Gear Vendors O/D & Disk Brake Conversion Install

[cleszkie]

Finally goy all of the pieces I needed to install my junkyard find Gear Vendor unit so I though I would share some pics. I found the unit behind a TH400 auto, so I had to order the NP205 adapter of of ebay. Had to move my spring perches to rotate the pinion up into the best position for the CV driveshaft that I had built. The driveshaft was the biggest problem. I needed to keep the CV joint assembly as short as possible in order to minimize the CV joint angle. To do this, I sourced out a 400 series (32 spline) slip yoke with a CV head from a mid 80's Cadillac. I had the Caddy slip yoke shortened and counterbored to work with my application. This allows the CV joint to be as close to the back end of the O/D unit as possible (with provisions for adequate stroke in and out). I then had my driveline shop build the rest with a 1350 yoke at the axle end for the 14 bolt. The driveshaft is about 22 inches long with a 10 degree bend at the CV joint (I have a 6 inch lift). Truck runs with no vibrations a highway speeds, and the overdrive is freakin amazing. Its like a new truck.

I also installed a disk brake conversion on my 14 bolt full floater. Used some unknown brackets that I bough off a buddy for cheap, 3/4 ton rotors, and '78 Eldorado brake calipers with parking brake mechanism. Everthing just bolted on with the exception of the parking brake cable hardware. To get the parking brake to work with the stock parking brake foot pedal and under truck hardware, I had to fab up some parking brake cable stops for both ends of the cable (I used the short cables that came with the 14 bolt drums). I also added some return springs on the calipers themselves to keep the parking brakes from dragging. The return springs actually came from the drum brakes I removed (the ones that are located above the star wheel adjusters)! I only had to do minor shortening and bending of a "U" in the end of the springs to make them work. I fabbed the rear cable stops out of a piece of the drum brake backing plate where the cable originaly passed through and bolts. Cut this out with an angle grinder and then welded it to a piece of bar stock that bolts to my spring plate. Works like a champ. You may also note that I mounted the brake calipers upside down. I did this in order to run my parking brake cables above the axle tube (a personal preference). I flipped the calipers over when I bled them so all the air would rise to the bleeder screws, and then turned them back over to permanently mount them with the bleeder screws facing down. Enjoy the pics!