While proud BangShift sponsor Gear Vendors is the undisputed champion of overdrive units these days, there were some companies that attempted to produce similar, albeit much cruder examples in the past. One of those companies was named Hone Manufacturing and for a time they had the market for supplemental overdrives cornered. It was a short time because the company has been dunzo for more than 30 years. 

Famously, these units were used by Joel Rosen in his Motion Supercars. Rosen was smart enough to know what Gear Vendors owners know today. It is possible to have your gear cake and eat it too. With a .70:1 ratio, the user could take a 4.88 rear gear and make it act like a 3.42. Since Rosen’s cars carried a performance guarantee, he could use these Hone overdrives to tame the steep gear ratio needed to deliver his numbers to customers.

While Gear Vendors units are electronically shifted, the Hone used a simple lever that the driver would jam into gear when needed. They were comparatively crude but effective pieces. Other than Motion cars, they were mostly found in motorhomes that needed the “extra” gear to help them with fuel economy as they were mostly big block powered then and had steep gear ratios to aid acceleration.

The one we found for sale on eBay looks like a nice piece. The asking price of $3,500 seems steep, but if you are restoring a Lenco it may be a necessity.

Source — eBay Motors — Hone Overdrive