that shifting it might be interesting, but the fact that 4x4 can be used is a huge plus for me.
 
Deuling said:
Richcz28 has one.
Click to expand...

Thats me :thumb:


I got mine brand new from someones mock up build ish on Pirate for a much reduced cost.

It is not the smoothest shifting thing in the world. If you like your truck to operate like a piece of heavy equipment then sure, adding another shifter is lots of fun. :rolleyes:

If you want your truck to be a nice driver, go for the nv4500 or maybe the gear venders.

I haven't had my truck off road yet, but I predict enjoying a far greater gear selection. With the idle of my diesel, I'm hoping to choose speeds like a ride on lawn mower.
 
The gearvendors is great behind a th400. I have a second dimmer switch on the floor for shifting. I manually shift. The computer won't shift to OD until 45 mph. My truck is a 79 C20 built 406 sbc, built th400, gear vendors, 14bff 4.10, 33" tires. The gear vendors drops my rpm at 70mph from 3k+ to 2400. I tow a toy hauler that weighs up to 9k pounds fully loaded. The split gears are a major advantage.

I had over 100k on my gearvendors and it lost reverse. I found a broken part when I pulled it, but already had a rebuilt unit on hand, so I swapped it. The rebuild was $1k from gearvendors.
 
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