Part 13: Four Plus One Equals a Highway Cruiser

Finishing Up
Finish up by reinstalling the exhaust, and then take it for a spin. At 65 mph, the tach on the Valiant was holding steady at 3,500 rpm. Literally at the touch of a button, the tach dropped to a reasonable 2,400 rpm. The Gear Vendor unit may seem a little pricey to some, but the reduction in noise, engine wear from the higher rpm, and the increase in fuel mileage makes this a good move for the Valiant. Think about it--you can keep your close gear-ratio four-speed, fairly steep gears in the rear, and still drive your car. How does it hold up to abuse? We're about to find out! I was told there are several race cars with over 1,000 hp using this thing at the track with nary a problem. Try that with your factory aluminum-cased, wide-ratio four-speed.

GV suggests Mopar synthetic...        read full caption GV suggests Mopar synthetic gear oil, PN P04874459. So we traveled toLakeland Dodge and picked up a quart. It lists for $21 a quart, but theguys sold it to us for $16. For the tranny, we used Royal PurpleMax-Gear lube. Ya know, the Mopar synthetic gear lube is 75W85, andRoyal Purple's is 75W90. Is there really much difference other thanprice? According to Gear Vendors, extensive testing has been done on theMopar lube--their recommended oil.	We mounted the GV control...        read full caption We mounted the GV control box behind the passenger-side kick panel.	GV gives you a choice of two...        read full caption GV gives you a choice of two buttons. The one with the red knob is thesame as the one used in big trucks for the two-speed rear selector. Theother is a Hurst T-handle with the button in it. Let's just say I ain'tdriving no Peterbuilt.
We mounted the main on/off...        read full caption We mounted the main on/off switch with Velcro to the heater box, out ofsight. Now run all the wires to the appropriate locations per theinstructions. All connections are color-coded and are simple to plug in.	The GV tailshaft housing eliminates...        read full caption The GV tailshaft housing eliminates the speedometer gear and relocatesit to the GV unit. GVs include a 24-inch section of speedometer cable tomake up the difference and an electronic adaptor to connect to thecontrol box.