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speedometer drive gear question

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Old May 3, 2008 | 10:39 PM
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Default speedometer drive gear question

I'm going to change my early '63 coupe diff. from a 3:70 to a 3:08.

Can I change just the speedometer driven gear or do I have to change the drive gear as well. Borg Warner 4 speed tran.

TIA, Larry.
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Old May 4, 2008 | 12:10 AM
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Default i'm no expert on driven gear selections, but there is another way.

Originally Posted by C6 Z06
I'm going to change my early '63 coupe diff. from a 3:70 to a 3:08.

Can I change just the speedometer driven gear or do I have to change the drive gear as well. Borg Warner 4 speed tran.

TIA, Larry.
In order to reduce wear on the speedo cable, I use a 90 degree adaptor at the trans.

It is possible to have these adaptors made with gears that will compensate for speedometer inaccuracies. On my '67 GTO I drove exactly 30 miles on I-88 and discovered that it was 41% off.

Gave the numbers to United Speedometer Service in California (Riverside?) and they sent me a 90 degree unit that perfectly compensates. No messing with the drive OR driven gears at all.
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Old May 4, 2008 | 09:03 AM
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Originally Posted by CaveCreekChump
In order to reduce wear on the speedo cable, I use a 90 degree adaptor at the trans.

It is possible to have these adaptors made with gears that will compensate for speedometer inaccuracies. On my '67 GTO I drove exactly 30 miles on I-88 and discovered that it was 41% off.

Gave the numbers to United Speedometer Service in California (Riverside?) and they sent me a 90 degree unit that perfectly compensates. No messing with the drive OR driven gears at all.
Cave Creek Chump, thanks for the tip. I checked out their web site and if I have to change the drive gear I will definitely get their adaptor.

I did not know such an item was available. Thanks for the help.
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Old May 4, 2008 | 07:15 PM
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With a 3.70, you should have a 22-tooth silver driven gear; if so, that's in the "small" driven gear family (which uses the "large" DRIVE gear), and you can replace it with an 18-tooth brown driven gear to match the 3.08 axle.

If it has a 22-tooth green driven gear, that's in the "large" driven gear family (which uses the "small" DRIVE gear), and there are no driven gears available in that "family" for any axle ratios lower numerically than a 3.70. If that's the case, you'll either have to pull the trans and change the DRIVE gear to the "large" one so you can use the 18-tooth brown driven gear, or have a ratio adapter box made calibrated for the 3.08 axle.

3.70 was the only ratio that had a speedo driven gear in both "families".
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Old May 4, 2008 | 09:00 PM
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JohnZ, thank you for the very detailed reply. If I have the "silver" gear I will change it out. If not I will go with one of the adapters CaveCreekChump mentioned.
I noticed Corvette Central shows the 2 different 22 tooth gears as you mentioned.

Thanks alot for the info, Larry.
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Old May 4, 2008 | 10:27 PM
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Just a heads up. If you are changing gears only I think a 3.08 uses a differant carrier than a 3.70.
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Old May 5, 2008 | 09:22 PM
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Originally Posted by Sky65
Just a heads up. If you are changing gears only I think a 3.08 uses a differant carrier than a 3.70.

I'm going to change the complette diff. but thank you for the heads up.

A little extra information is always good
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