One of the things that we love about hot rodding history is the fact that there were solutions to problems back in the day that many people have forgotten about or at least don’t remember right off the tops of their heads. Today we have the awesome Gear Vendors unit that serves as a tough, advanced, and refined way to get the best of all worlds when it comes to performance. Big gearing, massive horsepower engine, and a bombproof transmission are all things we want but the ability to drive that stuff down the road gets tough unless you have overdrive. In today’s world that’s a call to Rick Johnson over at Gear Vendors and he has you in business. Back in the 1960s and 1970s there was a more mechanically crude product that was doing the trick and it was called a Hone-O-Drive. Rarely seen anymore, one has shown up for sale on eBay and it isn’t any old Hone-O-Drive, it is the high performance model that appeared in some of the most legendary muscle cars ever.
Most famously Motion Performance’s Joel Rosen used Hone-O-Drive units to make his killer Phase III drivable on the street. The cars, with monster gear ratios and a certification saying that they would run 12s were as hardcore as any street going “production” car of there era. The Hone-O-Drive had the effect of lowering the gear ratio 30% so it would take a gnarly 4.88 and turn it into a far more reasonable ratio in the mid-upper 3.xx zone. Unlike the Gear Vendors of today which is electronically controlled, this thing was a cable actuated deal and we’re guessing trying to engage it like a Gear Vendors at full throttle would not be the brightest idea.
This one is totally complete, clean, and even comes with the instruction/installation manual! We’re digging it and if you are building a tribute Motion car or restoring one, get your hands on this. Who knows when the next one will come up for sale!
eBay find: This Hone-O-Drive OD unit looks as good as new!
Ah yes – Back in the day, friends would ask of my ’68 Chevelle: what’s that extra lever sticking out of the floor beside your shifter?? “lt’s for the 4 wheel drive” l would reply!!
Ford factory manual OD – 63 Galaxie wagon w/ 352 + 3 on three had one …
Anyone know the source ?