<VV> Where is the next gear?

[Dale Dewald]

Hello Seth and Bob,

Some more modern vehicles can fall into the "no highway gear" category.  
My 01 Dodge 2500HD [Cummins] has 4.10 gears and, even with 35" tires, I 
often have to stop myself from trying to shift into 7th gear....that 
position being reverse on the NV5600 transmission.

In the case of the Corvair there is one [non-stock] drivetrain combo 
that is not so bad.  When the original 3.27 differential in my wife's 
'65 Monza burned up on the way home from Kalamazoo, (shift shaft seal 
popped out at the autocross)  I replaced the drivetrain with a '65 
differential rebuilt with a 3.08:1 ring & pinion and a '64-5 FC 
transmission [3.65 1st gear] intended for a different project.  This is 
such a nice combination for both town and highway driving [with the 110 
engine] that I cannot understand why it was not offered, at least as an 
option, on the later cars.  It is also a good combination behind the 
140PG engine.

My question for the group:  Has anyone used the 3.08 diff in a LM car 
with A/C?  I am considering this for the other project. Did it work out 
okay with regard to engine cooling?

Dale Dewald
Hancock, MI

On 9/12/2015 18:31, Seth wrote:
> Yeah - anybody who drives a newer car awhile will have that feeling when
> they get back into a street 4-speed Corvair. I mean, of course, that  feeling
> of wondering where that final, freeway, top-gear is - not the  feeling of
> shifting back into 3rd!  - Seth
>   
>   
> In a message dated 9/12/2015 10:16:04 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, Bob writes:
>
>
> ...but I have had the same feeling many times over the  past decades when
> going back into a Corvair.  Our engines (and '60s cars  in general)are
> turning a lot faster than today's cars at highway speeds.   When my '68 4spd
> manual Monza was new I drove a friend's Alfa Duetto for a  week with the five
> speed.  Getting back into my Monza I almost blew the  transmission when I
> shifted into "5th" at about 60 mph.  Great synchros  in 3rd. Those '66-69
> transmissions are  strong!
>
> Bob