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69 DZ302/M22/4.56 Gears....Thinking of Gearvendors???? Input????

6K views 20 replies 11 participants last post by  CJP_69 
#1 ·
Hi, January 2019 I bought a 69 Z28 with a Rock Crusher tranny, Headers & a 4.56 Gear. I never really thought I would own a first gen, I was just too picky, but this was what I would have wanted. It is not a creampuff, but it could be. I like the combination of the tranny & 4.56, it goes pretty well. Of course the flip side of the coin is that it tachs like like crazy & I am on first name base with all the gas stations. I intend to keep this til they take my keys away. I think my best option for the modern highways is to get one of the Gearvendors Overdrive. It is a 30 pound unit that replaces the Muncie's tailshaft housing. It drops the ratio by 22%, making a 4.56 into a 3.56. The price is dear at $3k. Has anybody used one of these? Am I barking up the right tree? Pretty heavy for a first post! Sorry, Tim
 
#4 ·
I put a TKO 600 in my Z. I have 4:10 gears. I'm now running 80 mph around 3K rpms. The TKO is night and day over the Muncie. There are a few here that like gear venders, but I like the complete unit vrs the add on extra gear. Ironically the add on gear is what the gear venders crowd likes. I put 2500 miles on my car this summer. Zero complaints. Just go with what your gut tells you. Neither are wrong.
 
#7 · (Edited)
You should be able to change the ring and pinion ratio for about a 3rd the cost of a gear vender unit.


Over a 15 years period I went from my original 4:10 to a 3:42 then finally to a 3:73. I'm happy now. I have an Autogear M22W 4 speed. 2:54 first gear with M22 whine .
 
#8 ·
I think the 4:56 is a great gear for the a 302 equipped Camaro. I would leave the gears as is. Just my thoughts.
 
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#9 ·
Gearvendors.
M22 first gear is 2.20 (about 22mph at 3k)
TKO first gear is 2.87 (about 17mph at 3k)
M22 second gear is 1.64 (about 29mph at 3k)
TKO second gear is 1.89 (about 25mph at 3k)
M22 and TKO third gear is 1.28 (about 37mph at 3k)
M22 and TKO fourth gear is 1.0 (about 48mph at 3k)
M22/gv fifth is 0.78 (about 61mph at 3k)
TKO fifth is 0.82 (about 58mph at 3k)

In all, not a huge difference at the top, but you will be shifting out of 1st gear pretty quickly in the TKO
These numbers were based on a 265/45-15... not sure what tire you have, but the numbers are a good starting point.

Also, don't forget that the GV unit can be turned on in any gear... giving you 8 gears in total... although I don't know anybody crazy enough to want to do that :)
 
#12 ·
On GVs site it’s $2700.

The TKO you can use to SBC Bell housing and the Zbar, linkage and clutch fork. The clutch disc will have to be replaced due to different spline count. Speedo cable works too. And it will need a new crossmember and shorter DS.

All said and done the cost is about the same if you have a 4 speed already.

You can sell the Muncie to offset part of the Swap cost.
 
#13 ·
I did exactly that with my car. I had a M22 in my car and already had the fine spline clutch disk. You will need to dial in the bell housing though. The pins are about $20.00. I sold the Muncie for a grand. Used the same shifter and boot. It's not that hard to do.
 
#15 · (Edited)
I had typed a response with my thoughts, walked away for a few minutes, then came back and finished up. Hit "Post Reply" and my window had "timed out" and I lost all of it. Why does Team Camaro do this? :angry:

Anyway, I bought my Gear Vendors unit used for a good price and really like it behind the M22W Muncie and 3.73 rear gears. This allows me to keep my "old school" transmission and lower the engine RPMs at higher speeds. Originally my car had 4.56 rear gears but they were changed out to 3.73 before the GV became available.

I think either option, a TKO or GV, to obtain overdrive in your car is a good choice.

What I would really like would be the T56 with 2.66 first gear and .50 6th gear driving the 4.56 gears. :grin2: But that would require cutting sheet metal and I am not willing to do that.

Also to note that a Gear Vendors unit really doesn't change your 4-speed to an 8-speed. Maybe on paper it does, but not in practical usage. 1st gear in overdrive is a similar ratio to 2nd gear without overdrive. 2nd gear in overdrive is similar to 3rd gear without overdrive. Same with 3rd gear compared to 4th gear. But you can turn it on when in any gear.

Buy design it won't kick in until above 20 MPH and it will turn off below 20 MPH. So if you're in overdrive and coming to a stop it will turn off to be turned back on when desired. You can turn it on at a standstill, aggressively accelerate in 1st gear, and it will kick in at your higher RPMs. It will chirp the tires in "2nd gear" every time. Then you manually shift to your transmission's 2nd gear as your revs climb again.
 
#16 ·
Thank you everyone for the time you took to answer me. I really appreciate it. I am going to keep the m-22 & 4.56, and install the GV. I do have a NIB Kiesler Eng TKO-500 for a C3 sitting on the shelf, but I do not want to replace the M-22. Thank you!
 
#20 ·
I think one of the main reasons to go with GV is so the owner can still say; "It's got an M-22 Rock Crusher". If you swap it for a TKO-600 (The 600 stands for 600 lb-ft of torque capacity) then that claim is gone. I had a M-22 in mine, but it was not original, and at the time I hadn't really heard of the Gear Vendor option, so I went with Silver Sport TKO-600 kit that had everything in it for the swap, even the clutch, cross-member and correct length drive shaft.
Does the Gear Vendor loose any torque capacity? That is one number I would want to help me decide if I was contemplating the options.

If the M-22 was original to my car, it would be pretty hard to move away from it if there was a good option for keeping it. Kinda like my X-66 SS396. It's real hard to commit to an LS. I feel obligated to keep the 396.

Brett......
 
#21 ·
I'm running a gear vendors in a 69 z28 302, auto gear m23W, and 4.10 rear. After owning another 69z with 4.10's over 10 years ago, I wanted something that I could cruise on the highway above 55mph without the motor screaming. I contemplated a TKO600 but I wanted a 2.50ish first gear. I run E-70 wide treads and wanted to be around 3000rpm at 70mph to keep up with traffic and that is right where I'm at. Some people like the gear vendors, some don't. I just wanted the overdrive so it works for me. I have it on a 12 volt switch with no electronics as I basically only use it on the highway. When I was researching it, Andrew69 and a few others gave some detailed, positive info on it.
 
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